Kyle Larson has been named one of NASCARs Top 75 drivers. Kyle Larson is the first active driver announced of the 5 drivers announced this week.
Kyle Larson being announced while being an active competitor isn't new. When NASCAR did the top 50 NASCAR drivers back in 1998 there was a good amount of drivers on that list that were active at the time such as Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Sr., Mark Martin, Dale Jarrett, Terry Labonte, Ricky Rudd, Ernie Irvan, Darrell Waltrip, Geoff Bodine, and Rusty Wallace.
Kyle Larson announced on the list is not a shock. I know there are 20 more drivers that need to be announced, but him being named was a must. I compare this pick to what Jeff Gordon was in 1998. Jeff Gordon going into 1998 was 26 years old, but already was a 2 time cup champion with 29 cup wins with him being at his peak as a driver. Kyle Larson right now is 30 years old, a 1 time cup champ with 20 cup wins with him still at his peak as a driver.
The other thing is Kyle Larson has more cup wins than some drivers did in the original 50 greatest NASCAR drivers list did.