NASCAR star Kyle Larson and Formula 1 star Max Verstappen are each among the elite drivers in their respective sports, but every once in a while the question is posed to drivers of their ilk: who is truly the best pound-for-pound racer on the globe?

In a recent interview with FloRacing, Larson said that he knows that he’s “better than him [Verstappen] as an all-around driver” and that he’d have a better chance of winning an F1 race than Verstappen would a NASCAR race.

So, who gets the edge: Larson or Verstappen?

On the latest edition of “Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour,” Kevin Harvick opined why he feels that Larson is the better pound-for-pound driver.

“If Kyle Larson went to drive Max Verstappen’s car, it wouldn’t be but one or two days, and he would be damn close to being as fast as Max Verstappen in there, but there is no way that Max Verstappen comes over here and does that in a stock car,” Harvick said. “I think Max is extremely talented and very, very, very good at what he does for his discipline. I heard him talk about drivers being specialized in their discipline. That’s not Kyle Larson. Kyle Larson can go out and drive anything. He’s very good at his discipline, but he’s got multiple disciplines, and we saw what he did in an IndyCar. I truly believe that Max would do okay, but he’s not going to do anything anywhere close to what Kyle Larson does. 

“Some of the arrogance that comes from the international crowd on the media side to just say ‘you can’t do that, Kyle Larson, that’s not even a fair comparison,’ they just don’t even know what they’re talking about.”

As for their respective sports, Larson is fourth in NASCAR in total points (782) this season, with a sport-best four wins, nine top-5 finishes and 12 top-10 finishes; Larson has secured a spot in the NASCAR playoffs. He has won a Cup Series-best 17 races since 2021, which was his first season with Hendrick Motorsports. 

Verstappen is first in F1 in total points (277) this season, with seven wins. He’s the youngest driver to make his debut in the sport, bursting onto the scene when he was 17, and the youngest to win an F1 race, doing so when he was 18.

Larson, 32, has won 27 career NASCAR races and is a one-time Cup Series champion (2021). Verstappen, 26, has won 61 F1 races and claimed three world titles (2021-23).

Earlier this year, Larson raced in the Indianapolis 500, starting fifth but finishing 18th.

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