NASCAR: Kyle Larson is the Real Deal

To steal the tag from the current line of Samsung Galaxy commercials, "The next big thing is here."

And it's name is Kyle Larson.

Two weeks ago at Phoenix, we had the pleasure of watching him race with Jimmie Johnson — who was making a rare appearance on the Nationwide tour — for much of the race.

Yes, it was a battle for 13th place, a type of fight that rarely carries any more meaning than simply two drivers with average cars trying their hardest to gain every spot possible.

But in that rare case, it was a potentially prophetic moment as the current five-time Sprint Cup Series champion fought tooth and nail with the 20-year-old up-and-comer who has been the subject of much praise from current stars such as Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon.

The battle was eventually won by Johnson, but not before the usually cool-head champion threw a major I'm-tired-of-this-crap block on Larson, who had up to then managed to go toe-to-toe with the champ undaunted.

Now, to say Larson was "intimidating" Johnson would certainly be too strongly worded, not to mention that it would draw unfortunate comparisons that Larson is far from deserving of at this point.

But Larson's persistence was certainly bugging the champ, compounding the frustration he was understandably already feeling with a car that wasn't handling like he would have wanted.

Despite that jarring end, it was still an incredible race to watch, fought between decorated veteran and talented rookie; the now, and what's to come.

And by all indications, Larson is coming soon.

If his star isn't already illuminated enough, it became even brighter with his performance at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Bristol is a high-banked, half-mile circuit known for, like many short tracks, chewing up inexperienced drivers and spitting them out. And like every track, there always seems to be a driver who has the place mastered.

That master is Kyle Busch, who has amassed 13 victories at the facility across NASCAR's three national touring series.

And of course on Saturday, it was Busch, also the Nationwide Series' all-time wins leader, who stood between Larson and his first ever victory in NASCAR's top three divisions.

That's the epitome of a daunting task, having to run down Kyle Busch at a race track where he seems to be most at home, and having to do so with limited time and slow cars that worked like moving chicanes blocking the path.

But after making a rookie mistake by running over a lapped car and possibly compromising his right front tire, Larson began to settle in and settle down.

The "rookie" began patiently searching around the race track for more speed, moving higher and higher up, into a groove where few drivers were daring to go.

And as the laps wound down and the two combatants weaved through lapped traffic, Larson began edging closer and closer.

Coming that white flag, he was on Busch's bumper.

In the final corner, Busch made a calculated gamble by running the lesser-preferred low line, hoping to avoid oncoming lapped traffic. This gave Larson an opening, as they drove off of turn four, he was there beside Busch.

The two bounced off of each other, the wall, off each other again.

At the line, Larson came up short by a nose.

While Busch was headed to victory lane, Larson was forced to settle for second. But in his defeat, he turned many heads and confirmed the beliefs of many who think he has the talent to become one of the biggest stars in NASCAR.

So while Kyle Busch won the day, it was Kyle Larson who stole the spotlight.

That light is expected to shine on him for quite some time.