Austin Dillon on possible involvement in Kyle Larson spin at Homestead: 'I was just holding my line'

Austin Dillon said he “didn’t even know” that Kyle Larson was coming from behind him before Larson’s spin with 13 laps remaining in Sunday’s Straight Talk Wireless 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Dillon, a lapped car at the time, tried to stay as close to the wall as possible as Larson and Ryan Blaney went by him battling for the lead.

Kyle Larson said Austin Dillon didn’t do anything wrong. Dillon said he held his line and didn’t know Larson was there (as Larson said he thought is what happened). pic.twitter.com/5x3BzAplmh

— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) October 27, 2024

“Honestly, I was just holding my line against the wall,” Dillon told Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports. “That was the one place I could just stay. I thought they would turn under me. I didn’t even know the 5 [Larson] was coming, truthfully. In the end, I was just against the wall, and I think he got in hot on my left front. I didn’t do anything but stay against the wall.”

Just before spinning out, Larson was charging towards the lead, looking to chase down race-leader Ryan Blaney. Larson badly needed a win at Homestead, and so, he sent it into the corner. His aggressive move did not pay off, as he got loose and spun out on his own.

Kyle Larson gets loose and brings out the yellow, but keeps it off the wall.

This will change everything for the final 10 laps. It's on NBC. #NASCARPlayoffs    pic.twitter.com/5cvlStdMgw

— Always Race Day (@AlwaysRaceDay) October 27, 2024

Kyle Larson explains spin at Homestead

Larson said after the race that Dillon “did nothing wrong.”

“You’re making split-second decisions. Austin did nothing wrong,” Larson said, via Nate Ryan of NBC Sports. “I was just hoping that he would see me coming as [Blaney] got to his inside, and maybe he’d run a lane off the wall just to give me some clean air. He continued to run his line.

“I had a little bit of a hole, and I was trying to shoot the gap to get in front of the No. 3 and get to the wall quickly to either hopefully stay on the outside of the No. 12 or build a run to have a shot at him in [Turns] one and two. But yeah, it just didn’t work out. I was going as hard as I could. The No. 5 Chevy team did a great job rebounding after the flat tire.”

Larson finished 13th at Homestead. Seven points below the Championship 4 cutline, Larson has work to do next Sunday at Martinsville.

“Yeah, we’ve been strong at Martinsville at times, so we’ll see,” Larson said. “It’s not my best track, but I’ve been a lot better there since I joined Hendrick Motorsports. We just need to qualify well and give it our best shot.”