Dale Earnhardt Jr. recalls moment he recognized Kyle Larson's elite wall skills racing against him at Chicago

Dale Earnhardt Jr. was considered one of the best in all of NASCAR at running the high-line for a majority of his career, testing fate like many others in the Cup Series wouldn’t dare. Then, Kyle Larson arrived on the scene.

After utilizing the wall-run strategy to get to Victory Lane over the weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Larson was the talk of the NASCAR world. Earnhardt Jr. reminisced about one fateful afternoon at Chicagoland Speedway, when he knew the Elk Grove, California native was going to be a phenom.

“Before Kyle Larson got here, I felt like I was one of the three best running the top. I would go up there and run the wall at Chicago or Atlanta and some of these places. I’d be motoring up on people and their spotter would be like, ‘Man, you’ve got to get up higher. He’s higher than you are.’ They’re like, ‘Ain’t no way.’ Then, Kyle Larson comes onto the scene,” Earnhardt Jr. stated, via the latest episode of the Dale Jr. Download. “We’re racing at Chicago and I’m running the top. So is he. Nobody’s running higher than both of us, but he’s doing one thing different — he’s beating me. He’s doing one thing different than I am, and I saw it. I couldn’t believe it, because it just didn’t make any freaking sense. 

“We were going down the front straightaway, and when you get to the end of the front straightaway in Chicago, the outside wall goes out about a half-car-length. There’s this sort of — the wall just goes out in a way to the right a little bit. Then, it wraps around the corner. I didn’t think to follow the wall. I’ll just cut that little part off and drive into the corner and then get back to the wall. I’m good, right? And I’m up on time. I’m running around there, and I see him out there in front of me about five cars. When he got to Turn One and he chased the wall, the wall steered out toward the right and he followed it.

“So, I’ve got — I mean, he was in — what he gained from that happened in the middle and the exit of the corner. I watched him do that about two laps and I thought, ‘Damn man, he’s dotting I’s and crossing T’s. He’s doing all the details. I’m running the top, but this man’s not leaving no stone unturned.’ … So, that’s what he then took to Homestead, particularly the entrance to Turn Three. 

“If you really want to go study some of this, watch how he enters Turn Three, when he’s on the wall. That’s what Denny [Hamlin] said — one and two, people are pretty close. But three and four? That’s where he really excels. He’s at his closest point to the fence, where we always kind of see [him] maybe brushing the wall on exit of four. He’s just as close entering. That’s what you’ve got to celebrate.”

When you catch the eye of Earnhardt Jr. like Larson did at Chicagoland, you’re on the right track. Since, the NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee has been vindicated time and time again. Larson’s ability to run the high-line has helped contribute to his 30 Cup Series wins, and of course his championship in 2021.

Could this season result in No. 2 for the Hendrick Motorsports wheelman? Dale Earnhardt Jr. certainly wouldn’t be surprised if Kyle Larson got it done again in 2025. With one win under his belt, he’ll be looking to continue stacking trophies until the playoffs begin, starting with this weekend’s trip to Martinsville Speedway.