Kyle Larson explains what led to wreck with Kyle Busch, what was at stake
At the very end of Stage 2 in today’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Gateway, Kyle Larson got into it with Kyle Busch. The two champions made contact and then the 5 car slid up into the 8 car going into a turn to wreck both of them.
Kyle Busch was a DNF on the day. Meanwhile, Kyle Larson finished P10 on the day thinking he suffered a flat tire. So, considering what happened, the two drivers had drastically different views of what happened.
Busch felt that Larson caused the wreck. Larson had a more neutral take. Hard racing, no hard feelings.
“Yeah we were coming to the end of that stage and I was a little bit better than him and left four to side-draft him and barely touched his quarter panel and I don’t know, I guess it ticked him off and he squeezed into me,” Larson said to Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports. “I honestly thought I had a flat when I turned into one because it just turned around backwards, but I guess he must have just took the air off of me and [I] spun. I’m not sure what his side of it was, but that was my side, I guess.”
Kyle Larson has not received a waiver from NASCAR yet after missing the Coca-Cola 600. So, right now, he is not championship or playoff-eligible. THat will likely change if and when he is granted that waiver.
Even if he is ineligible for the driver championship, Larson will be in contention to win a title for his team and owner. Either way, every point matters in the regular season championship battle and gaining those precious playoff points.
Kyle Larson racing for every point after missing race
Continuing his conversation with Pockrass, Kyle Larson talked about what he was racing for at the end of Stage 2. Larson has always raced hard at the end of those stages, and he leads the series in stage points this season.
That is not by mistake.
“I think every point is important for everybody in the field,” Larson said about racing for points. “Even guys at the front of the field like myself you know we’re trying to win the regular season championship and those 15 bonus points go a long way.
“So, yeah, every spot was important. Yeah, I just thought if I could hang with him down the frontstretch we could race through one and two, maybe hang with him down the back, you know, maybe clear him through three and four because if I hit my marks through there I was a little bit better than him. Just hard racing, I’ve got nothing bad to say about Kyle at all we’ve always raced extremely well together and nothing changes on my end.”
Kyle Larson pulled off a top-10 finish today and he had to earn it. He didn’t break a toe link or get a flat tire, but he had to bounce back from the wreck. Solid outing for Larson amid the drama of the waiver and the incident with Busch.