Kyle Larson fires back at NASCAR fanbase claiming Bristol was a ‘bad race’
Coming off an overwhelming victory with 462 of 500 laps led, Kyle Larson is hitting back at NASCAR fans calling it a bad race. Was Bristol a good race, was Larson’s performance good, and what does that all really mean?
Each week, Jeff Gluck of The Athletic runs a poll on his X/Twitter account. Thousands vote in the poll each week and it asks a simple question, “Was [insert race] a good race?”
Earlier this season, the tire degradation battle earned a vote in the high 80s, considering it one of the best races of the season. This time around, with Larson dominating and many feeling that passing was not possible, it received a vote of 27.2%.
Kyle Larson thinks it is the NASCAR fanbase that is the problem.
“Lead 450 laps but have 2 overtime restarts and lose and I guarantee the percentage is flip flopped,” Larson wrote. “That’s our fan base.”
I think there is something to be said about the NASCAR fanbase at large. No matter what race you attend, a wreck on the track usually brings a big pop from the crowd. Late restarts put everyone on their feet.
It feels like dominant performances aren’t appreciated as much anymore in the sport, either. When a driver leads a ton of laps and goes on to win running away from the field, the general consensus is to write it off as a boring race.
That is never the response to a great performance in another sport. When a quarterback puts up 400 yards and 5 TDs in the NFL, it’s applauded. No one thought Kobe putting up 81 points on Toronto was boring or a bad game.
Is Kyle Larson to blame for ‘bad race’
But is the win from Kyle Larson the reason why fans didn’t like the Bristol Night Race? I would argue, no. Larson is one of the most popular drivers in the sport. There are many in the NASCAR world that love watching him win like this.
I don’t think Larson leading 462 laps necessarily made fans want to vote in favor of this being a good race. But I don’t believe an overtime restart or two would have solved much, either as the driver suggests.
There were multiple grooves of racing, but no passing. Drivers were struggling to pass cars that were multiple laps down at times. Then again, that isn’t new when it comes to short-track racing in the Next Gen car.
Ultimately, I think there was disappointment on Saturday night. A lot of people were hoping to see a race like the spring with tires shredding on the track. That didn’t happen, Kyle Larson led all but 38 laps, and there weren’t that many great battles for position. All of that combined led to a deflated feeling around the race as a whole.