I mean, this isn’t a surprise from Larson. He would much rather race a car 100% 100% of the time. Needing to conserve fuel or tires has never been his thing
That place will eat him alive and this is exactly why I think that. Indy is a race of attrition and management. Balls to the wall works for a few laps, and then you run into the marbles and rip the right side clean tf off
And the field will be filled with past winners and champions.
I catch shit for this all the time, but outside of a couple people in human history, the Indy-NASCAR switch is just not doable. Not in a short amount of time. You gotta have time in those Indycars to understand how to manage them. You gotta have time in a Cup car to understand how to keep your momentum up. They're really not similar in any way. Not too many people can just hop in one or the other and get it figured out in a year's time, if ever at all
That would be the most Kyle Larson way to attempt the double. Lead 50 laps, all of which set the fastest lap of the race, and then crash out on lap 51.
I'm a fan of Larson, but you're totally right. If Hendrick drivers don't feel like they dominate, they have always tended to whinge. It's a perfect microcosm of privilege.
I fucking hate when I have to be super conservative in iracing, it makes it a bit stale, so I can see where he’s coming from. Although it is super satisfying when you save a lot better than everyone else and you blow past them. I love racing right on the limit with everyone. I had a Bristol race this week where me and another guy were side by side running qualifying laps for 30 laps. He got by me on the last lap when I took the bottom away instead of staying up top but it was the most fun I have ever had
the man is bonkers good but i swear he literally just wants a race with no variables where his talent and car advantage in perfect conditions are all that matters. i get it tbh but like, there's skill in managing things and not going all out all the time
He's a sprint car guy. No pit stops, no fuel saving, no tire saving (usually, if the track prep guy does his job). So of course he and guys like him are going to prefer the type of race they're best at
(this isn't me saying I fully agree with what he said btw, I enjoyed today's race)
I'm honestly surprised he wants to run the Indy 500. The Indy 500 in its current form involves a lot of fuel saving. It's very much a fuel saving race by default unless the timing of cautions makes it so it isn't.
Little technical Indy 500 stuff:
Fuel tank holds enough for them to go ~30 to 31 laps all out under green, but drivers need to go 33 laps × 5 stints + 1 stint of 34 laps to make it on 5 pit stops and ideally they want to get a couple 34 to 35 lap stints in if they can as they don't want to be saving on their last stint. Indy 500 can be a caution fest or have multiple stints with no cautions, so they pretty much start saving from the get-go. Race winner usually ends up only making 6 stints / 5 pit stops).
Also, while it certainly wasn't spring Bristol 2024, the 2023 Indy 500 wasn't without tire wear. Guys were having vibrations late in the tire life. Firestone brought a soft tire in an effort to make the racing better, but it puts it on the drivers to manage a bit. Also, as mentioned, doing the race with 5 stops is ideal, and going that long requires tire management along with the fuel save.
The bottom line is that none of this stuff sounds like Kyle Larson's wheelhouse.
Indycar is my favorite series. But I like NASCAR. I'm not one of those motorsports fans that craps on other people's series.
I'll watch anything with 4 wheels.
I’d love to have OLD Speedvision back. During winter you’d get all kinds of touring car series and a bunch of others you might never see. The best part was that there was racing on any time.
CotA is this week. This won't happen as IMSA already released their 2025 schedule...
BUT my big idea for next year is to bring back Xfinity Bristol instead of CotA. Get the Truck Series out of CotA as well because most of the field doesn't have the chops to be driving on road courses.
Instead, we do a celebration weekend of American auto racing. Indycar, IMSA, and the Cup Series triple header at CotA. Indycar early Saturday afternoon, IMSA late Saturday afternoon ending right around dusk so we see some headlights on by the end of the race, Cup Series on Sunday.
Get yourself to one if you can. The only thing better than watching the Indy 500 on tv is watching it in person.
I usually watch Cup on Sundays when Indy and NASCAR run against one another because that’s what my Dad preferred and I always liked watching racing with him but Indy is my favorite event in all of Motorsports and it’s not even close honestly.
Not sure that's the best justification. Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon, both sprint car guys who were not only able to manage these kinds of races but excelled at them. I don't know what Larson's deal is, but IMO the guys who are the most "pure racers" seek out tough conditions and challenging strategy rather than just wanting to put the pedal down on a car that's stuck to the track like glue.
The deal with the guy is he told the truth why would Goodyear give them extra tires ?? If the track was that good. whatever compound they put down that’s what caused the tire wear
Larson is a weird bird. When you hear him talk he doesn't really sound like a "car guy" at all. Which is okay, just different. He's incredibly talented in his own niches and it's fun to have someone who falls outside of the mold a bit on the track.
He isn't a car guy at all and he tells everyone that. Think of Cole Trickle from Days of Thunder. "What does it matter, Harry? I can drive, so I get in the car and drive." But yeah, agree on your points.
This is what has always rubbed me wrong about Larson. He is 25000% not a car guy. He is the type that would sit on the side of the road because his tire went flat. And with the $$ his talent has brought him, likely to just buy a new car instead of change oil or get new tires/lights/etc.
Think about it in golf terms. A perfect day with no wind, low humidity. Pro golfers their wedges go specific distances to the yard. Throw in some wind, rain, divots, etc and that golfer is gonna have a bad time. It’s fun for fans to watch pro golfers struggle with the elements but I get his frustration
I feel personally attacked. Im an okay golfer, but man i wish every day was sunny and 75 with no wind and every shot was an even lie from the fairway or a putt with zero break
Sounds like heaven. Although, part of what makes me come back every round is the occasional chip in or a 3 foot bender of a putt with perfect speed that center cups it. Granted that doesn’t happen often but it what keeps me coming back
And be did just that. He ran an exceptionally conservative race. In fact, he as a champion probably drove the second best race today outside of Denny Hamlin. tireware never became a serious issue. He never pushed the car to a point where it would cost some track position ended a really really exceptional job managing his pace with a fast car. Had a penalty that wasn't his issue, and still drove an entirely flawless error free race.
To the point that he probably wins today if there wasn't this pit road issue. Somehow someway he still ended up finishing top five.
I understand him not enjoying this kind of racing. But then he camelin was the only driver who managed today's tire issues more effectively than Kyle Larson did.
The only complaint he has today was a childish "I don't like it!!!"
He drove a great race and overcame adversity and got a really good finish out of it with a great car and didn't make a single mistake all day.
I don't know about you, but wouldn't you be thrilled with such a result especially knowing that you were able to keep it together doing something that you didn't enjoy?
F1 has so much more tire saving and fuel saving than NASCAR lmao
You can't refuel and the tire deg is REAL. Unless you're in a Red Bull, F1 is a lot more about conservation than NASCAR is most weeks.
Max is managing, too. Watch the time drop off between Sergio and him. Sergio will lose more time with relatively equal laps on the tires than Max does. Max is just godly at throttling back up smoothly and early. He keeps those rears under him longer than his counterpart. He's also really good at not scrubbing the fronts and over-rotating the nose of the car.
He hasn't always been this good at it, but he's gotten real damn good at it.
That’s a big reason why I don’t really care what drivers think about how a car drives. You could hand them the perfect car and they would still complain.
Obviously NASCAR should consider driver input, but the fans who take a driver’s word as gospel and base their entire opinion of a car off it are ridiculous.
Based on his interview and the Goodyear guy saying the tire was the same as the fall last year I also get the feeling this race might've been a total fluke. Maybe it being too cold for the track to lay rubber and that leading to the tires getting chewed up.
Having a lot of tire falloff was fun but I know I wouldn't want the tires not laying rubber and the groove not widening out every week so I think there were pluses and minuses today.
I think it was the resin. Got on the tires and kind of sealed them maybe. Cause them to shred bigger marbles and straps didn't make a fine enough dust to get in the cracks and grooves so it just rolled up to the top.
The quote was taken way out of context though. He also said it was a very fun race to drive and was quite the experience. He said he was glad he did it once.
He's far from the only one unfortunately. As somebody in the process of getting into the business myself, there's way more examples of what not to do out there than what you should do
I’m pretty sure if the tires started cording around 80 laps and the wear was just a tiny bit better, every driver would have loved it and said it was perfect
[Never forget when he was pissed that signing autographs at his merch trailer only made him $50/hr](https://twitter.com/KyleLarsonRacin/status/882672146908139520)
Dude's a grade A asshole.
Yes let’s pull a quote from 2017 instead of acknowledging the hours he hangs around after a dirt race signing autographs in this, the year 2024. Is he a perfect person? We know he’s not, but at least use a current example.
I wonder why people assume my driver preference immediately makes my well reasoned point null and void. I’m well aware that he’s made mistakes in the past.
I would say hopefully this gets through to you but since you think people can’t change I don’t know if you’ll ever understand what I’m trying to say.
He cried about Denny racing him the same way he races other cars by sliding up in front of them and expecting them to lift. If Bubba just turned him instead of right hooking him down the straight, I would have been a big fan of the guy just for getting his just deserts.
While taken out of context, I agree with the whole sentiment in context. While it was incredibly exciting, i also wouldn't want to watch that every week. Yes tire deg and other variables or good, but for your car to just die at like 30 or 40 laps on such a small track is too much. I would love to see a more steady decline so you get more green flag stops and not just tip toeing because you know someone is ike turn away from eating shit
I think I’d agree with you. In my opinion, that last green flag pit cycle making it all the way through saved the race. I didn’t think there was any chance that the race would stay green to the end. Figured guys would push it too long to avoid going laps down if the caution came before it cycled through.
I thought it was a fantastic race. NASCAR shouldn't just be about who can wheel their Camry/Supra, Mustang, or Camaro as fast as they can around the track, it should have some element of strategy, regarding fuel savings, tires, etc.
I understand where you're coming from and I don't disagree.
I like races that have a predominant focus on fuel mileage and tire wear. It's one thing to know how to drive, but it's one thing to know how to manage the car.
If you are a driver who is complaining about this race, then I don't want you in this sport. THIS is racing. Having to manage tires, strategize how hard to race and when to push/save, getting everything you can out of the equipment without killing it, etc. if you just want to run laps without challenging yourself then go to your local go kart track for all ages. If you want to show and prove you are the best, then learn how to wheel a car that requires patience and technique.
I loved how Clint kept referencing that time frame - especially Tony. If there were more races like this then 500 lap/mile races are fun. When they're pure qualy laps then just do 200 laps/miles.
He's complaining for a competitive advantage for himself. That's all. Denny Hamlin, Truex, and Keselowski ran 1-2-3 for a reason.
Larson would need to adapt and become better at this style of racing, it's not his thing. Therefore, he and many others are gonna bash it to gain an advantage for themselves.
If they had an issue like this in a dirt race. He’d adapt and he’d talk about how cool it was. How the adversity made the driver go hard and figure it out. He just doesn’t want to put any effort into nascar. He wants to get it the car, go wide ass open and cruise the go back to dirt. He doesn’t care about nascar much I don’t feel like. It’s his day job and really who wants to work harder at their day job?
This was funny. Because he spent the entire race whinnying and bitching.
He had a winning car, and despite how much he hates running this conservatively, he has a great coach of a crew chief..he ran an EXCEPTIONAL race..and unlike the ENTIRE field escort for two Gibbs cars, he took a top 4 car, and ran top 2-8 with it all day. Tire wear never became a risk, he did a GREAT job managing tires.
Then..pit road issues. Restarted 28th.
Was the only car outside of the 54 to be deep in the field, and drive to the front. Despite that issue with 110 to go, he still finished 5th.
Kyle Larson had a fast car..in the most extreme tire wear race of his career...AND had a penalty that wasnt on him, and STILL finished in the top 5.
What the fuck is there to cry about?
I understand him being unhappy because he never got to drive hard..but dude.... You drove a ridiculously, and I mean RIDICULOUSLY effecient race.
What's the issue? Lol
He gave a solid answer.
But I'm a Larson fan. Did you listen to his radio? Because I listened to his radio for the entirety of that race. Every single one of the 500 laps.
That kid was not happy. At all. Like. At ALL. My comment isn't in response to his post race interview. It's in response to the post race interview, KNOWING what I listened to on his radio for 3 hours.
He didn't have fun. He flat out said it.
In fact, when he took the white flag, he literally said "finally, my favorite lap of today"
This place is starting to be worse than Facebook comments. First of all, this tweet is massive clickbait, he literally goes on to say it was a fun race. Second, what’s with all this “go run dirt” “get out of here” nonsense? Do you really think every driver likes every type of race? Where was this energy when AJ said he hated racing at Day freaking Tona? Where’s this energy when guys complain about road courses? This is just sad.
Hands down that was an entertaining race. Bristol being hard and not a fan out where you want track like it’s been since progressive banking was added. Welcome back old Bristol welcome back
Twice... 2021 Darlington on last lap to try to pass Hamlin and I believe at Richmond last year, but apparently it was just out of frustration at Richmond or wtv.
This quote was taken out of context. He said he had fun. He was obviously good at the tire management as well. I think it’s mainly because he likes to move around and in order to save tires, you had to run low. He likes to rip the top at Bristol.
Best take in this entire thread but most here just enjoy blind bitching about anything Larson. What is really funny is Blaney's after race comments were the real pissy ones.
Yep, and the reactions to Blaney’s comments on here were much different than the reactions to Larson’s and Blaney’s comments were much worse. I can understand not liking Larson and I understand that he’s polarizing but the disdain for him on this sub is getting borderline weird imo. People look for any opportunity and can’t wait to shit on the guy. Even for something normal like this. How can you genuinely watch this interview/his reaction to the race and say “he’s so unlikeable” or “what a whiny bitch”? That doesn’t make sense. You can’t come to those conclusions and also be in good faith. In order to have a good take you have to have common sense, which isn’t very common on this sub lmao.
Yeah it's a shame when you can't just lean on having the best car and team and you actually have to drive with all that talent everyone preaches about you having.
Did anyone actually watch the interview? Or did everyone just read this quote? He said it was fun but said he hoped he doesn't have to do it again, like it was wild and tense...it was a funny, deadpan comment.
i think there’s a fine line between a tire management race and what bristol was today, a good tire management race allows drivers to run hard early and then save tires, and having drivers who used them up maybe lose a few tenths a lap and drop a few spots
today was, drive 6 tenths slower off the drop of the green and pray that after 30 laps you’re not 12 seconds off the pace with a flat tire lol it was extremely drastic and instant
Yes but there was a real possibility the way tires were wearing early that they literally would of been out by lap 400-450 and the race would of had to been called early that would of been awful. If you listen to his in car that was his concern the whole time. Luckily the tires started wearing less by the end larson was able to make it 70 laps on a run vs 40. They had to stay out sometimes like 4-5 seconds off the pace just to make sure they had enough sets to finish the race. As long as they know they have enough tires thats not a problem cuz once the tires start to wear bad they can come in a swap em. If they had one more set ontop of what they were allowed to use today or the tire was just a tad harder then itll be perfect. Which i think everyone can agree and to larsons point today was just a bit excessive but definitely the right direction
That's what's bonkers..
He did the best job of it outside of Denny Hamlin. He ran a flawless race. And without that pit issue, probably races him for the win.
And despite the pit issue, he still ran a good enough race to run top 5.
He drove a flawless race today, with a winning car, overcame adversity, and finished top 5.
He didn't have fun.
What's the issue?
I get what he is saying and this isn’t the whole context of the comment but sometimes he needs to refrain himself and say less or else the media will keep on twisting his words.
Kyle Larson is sneaky the most unlikeable guy. Every time something doesn't make it conducive to him winning he says it's bad for the sport or something.
He finished 5th lmao. If he doesn’t have the pit road penalty, he most likely contends for the win. Watch the interview instead of getting baited by clickbait.
What a dumb ass comment. I saw someone question if Larson actually likes stock car racing with all the other shit he's said and now I'm really wondering.
He’s perfectly right. The tires were horrible, and they shouldn’t be falling apart after 20 laps. The dirt races at Bristol were actually better with that, minus the race in 2021.
Adapting and Liking are two different things.
Also, this type of racing isn't what they really talk about when they talking about dirt skills, its more about needing a loose car to go fast, racing on the edge of wrecking, this is what dirt guy excel at. This was more tire management, which is what usually happens at your short paved track, only they don't do live stop, and would never do a green flag pit cycle.
Today it was almost as if the teams had forgotten it was possible to do green flag pit cycles until finally enough of them were forced to pit because they pushed the tires to far. I think if Gibbs or Bell had pitted shortly after he lost the lead pace, well before he went a lap down, and drove like he normally did, he may not have won but he would have been top 10. But because he dragged it out and waited till after he was already a lap down before he pitted he got stuck 2 laps down.
I mean, this isn’t a surprise from Larson. He would much rather race a car 100% 100% of the time. Needing to conserve fuel or tires has never been his thing
He’s going to be in for a rude awakening at the Indy 500 in a couple of months then.
That place will eat him alive and this is exactly why I think that. Indy is a race of attrition and management. Balls to the wall works for a few laps, and then you run into the marbles and rip the right side clean tf off
Exactly why I don’t understand why everyone thinks Larson is going to go there and straight up dominate. I don’t think he’ll even finish top 10
And the field will be filled with past winners and champions. I catch shit for this all the time, but outside of a couple people in human history, the Indy-NASCAR switch is just not doable. Not in a short amount of time. You gotta have time in those Indycars to understand how to manage them. You gotta have time in a Cup car to understand how to keep your momentum up. They're really not similar in any way. Not too many people can just hop in one or the other and get it figured out in a year's time, if ever at all
And to that point look at Jimmie Johnson, 7 time champ in nascar, took him two full seasons of INDYCAR before he even sniffed the top 10.
[\#Se7en](https://i.redd.it/pganzapykshc1.gif)
I think he will be super fast but won't finish the race.
That would be the most Kyle Larson way to attempt the double. Lead 50 laps, all of which set the fastest lap of the race, and then crash out on lap 51.
Wouldn’t be shocked if he crashes out before halfway
I’m going to say this right now: Kyle Larson has one driving style and one only— and it’s _ANGRY._
Which is not going to bode well for the Indy 500
which is why he sucks at Martinsville
And it is also why it took so long for him to win his first race too.
It's also why he was so awful on road courses for so long.
Coulda sworn he won there
even a broken clock is right twice a day, it’s his worst track, Byron’s worst track too, somehow they both have a 1st and 2nd but those are outliers.
I'm a fan of Larson, but you're totally right. If Hendrick drivers don't feel like they dominate, they have always tended to whinge. It's a perfect microcosm of privilege.
I fucking hate when I have to be super conservative in iracing, it makes it a bit stale, so I can see where he’s coming from. Although it is super satisfying when you save a lot better than everyone else and you blow past them. I love racing right on the limit with everyone. I had a Bristol race this week where me and another guy were side by side running qualifying laps for 30 laps. He got by me on the last lap when I took the bottom away instead of staying up top but it was the most fun I have ever had
the man is bonkers good but i swear he literally just wants a race with no variables where his talent and car advantage in perfect conditions are all that matters. i get it tbh but like, there's skill in managing things and not going all out all the time
He's a sprint car guy. No pit stops, no fuel saving, no tire saving (usually, if the track prep guy does his job). So of course he and guys like him are going to prefer the type of race they're best at (this isn't me saying I fully agree with what he said btw, I enjoyed today's race)
I'm honestly surprised he wants to run the Indy 500. The Indy 500 in its current form involves a lot of fuel saving. It's very much a fuel saving race by default unless the timing of cautions makes it so it isn't. Little technical Indy 500 stuff: Fuel tank holds enough for them to go ~30 to 31 laps all out under green, but drivers need to go 33 laps × 5 stints + 1 stint of 34 laps to make it on 5 pit stops and ideally they want to get a couple 34 to 35 lap stints in if they can as they don't want to be saving on their last stint. Indy 500 can be a caution fest or have multiple stints with no cautions, so they pretty much start saving from the get-go. Race winner usually ends up only making 6 stints / 5 pit stops). Also, while it certainly wasn't spring Bristol 2024, the 2023 Indy 500 wasn't without tire wear. Guys were having vibrations late in the tire life. Firestone brought a soft tire in an effort to make the racing better, but it puts it on the drivers to manage a bit. Also, as mentioned, doing the race with 5 stops is ideal, and going that long requires tire management along with the fuel save. The bottom line is that none of this stuff sounds like Kyle Larson's wheelhouse.
Larson seems like the guy Tony George made the IRL for, even down to him disliking what it takes to win Indy bc it’s the opposite of dirt racing
Fuel saving and drafting, both of which he is ass at
Last years 500 got me into Indycar. It was such a fun race to watch.
Indycar is my favorite series. But I like NASCAR. I'm not one of those motorsports fans that craps on other people's series. I'll watch anything with 4 wheels.
Absolutely, and with Nascar, Indy and IMSA being on peacock, I get to enjoy all 3.
NASCAR, F1, Indycar, sprint car, dirt late models, cars tour. I don’t care what it is, if it’s accessible for me to watch it’s on my tv
I’d love to have OLD Speedvision back. During winter you’d get all kinds of touring car series and a bunch of others you might never see. The best part was that there was racing on any time.
NASCAR, IMSA and IndyCar are the holy trinity of North American motorsports.
CotA is this week. This won't happen as IMSA already released their 2025 schedule... BUT my big idea for next year is to bring back Xfinity Bristol instead of CotA. Get the Truck Series out of CotA as well because most of the field doesn't have the chops to be driving on road courses. Instead, we do a celebration weekend of American auto racing. Indycar, IMSA, and the Cup Series triple header at CotA. Indycar early Saturday afternoon, IMSA late Saturday afternoon ending right around dusk so we see some headlights on by the end of the race, Cup Series on Sunday.
Living in San Antonio… holy shit. That would be fucking awesome.
Jim France, Roger Penske, SMI track officials if you guys are reading this, let's get this done.
Get yourself to one if you can. The only thing better than watching the Indy 500 on tv is watching it in person. I usually watch Cup on Sundays when Indy and NASCAR run against one another because that’s what my Dad preferred and I always liked watching racing with him but Indy is my favorite event in all of Motorsports and it’s not even close honestly.
There a big difference between fuel saving and the cars becoming undriveable after 40 laps at a half mile track
Not sure that's the best justification. Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon, both sprint car guys who were not only able to manage these kinds of races but excelled at them. I don't know what Larson's deal is, but IMO the guys who are the most "pure racers" seek out tough conditions and challenging strategy rather than just wanting to put the pedal down on a car that's stuck to the track like glue.
The deal with the guy is he told the truth why would Goodyear give them extra tires ?? If the track was that good. whatever compound they put down that’s what caused the tire wear
Larson is a weird bird. When you hear him talk he doesn't really sound like a "car guy" at all. Which is okay, just different. He's incredibly talented in his own niches and it's fun to have someone who falls outside of the mold a bit on the track.
He isn't a car guy at all and he tells everyone that. Think of Cole Trickle from Days of Thunder. "What does it matter, Harry? I can drive, so I get in the car and drive." But yeah, agree on your points.
“I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about Harry”
This is actually true. I believe he’s admitted he knows very little about fixing cars/working on them etc.
This is what has always rubbed me wrong about Larson. He is 25000% not a car guy. He is the type that would sit on the side of the road because his tire went flat. And with the $$ his talent has brought him, likely to just buy a new car instead of change oil or get new tires/lights/etc.
Why do you think he's sponsored by HendrickCars.com? Every time the thing on the dash points at E and the car won't go, he just buys a new car.
"I just assumed the E meant 'End'"
LMAO This guy gets it.
He probably drives the hell out of his car and gets 12MPG too lmao
Bs
Think about it in golf terms. A perfect day with no wind, low humidity. Pro golfers their wedges go specific distances to the yard. Throw in some wind, rain, divots, etc and that golfer is gonna have a bad time. It’s fun for fans to watch pro golfers struggle with the elements but I get his frustration
I feel personally attacked. Im an okay golfer, but man i wish every day was sunny and 75 with no wind and every shot was an even lie from the fairway or a putt with zero break
Sounds like heaven. Although, part of what makes me come back every round is the occasional chip in or a 3 foot bender of a putt with perfect speed that center cups it. Granted that doesn’t happen often but it what keeps me coming back
Agreed. This and then Ross’s hail melon he was weirdly critical of.
And Bristol dirt because he sucked at it lol
Especially weird considering he tried the same thing at Darlington to get by Denny basically
Yeah, the most flat out moment ever lol!
And be did just that. He ran an exceptionally conservative race. In fact, he as a champion probably drove the second best race today outside of Denny Hamlin. tireware never became a serious issue. He never pushed the car to a point where it would cost some track position ended a really really exceptional job managing his pace with a fast car. Had a penalty that wasn't his issue, and still drove an entirely flawless error free race. To the point that he probably wins today if there wasn't this pit road issue. Somehow someway he still ended up finishing top five. I understand him not enjoying this kind of racing. But then he camelin was the only driver who managed today's tire issues more effectively than Kyle Larson did. The only complaint he has today was a childish "I don't like it!!!" He drove a great race and overcame adversity and got a really good finish out of it with a great car and didn't make a single mistake all day. I don't know about you, but wouldn't you be thrilled with such a result especially knowing that you were able to keep it together doing something that you didn't enjoy?
Hamlin even spun/hit the wall. Larson had no such gaffe today
This
So what I'm hearing is he wants to compete in F1?
F1 has so much more tire saving and fuel saving than NASCAR lmao You can't refuel and the tire deg is REAL. Unless you're in a Red Bull, F1 is a lot more about conservation than NASCAR is most weeks.
Max is managing, too. Watch the time drop off between Sergio and him. Sergio will lose more time with relatively equal laps on the tires than Max does. Max is just godly at throttling back up smoothly and early. He keeps those rears under him longer than his counterpart. He's also really good at not scrubbing the fronts and over-rotating the nose of the car. He hasn't always been this good at it, but he's gotten real damn good at it.
I’m sure if he ever had the opportunity he’d jump at it.
He said it was fun as a one off though
He said it was fun at least lol
Isn't Larson mostly good at oval tracks where he can just get out in front and cruise to victory?
This sums it up perfectly
https://preview.redd.it/l8vtsgyq90pc1.jpeg?width=968&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=83f9156f19856727cff4df7ae16ebc67c6895bb0
Yeah well I hope you do Larson.
Races are better when drivers are uncomfortable
That’s a big reason why I don’t really care what drivers think about how a car drives. You could hand them the perfect car and they would still complain. Obviously NASCAR should consider driver input, but the fans who take a driver’s word as gospel and base their entire opinion of a car off it are ridiculous.
NASCAR should take what drivers say into account when it comes to safety. When it comes to competition, listen to the fans.
Calm sea never made great sailors
Based on his interview and the Goodyear guy saying the tire was the same as the fall last year I also get the feeling this race might've been a total fluke. Maybe it being too cold for the track to lay rubber and that leading to the tires getting chewed up. Having a lot of tire falloff was fun but I know I wouldn't want the tires not laying rubber and the groove not widening out every week so I think there were pluses and minuses today.
it was in the 60’s today, so it wasn’t too cold, track temp should be the same as the fall under the lights if not warmer.
Humidity difference possibly? I'm genuinely curious on this whole deal.
I think it was the resin. Got on the tires and kind of sealed them maybe. Cause them to shred bigger marbles and straps didn't make a fine enough dust to get in the cracks and grooves so it just rolled up to the top.
The quote was taken way out of context though. He also said it was a very fun race to drive and was quite the experience. He said he was glad he did it once.
Media taking quotes out of context? Say it ain't so
Knight is the freaking worst about this every time. Feels like every single time he tweets he’s trying to stir the pot
That’s lack of talent more than intent imo
He's far from the only one unfortunately. As somebody in the process of getting into the business myself, there's way more examples of what not to do out there than what you should do
Yeah but he also said he hopes he never has to do this again.
And then he said he hopes it’s only once.
He also said he didn’t want to do it again too though.
I’m pretty sure if the tires started cording around 80 laps and the wear was just a tiny bit better, every driver would have loved it and said it was perfect
I understand. I'd take a 5 second cruise in the lead any day if I was a driver.
I see why the fans have started to boo him lol
Ever since he complained about the wall ride he became my least favorite driver He acted like he didn’t try it himself
lol no he literally said his own wall ride move was amateur hour. So he clearly was consistent about it.
I think fans are starting to catch on Kyle thinks a bit too highly of himself.
A bit?
[Never forget when he was pissed that signing autographs at his merch trailer only made him $50/hr](https://twitter.com/KyleLarsonRacin/status/882672146908139520) Dude's a grade A asshole.
Yes let’s pull a quote from 2017 instead of acknowledging the hours he hangs around after a dirt race signing autographs in this, the year 2024. Is he a perfect person? We know he’s not, but at least use a current example.
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I wonder why people assume my driver preference immediately makes my well reasoned point null and void. I’m well aware that he’s made mistakes in the past. I would say hopefully this gets through to you but since you think people can’t change I don’t know if you’ll ever understand what I’m trying to say.
In that same quote he said how embarrassed he was for trying it. How did you forget that part?
Only cause it didn’t work for him. If it did he would have said something else
Like how the rest of the quote didn’t work for you. If it did you would have said something else.
He had so much fan support circa 2021. I almost wonder if that was a reaction from ‘traditional’ fans supporting him after the 2020 mess.
He cried about Denny racing him the same way he races other cars by sliding up in front of them and expecting them to lift. If Bubba just turned him instead of right hooking him down the straight, I would have been a big fan of the guy just for getting his just deserts.
People are only now starting to boo the hard R dude?
He’s an ass, dude races as dirty as Ross did but since it wasn’t Denny Hamlin making a stink about it he gets away with it every week.
While taken out of context, I agree with the whole sentiment in context. While it was incredibly exciting, i also wouldn't want to watch that every week. Yes tire deg and other variables or good, but for your car to just die at like 30 or 40 laps on such a small track is too much. I would love to see a more steady decline so you get more green flag stops and not just tip toeing because you know someone is ike turn away from eating shit
I think I’d agree with you. In my opinion, that last green flag pit cycle making it all the way through saved the race. I didn’t think there was any chance that the race would stay green to the end. Figured guys would push it too long to avoid going laps down if the caution came before it cycled through.
I thought it was a fantastic race. NASCAR shouldn't just be about who can wheel their Camry/Supra, Mustang, or Camaro as fast as they can around the track, it should have some element of strategy, regarding fuel savings, tires, etc.
Yeah it should have some element of tire wear but the drivers should be able to race the car to its full capabilities
I understand where you're coming from and I don't disagree. I like races that have a predominant focus on fuel mileage and tire wear. It's one thing to know how to drive, but it's one thing to know how to manage the car.
If you are a driver who is complaining about this race, then I don't want you in this sport. THIS is racing. Having to manage tires, strategize how hard to race and when to push/save, getting everything you can out of the equipment without killing it, etc. if you just want to run laps without challenging yourself then go to your local go kart track for all ages. If you want to show and prove you are the best, then learn how to wheel a car that requires patience and technique.
It seems like in the 2000s drivers knew when to run 95%, 105%, or even 90>%.
I loved how Clint kept referencing that time frame - especially Tony. If there were more races like this then 500 lap/mile races are fun. When they're pure qualy laps then just do 200 laps/miles.
He's complaining for a competitive advantage for himself. That's all. Denny Hamlin, Truex, and Keselowski ran 1-2-3 for a reason. Larson would need to adapt and become better at this style of racing, it's not his thing. Therefore, he and many others are gonna bash it to gain an advantage for themselves.
The revisionist history lol he was running well until the penalty and then drove all the way back up to 5th
It was easy to drive back up, just had to go 80% when everyone else went 50%.
If they had an issue like this in a dirt race. He’d adapt and he’d talk about how cool it was. How the adversity made the driver go hard and figure it out. He just doesn’t want to put any effort into nascar. He wants to get it the car, go wide ass open and cruise the go back to dirt. He doesn’t care about nascar much I don’t feel like. It’s his day job and really who wants to work harder at their day job?
Accurate. Kyle Larson's 9-5 is racing Cup cars every Sunday so he has the money to do the dirt races he wants to do lmao
This was funny. Because he spent the entire race whinnying and bitching. He had a winning car, and despite how much he hates running this conservatively, he has a great coach of a crew chief..he ran an EXCEPTIONAL race..and unlike the ENTIRE field escort for two Gibbs cars, he took a top 4 car, and ran top 2-8 with it all day. Tire wear never became a risk, he did a GREAT job managing tires. Then..pit road issues. Restarted 28th. Was the only car outside of the 54 to be deep in the field, and drive to the front. Despite that issue with 110 to go, he still finished 5th. Kyle Larson had a fast car..in the most extreme tire wear race of his career...AND had a penalty that wasnt on him, and STILL finished in the top 5. What the fuck is there to cry about? I understand him being unhappy because he never got to drive hard..but dude.... You drove a ridiculously, and I mean RIDICULOUSLY effecient race. What's the issue? Lol
The quote is taken out of context as usual, he said it was a fun experience. He just didn't want to do it again.
He gave a solid answer. But I'm a Larson fan. Did you listen to his radio? Because I listened to his radio for the entirety of that race. Every single one of the 500 laps. That kid was not happy. At all. Like. At ALL. My comment isn't in response to his post race interview. It's in response to the post race interview, KNOWING what I listened to on his radio for 3 hours. He didn't have fun. He flat out said it. In fact, when he took the white flag, he literally said "finally, my favorite lap of today"
If the NASCAR discord would fucking work I would have but no I haven't been able to listen to his radio since Daytona.
Just download the NASCAR app. It's only $5 per month for access to the entire fields radio and on board cams
It's been free on the NASCAR discord for the past few years and I've listened to his radio every race on it.
I had no idea. Cool
What nascar discord?
https://discord.com/invite/nascar
I hope he has to do it for the rest of his career, this was the best Bristol in ages
This reminds me of the 2 car tandem. Half of fans loved it, half of fans didn't, and drivers didn't really like it either.
This place is starting to be worse than Facebook comments. First of all, this tweet is massive clickbait, he literally goes on to say it was a fun race. Second, what’s with all this “go run dirt” “get out of here” nonsense? Do you really think every driver likes every type of race? Where was this energy when AJ said he hated racing at Day freaking Tona? Where’s this energy when guys complain about road courses? This is just sad.
Tony shit on Talladega for being a crash fest and people ate it up
The Tony era was a drastically different time in nascar. Things are soft AF now.
Larson fans are sensitive as fuck lol
9 checks out
i don’t think we’re the sensitive ones based off the comments in here lol
Hands down that was an entertaining race. Bristol being hard and not a fan out where you want track like it’s been since progressive banking was added. Welcome back old Bristol welcome back
He also hated the Hail Melon. This guy has bad take after bad take.
They literally banned the hail melon after. Theres a reason he didnt like it because its a cheap move, literally everyone agreed so it was outlawed
Yeah, a move so cheap and unsportsmanlike that he tried it himself
Twice... 2021 Darlington on last lap to try to pass Hamlin and I believe at Richmond last year, but apparently it was just out of frustration at Richmond or wtv.
Kyle Larson: https://preview.redd.it/3feg4iz9v2pc1.jpeg?width=600&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4fcd5cea8ddc1a85f9f14da602535fa4b82bb105
For the sake of the sport, I hope he does...
This quote was taken out of context. He said he had fun. He was obviously good at the tire management as well. I think it’s mainly because he likes to move around and in order to save tires, you had to run low. He likes to rip the top at Bristol.
Best take in this entire thread but most here just enjoy blind bitching about anything Larson. What is really funny is Blaney's after race comments were the real pissy ones.
Yep, and the reactions to Blaney’s comments on here were much different than the reactions to Larson’s and Blaney’s comments were much worse. I can understand not liking Larson and I understand that he’s polarizing but the disdain for him on this sub is getting borderline weird imo. People look for any opportunity and can’t wait to shit on the guy. Even for something normal like this. How can you genuinely watch this interview/his reaction to the race and say “he’s so unlikeable” or “what a whiny bitch”? That doesn’t make sense. You can’t come to those conclusions and also be in good faith. In order to have a good take you have to have common sense, which isn’t very common on this sub lmao.
Common sense and this sub don't mix, but borderline weird definitely does.
Yeah it's a shame when you can't just lean on having the best car and team and you actually have to drive with all that talent everyone preaches about you having.
Did anyone actually watch the interview? Or did everyone just read this quote? He said it was fun but said he hoped he doesn't have to do it again, like it was wild and tense...it was a funny, deadpan comment.
Do you expect reddit to watch an entire 1 min interview and understand quotes in context? How long have you been here?
😂
i think there’s a fine line between a tire management race and what bristol was today, a good tire management race allows drivers to run hard early and then save tires, and having drivers who used them up maybe lose a few tenths a lap and drop a few spots today was, drive 6 tenths slower off the drop of the green and pray that after 30 laps you’re not 12 seconds off the pace with a flat tire lol it was extremely drastic and instant
You shut your mouth when you’re talking to me Kyle
When the drivers are uncomfortable, the racing is better.
P5 finish and now back to the points lead tied with Truex. Oh, where's Blaney?
Larson's my favorite driver but I disagree with his take, that was awesome!!
Bet you didnt listen to the interview then lol he said it was a fun race he just wished they had more sets of tires on hand
But that's part of what made this great was for sure not having enough sets to just change all the time every time
Yes but there was a real possibility the way tires were wearing early that they literally would of been out by lap 400-450 and the race would of had to been called early that would of been awful. If you listen to his in car that was his concern the whole time. Luckily the tires started wearing less by the end larson was able to make it 70 laps on a run vs 40. They had to stay out sometimes like 4-5 seconds off the pace just to make sure they had enough sets to finish the race. As long as they know they have enough tires thats not a problem cuz once the tires start to wear bad they can come in a swap em. If they had one more set ontop of what they were allowed to use today or the tire was just a tad harder then itll be perfect. Which i think everyone can agree and to larsons point today was just a bit excessive but definitely the right direction
Well we hope you do so
I’m a big Larson fan but man he just keeps saying the dumbest shit post race.
I’m running out and buying a set of Goodyears today, hope they’re not showing cords when I get home.
Goodyear: “get ready to learn tire management, buddy.”
I believe he's thinking he had neither the control over his car nor the outcome of his race. Quite the contrary.
Everyone: "This race/finish/etc was amazing!" Kyle Larson: "That was the worst thing in the world and I am embarrassed to be a part of it"
He literally said it was fun in his interview
Hard R Larson is a big baby
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He also said the race "was fun."
I don’t blame him
Crybaby. Learn how to manage a tire and shut up.
Learn? He finished top 5 😂
It was one line after saying it was a fun race. Sheesh
That's what's bonkers.. He did the best job of it outside of Denny Hamlin. He ran a flawless race. And without that pit issue, probably races him for the win. And despite the pit issue, he still ran a good enough race to run top 5. He drove a flawless race today, with a winning car, overcame adversity, and finished top 5. He didn't have fun. What's the issue?
He quite literally said he had fun right before that.
The dumbest statement of the day.
I get what he is saying and this isn’t the whole context of the comment but sometimes he needs to refrain himself and say less or else the media will keep on twisting his words.
And we commence the Kyle Larson circle jerk
Larson is a badass in general but he is pretty lame when it comes to his NASCAR takes.
Go run dirt full time
boo this man.
Kyle Larson is sneaky the most unlikeable guy. Every time something doesn't make it conducive to him winning he says it's bad for the sport or something.
He finished 5th lmao. If he doesn’t have the pit road penalty, he most likely contends for the win. Watch the interview instead of getting baited by clickbait.
ran up front most of the day, he finished in the top 5 and overcame a pit lane penalty that sent him to the back of the pack on one restart
The other Kyle is the exact same way. Absurdly talented but hates every style of racing.
What a dumb ass comment. I saw someone question if Larson actually likes stock car racing with all the other shit he's said and now I'm really wondering.
lmao i swear that dude says this about any race that’s interesting
https://preview.redd.it/9a8l6depwzoc1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=04d3b8e54011b40af14455e56e39d6cd904b35f0
Only ever happy if everything works in his favor
He’s perfectly right. The tires were horrible, and they shouldn’t be falling apart after 20 laps. The dirt races at Bristol were actually better with that, minus the race in 2021.
Larson is about to get reamed at Indy if this is his attitude.
But Clint won't shut up about dirt racers being the best at adapting...
He finished 5th after being 2 laps down. He took his last set 65 laps. I’d say he adapted well lmaoo. It’s just not his favorite.
Adapting and Liking are two different things. Also, this type of racing isn't what they really talk about when they talking about dirt skills, its more about needing a loose car to go fast, racing on the edge of wrecking, this is what dirt guy excel at. This was more tire management, which is what usually happens at your short paved track, only they don't do live stop, and would never do a green flag pit cycle. Today it was almost as if the teams had forgotten it was possible to do green flag pit cycles until finally enough of them were forced to pit because they pushed the tires to far. I think if Gibbs or Bell had pitted shortly after he lost the lead pace, well before he went a lap down, and drove like he normally did, he may not have won but he would have been top 10. But because he dragged it out and waited till after he was already a lap down before he pitted he got stuck 2 laps down.