Last weekend’s race at Gateway was highlighted by multiple incidents, including the engine failure of Christopher Bell, and Ryan Blaney shockingly running out of fuel with just a lap left in the race. However, apart from the technical failures, it was the battle of the Kyle’s that became a major talking point. Kyle Larson and Kyle Busch were involved in a heated battle coming off the final lap of Stage 2.

At the time, Busch was running inside the top 7, and Larson was trying to get a better track position, making a pass on the #8 RCR car. However, both drivers, unable to keep their cool, made contact with each other, resulting in a crash. While Larson came out of the crash unscathed, Busch registered his first DNF finish of the season.

Even looking at the replays, it is hard to definitively point a finger at either of the two drivers. But it looks like Kyle Larson has accepted his partial mistake in causing the wreck, and is hoping that Busch isn’t holding any grudges going into this weekend.

Frustration got the better of the two drivers at Gateway Park

Kyle Busch’s #8 car was at best a top-10 finishing car. This was well documented during the race, as he was just unable to fend off the likes of Christopher Bell, Ryan Blaney, and Brad Keselowski, all of whom made a pass on him during the race. But, things took a turn for the worse when he was stubborn in not letting Larson go by him, who had a better-running race car than him.

However, Larson, after assessing the crash in person, took accountability for the crash. During a press conference ahead of this weekend’s race at Sonoma Raceway, the HMS star explained, “I look at that one, if I didn’t barely touch his quarter panel to get to a side draft, you know he wouldn’t have gotten upset and start running into me down the straightaway and then crowd me into 1. I wasn’t going into 1 to race him and have a d***-measuring contest. I was just trying to make it into the corner.”

However, the whole situation could’ve been avoided. Larson was just too aggressive in making a pass on the final lap of the stage run, while Busch sure wasn’t gaining any brownie points for defending his track position. Larson further accepted that the whole situation could’ve dealt well, had he kept his nose clean. “If I didn’t touch his quarter we would’ve raced fine through 1. So I look at it as probably more of my fault there. I know that I’m the guy that spun but I don’t think that part was all my fault.”

Meanwhile, Larson himself had clouds of uncertainty looming over his head after missing the points race at Charlotte. This saw him go through the arduous process of waiver, even during the race last weekend, he wasn’t aware of his eligibility to compete in playoffs. But now that the verdict is out, he is feeling relieved.

Larson wasn’t too bothered about his waiver situation

Hendrick Motorsports and Kyle Larson found themselves in a tough spot in choosing between the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600 events. However, after all the planning and preparation that went into his IndyCar debut and, of course, the rain delay, they made a tough decision to stay at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

This did have repercussions, as NASCAR were methodical in trying to justify letting Larson off the hook. And they took their time, adding more confusion to an already tense situation. However, not that he has officially received a waiver from NASCAR, Larson feels a bit relieved of the pressure.

Ahead of the qualifying session at Sonoma, Larson said, “I think there’s definitely relief on my end even though I really wasn’t paying a ton of attention to it – to the waiver … I’m appreciative of it sure, and look forward to getting through this weekend and hopefully, after this press conference, not have to talk about waivers again.”

While Larson might try to downplay the waiver situation but in reality, he has lost some crucial playoff points, and, more importantly, his lead in the points standings.