“I Passed Every One of Them at Some Point” – Kyle Larson on Driving Alongside Kimi Raikkonen and Other International Racers

Kyle Larson recently made it to the headlines after winning the Go Bowling race at Watkins Glen. Aside from him, the race also got media attention due to the debut of F1 champion Kimi Raikkonen. A part of Trackhouse Racing’s Project91, Raikkonen returned to the track for the first time after his retirement. 

Although Raikkonen did not finish the race, it seems that he had fun. Also, he was possibly left with a wrist injury from his experience on the NASCAR track. Before reaching the halfway mark, Raikkonen’s car had a run-in with the tire wall due to an impact. This forced him out of the race to finish in the 37th position. 

The weather-delayed race was eventful in many aspects. And a lot of these were discussed during the NASCAR on NBC podcast with analyst Peter Kligerman. While discussing how Kyle Larson felt while driving alongside Kimi Raikkonen, the host played an audio clip of him. 

During the Motormouth of the Race segment of the podcast, Larson was heard saying, “Yeah that was cool. I think by the time I got to hit him he was kind of struggling. He looked like he was of really loose in front of me and I was able to make quick work of him.”

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Glad to see the F1 champ on the NASCAR Cup Series track, Kyle Larson continued, “So just it’s really cool for him to step out of his comfort zone and come play with us. You know, stock car racers.” However, apart from Raikkonen, Larson was delighted to race with others. 

Kyle Larson on racing with other international drivers

The 21 August 2022 Watkins Glen race featured a variety of international drivers. Apart from the United States natives, the race included drivers from Mexico, Russia, the Netherlands, Germany, Finland, and England.

Talking about how he enjoyed racing with them, Larson said, “And It was more than just Kimi. The international drivers racing today was pretty cool.”

Elaborating on what he loved the most, he continued, “I think I passed every one of them at some point. And it was fun watching them up ahead of me being really aggressive.”

Furthermore, Kyle Larson revealed his experience while driving past them. He said, “They are as good as it gets when it comes to heavy breaking and stuff like that. I could watch people up in front of me trying make a move on them and they would really make the pass.”

“That’s just their experience playing part today and you know it was fun to be a spectator at points of the race.”

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Apart from Kyle Larson and his experiences, the podcast discussed how Hendrick Motorsports need to find a common ground. Talking about Larson and his fellow teammate Chase Elliott, Parker Kligerman shared his experience of watching the race firsthand. He also opened up about his take on how to interview Kimi Raikkonen. And discussed a few other strategies that can help Trackhouse’s Project91.