The Bubba Wallace–Kyle Larson incident at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway spoiled Wallace’s reputation. Moreover, he had to suffer penalties for his outburst. His relationship with Larson too took a big hit. However, the 23XI Racing driver’s social media suggests that it might be on the mend too.
Certainly, the fight was ugly. It had elements that took viewers back to the 1979 Daytona 500, where Cale Yarborough and Bobby Allison resorted to their fists. But that wasn’t the only moment of ugliness that Larson has been involved in.
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For most of 2022, the Hendrick Motorsports driver had been involved in a war of words with Emmett Hahn of Chili Bowl Nationals fame. The whole controversy revolved around Larson’s boycott of the competition in 2023. Initially, Larson had pointed out that the competition didn’t pay its winners and participants sufficiently. In later interviews, he elaborated that his stance was for the sake of other drivers as well.
Hahn viciously hit out against the statements, saying, “I’ve got to say this though—first it was about ‘it didn’t pay enough’ and then the story became it was about the guys in the back of the field. He bought himself a jet plane, a two and a half million-dollar motorhome and if he really wanted to help these back of the field guys, he would.”
At the end of the day, despite Larson‘s boycott, Chili Bowl was a success. Not much changed for the drivers in Tulsa.
Bubba Wallace missed him, but fans didn’t
Surprisingly, Wallace tweeted during the event that he was missing Larson. Despite all the “animosity,” it was quite a nice gesture.
Just ain’t the same without @KyleLarsonRacin and @CBellRacing
— Bubba Wallace (@BubbaWallace) January 15, 2023
Fans however didn’t agree with the driver.
Tell me you have never been to Chili Bowl without telling me you've never been to Chili Bowl.
Makes no difference that they weren't there. https://t.co/PNMCXZ025p
— Ashley Allinson Photography (@AshAlliPhotos) January 15, 2023
I’m gonna disagree.
Not once this week did I think “If only Kyle or Christopher were here it would be better”. Don’t get me wrong, I love watching them race, but we got great racing.
Like it or not, the Chili Bowl is bigger than any one driver. Always has been, always will be. https://t.co/fAWlCzRmId
— Bruce “The Radio Flyer” St. James (@BruceRacing) January 15, 2023
Dumbass tweet of the day goes to … https://t.co/WKmn0tR3Iw
— Derrick Sorensen (@DerrickSorense6) January 15, 2023
Definitely felt a little different without those two, but I thought we still saw a really great main event nonetheless https://t.co/qzU1ElTq9T
— Ben Amado (@benamado24A) January 15, 2023
I personally didn’t mind not having them there. I thought the A-main was really fun to watch regardless. https://t.co/wbsTpkmFYd
— Avery Hage (@AveryHage) January 15, 2023
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Always cool to see them run.
But honestly? I didn't miss them. The Chili Bowl is bigger than 2 drivers. And anyone who knows anything about dirt racing knows that the field was stacked. And the feature put on a great show. https://t.co/DuyllQAoxB
— Chevy84 (@chevychevelle48) January 15, 2023
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It was obvious that fans of dirt racing couldn’t care less whether Larson participated or not. They wanted thrilling action, and they got that—Larson or no Larson, it’s all the same for them.