“I want to win just as bad as everyone else does too”: Kyle Larson might have qualified for the championship 4 race in Las Vegas, but the #5 driver remained hungry for victory at the Homestead-Miami Speedway. Unfortunately, the Hendrick Motorsports racer took that relentless ambition too far in the 4EVER 400 race last weekend. 

Despite his race-ending crash, a NASCAR insider is convinced that Larson single-handedly made the playoff race worthwhile for the millions of NASCAR fans hooked on the revelation of the next Championship 4 driver. 

NASCAR insider claims fans paid to see Kyle Larson dominate in Homestead

Kyle Larson does not believe in doing anything in half measure. Whether he participates in the Cup Series or a local dirt race, Larson would commit fully to best the greatest of rivals racing alongside him. After qualifying as the first Championship 4 contestant, the #5 driver could afford the luxury of saving all his energy and aggression for the Phoenix Raceway. But would he really be Kyle Larson if he did that?

Declaring his competitive drive in response to writer Jordan Bianchi at the pre-race press conference, Larson sped ahead to win Stage 1 in the second Round of 8 race. Losing the second stage to Ryan Blaney did not sit well with Hendrick Motorsports’ formidable driver. And the two playoff contenders got locked in a fierce battle right up to their green flag pit stop, which led to Larson’s overzealous collision. Appreciating the #5 driver’s win-at-all-cost attitude, NASCAR spotter Brett Griffin commented on Larson’s Homestead run in the Door Bumper Clear podcast.

Griffin said, “Here’s the thing I love about Kyle Larson. He’s in, I think this is because of where he came from his background on dirt like those short races, he’s in 100% go mode all the time. This is what makes him so freaking special. He’s sitting on a win, he’s chasing another win and he said during this media availability this week they said, ‘How much did you work on Phoenix this week versus Homestead’? He said, ‘Homestead 100%, Phoenix zero’. Why?

“Because he knows he’s the best driver in this field. He knew he had a chance to win this race. He knew he lost it when he lost track position. He’s trying to get it back right here.” Griffin then released a rather contentious claim. The experienced insider felt the race did not become interesting until Larson’s chase and subsequent caution, which shook up the playing field.

Watch this story: Kyle Larson’s New Challenge: From NASCAR to IndyCar

He said, “Up until this point, this race hadn’t really been that good, so this really changed the dynamic of the race. Obviously, it changed the flow of the cautions, the restarts, people kept taking the bottom for some reason after this and losing the lead. I couldn’t figure out why in the h*ll that kept happening. 

“But for Kyle Larson, man, this guy is the best racer in the field at that particular track, and he is desperate to win. That’s what fans pay to see.” The spotter also got the commentary box scoop as Steve Letarte and Dale Earnhardt Jr held one driver entirely responsible for the accident. 

Dale Earnhardt Jr shifts blame for Kyle Larson’s pit road disaster to Ryan Blaney

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After their respective stage wins, Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney cruised ahead with Kyle Larson, hot on his tail. With 57 laps to go, the #12 team chose to pit so that Blaney could resume the lead on fresher tires. HMS’s #5 team followed suit, not willing to trail behind on older tires. Neither driver was prepared for what followed. 

In a colossal misjudgment, Blaney slowed down as soon as he swerved toward the pit road and Larson did not break his momentum until he found himself crashing into the #12 Ford. At the last moment, the #5 Chevrolet driver avoided causing substantial damage to Blaney’s car and instead collided with the sand barrels nearby. 

Upon witnessing the incident from their exclusive vantage point, the commentators were quick to fault the Penske driver. Brett Griffin described, “Freaking Steve Letarte and Dale Jr were 100% sold on the fact that Ryan Blaney slowed down way too much. He overslowed and caused Kyle Larson to hit him in the a**.” Griffin, however, removed the needless blemish from both talented racers.

He surmised, “I don’t think Ryan Blaney did a single thing wrong by the way, and I don’t think Kyle Larson did anything wrong other than trying too hard and he overcharged it. And he had got there, and he had to decide- hit Ryan Blaney really hard in the a** or take a right and he took a right.”

One wrong turn might have jeopardized Kyle Larson’s race, but he would be back to lead the charge in Martinsville and make the race more entertaining for his countless fans. 

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