Just when the NASCAR community felt the dust was settling over the asphalt of the Kansas Speedway, Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson, from Hendrick Motorsports, found themselves embroiled in a pit lane tussle that left fans shocked and NASCAR’s Twittersphere ablaze. You won’t believe what ignited this fiery feud. 

Chase Elliott, the 2020 Cup Series champion, and his teammate Kyle Larson, the 2021 Cup Series champion, kicked off the race with an exciting battle for second place. But as the laps ticked away, their on-track competitiveness took a nose dive into chaos, turning teammates into frenemies. “Just racing hard,” you say. Wait until you hear what went down during pit stops.

Repercussions of 2 Chevys and a Ford leaving the pit road together

In a post-race interview with NASCAR on NBC, Kyle Larson opened up about this incident. When questioned about the moment when it looked like he had been pushed up into Elliott’s car while leaving the pit road, Larson replied with a no-nonsense face.

“Yeah, I mean, that’s the first time I’ve seen it right there. We were just, you know, from my vantage point. I knew we were three wide leaving and, you know, I knew, well, but at the time, the #6 (Brad Keselowski) had pitted in front of us, and I’m just trying to leave as much space as I can. Kyle Larson stated.

“You know, he’s (Chase Elliott) coming out into the lane, you know, quickly because the #6 wants to slow us down, and I just tried to leave as much space as I could. Obviously, I made contact with him, but I felt like if I didn’t, I was going to clobber the #6, you know, right in the right front. I thought the safest bet for all of us was for me to, you know, squeeze out a little bit”, Kyle Larson reasoned.

He further added, “I understand why he’s mad or was mad at the moment. I hope when he sees the replay, he understands that I didn’t have any space or not much, you know, just inches. So, yeah, just a bummer! But I’m glad that neither of us got torn up there, and we could, you know, get a good finish.”

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Amid the escalating tension between Chase Elliott and Larson, Brad Keselowski cleverly seized the opportunity to throw another wrench into the drama. He nabbed the Stage 2 victory from Elliott, but not without adding to the overall tension. Think this is where the drama ends? Think again

The aftermath of Chase Elliott fueled drama 

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Around Lap 133, Kyle Larson, who had previously been leading, began to plummet down the leaderboard, leaving a wide-open track for Chase Elliott to claim the top spot. But “being in the lead” took on a new meaning once Elliott seemed to deliberately hit Larson during pit stops.

Kyle Larson seemed genuinely puzzled by the incident, wondering why his teammate would act aggressively. The suspense is too much—NASCAR on NBC shared a video on Instagram, 

As Kyle Larson tried to maneuver his car back onto the track, a sudden interruption by Brad Keselowski forced him to swerve, ultimately leading to his collision with Elliott. While Larson wasn’t entirely at fault, Chase Elliott quickly showed his displeasure by shoving Larson’s car aside. Forget racing lines. We’re talking blurred lines of team loyalty.

Elliott, the golden boy of NASCAR, has had a year to forget. Failing to make the playoffs for the first time, the 2020 Cup Series champion seemed to channel his season-long frustrations into this race

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Both drivers returned to the field, but the tension lingered like the smell of burnt rubber. As Chase Elliott’s rocky 2023 season continues, questions swirl around the state of internal team dynamics at Hendrick Motorsports.