“They can boo my rock out of here in a few years.” That was Denny Hamlin’s response to fans dropping a parade of boos for wrecking Kyle Larson during the 2023 Pocono race. Larson, the widely popular Hendrick Motorsports ace, was visibly rattled by Hamlin’s antics. These eventually stamped the Joe Gibbs Racing driver as ‘NASCAR’s villain.’ Presently, however, the tables seem to have turned.

Kyle Larson drummed up immense excitement recently, running in the 2025 Chili Bowl Nationals. He fetched instant success when he won the A-Main Preliminary on Monday night. That glorious streak continued to the Saturday finals – but not without mixed reactions from dirt racing fans.

Is Kyle Larson donning the black hat?

Remember the iconic event of May 2024? HMS partnered up with Arrow McLaren to make Kyle Larson the fifth driver in history to attempt the Double. However, rain washed over their plan; Larson clinched an 18th-place finish in the Indy 500 and subsequently could not start the Coca-Cola 600. NASCAR granted him a waiver despite missing the race. Although a section of fans applauded this move, another section criticized the sport’s favoritism. The latter group seems to have inflated in size after the conclusion of the Chili Bowl Nationals.

Kyle Larson achieved his goal – matching dirt racing rival Christopher Bell’s 3-peat Chili Bowl victory. But his path to success was marred with drama. He started from the pole and led all the way, but with 17 laps to go, his No. 1K midget car collided with two lapped cars. But Larson was saved by a most opportune caution flag. This mysteriously timely caution flag came out again with four laps to go when Larson darted from the wall to the dirt surface. These events probably led to Larson’s detractors making noise. Journalist Matt Weaver tweeted, “Mix of cheers and boos for Larson…Interesting!”

Another NASCAR expert Chase Falcom also outlined how Kyle Larson received the most yet mixed popularity. “The loudest crowd reactions of Chili Bowl driver intros: 1. Kyle Larson (a few boos as well).” USAC champion Daison Pursley heavily pursued Larson till the end, and the latter himself was surprised at the timing of the caution flags. “Yeah, I messed up on the straightaway a couple of times, but honestly I’m glad I kept going there because that caution really saved me. Allowed it to be a little bit easier run to the finish. I think if we stayed in traffic, Daison would have had a lot of opportunities to throw stuff at me.”

However, Kyle Larson has received boos before, against which he got support.

Ridiculing those who doubt the GOAT

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Well, it goes without a doubt that Kyle Larson is one of the best racers in the world. Ranging from attempting the 1100-mile Double to picking up 10 race victories for the 2021 Cup Series title, he has achieved a lot. Sometimes, this level of success can be too dazzlingly bright for people who watch. That may have been the case during the Bass Pro Shops Night Race last year. Larson led a whopping 462 of 500 laps at Bristol Motor Speedway and won by a margin of 7.088 seconds. This jaw-dropping dominant performance was too much to take for some fans who doubted the legitimacy of Larson’s victory.

Fans were mostly disappointed with Goodyear’s failure to replicate the March race in Bristol. However, Larson stormed back at the doubters. “I don’t have the answer to fix what we currently have and neither do you but please stop blaming Goodyear. It’s not a tire problem.” Xfinity Series veteran Kenny Wallace also threw his weight behind Larson: “When race fans start arguing with @KyleLarsonRacin here on X that he is wrong 😳IS WHEN PEOPLE HAVE LOST THEIR MINDS 🥴 We are and have been in a “changed society” (for the worse) over the last 15 years or so.”

Evidently, Kyle Larson has experience in handling haters. He may weather the Chili Bowl challenge seamlessly as well, as he got thumping success.