Kyle Larson Forced to Drop an Expletive F-Bomb as NASCAR Fans Go Nuts Over Talladega Marvel

The Yellawood 500 playoff race at Talladega is proving to be a thrilling spectacle in the very first stage. Most of the drivers kept their noses clean and tried to race hard, forcing three and four wide. But business started to pick up as the end of the stage 1 run edged closer with the passing of each lap.

The playoff drivers in particular forced the issue and started picking up pace. With 10 laps to go, the four wide converted into two lanes, and the leaders started to block aggressively as they switched lanes. Kyle Larson was one of the contenders for the stage win, but Tyler Reddick and Chris Buescher worked together, coming to the checkered flag. And a final push by the #45 saw Buescher clinch the stage win.

Kyle Larson finished fourth and bagged himself a good chunk of stage points. But even for him, the racing in stage 1 was intense. Surprised by the style of racing, Larson took to the radio, stating, “That was way more intense than Stage 1 should be. Holy f—.” William Byron, Chase Briscoe, and Reddick also earned themselves good stage points, which will add to their points tally.

Usually, fans complain about the lack of competitive or aggressive races on the drafting tracks. However, this new trend of hard racing for stage points without causing mayhem or wrecks was welcomed and appreciated.

Fans couldn’t believe they were treated to a thrilling spectacle during the Stage 1 run at Dega

The Superspeedway races in the Next Gen era have basically turned into a game of chess with strategy and tactics. Teams and crew chiefs are more focused on fuel runs and how they could split the stage rather than putting emphasis on winning. This leads to pack racing, with most of them going half-throttle to save fuel. But, that certainly wasn’t the case this time around, “that was like a fever dream from the stands.”

We have seen drivers splitting the field going three-wide in trying to force the issue and gain position. However, there were times when the field was split into four wide all the way through the corners and turns. This was indeed a hard watch for those supporting their favorite playoff drivers. “Don’t think my heart can take 2 more stages of that, lol.”

Speaking of playoff drivers, Kyle Larson was in the thick of things running in the second lane. Going four wide is usually a recipe for disaster on a track like Talladega, but Larson, like most of the lead drivers, were able to survive the onslaught. And made it out in one piece after the end of the stage 1 run. This fan certainly had his head in his hands as he predicted that on one of the turns the #5 Chevy would be dumped in a big crash. “I thought Larson was gonna get spun about 5 different times my god.”

This comment, out of all, was the most interesting one. Ever since NASCAR has adopted stage racing, these changes have been labeled as gimmicks to make the racing more exciting. The idea behind this style of racing is to see more race cars forcing the issue of collecting the stage points. And the playoff drivers were too eager to maximize on this opportunity, knowing that they could be caught in a big one late in the race. “I speak for ALL of the fans when I say WE enjoyed that stage.”

Track position is king in the Next Gen era of racing, especially on the Superspeedway, where passing is relatively tough. Although the drivers agree to a truce of forming a draft and race their way up to the front, this partnership is short-lived as everyone tries to maximize their outcome. Most of the time this leads to wrecks and pile-ups; only this time around they managed to race hard but clean all the way to the end of the first stage. “How did we get through that without wrecking?!”

It will be interesting to see if this style of racing continues further into the race. Talladega is notorious for the big ones, and this will play into the minds of the drivers going forward.