Finishing 5th just behind his teammate Alex Bowman, the Hendrick Motorsports speedster Kyle Larson had a decent day at Bristol. But in no way does the driver want a repeat of what he had to go through ever again. He definitely would prefer to avoid the unusual circumstances that made his day tiresome and terrible. Even though the race was entertaining for fans with rapid lead changes and a masterclass from Joe Gibbs Racing drivers, it was perhaps not a great experience for Larson, who recently relayed his thoughts, expressing his skepticism about the absurd tire wear and its management.

Kyle Larson stresses the need for balance

“I think it was all accidental. I don’t really know what happened. … A bit confusing on how that all played out and happened, but happy we were able to make it live there at the end,” said Larson to Bob Pockrass, after he made it out of the race with a top 5 finish. As a matter of fact, when the race ended, Kyle Larson wasn’t even sure how he came home with a P5.

Reflecting on the 500-lap race, the HMS star driver opened up to Pockrass, saying, “I mean Bristol is a wild card. We can count full tire management like it was either day but yeah I mean it’s just tough saying, like Goodyear doesn’t even know why it did that so I think it’s probably hard because it’s the same tire that we’ve had in the past. And it reacted so differently this time for whatever reason. So I think it would be hard for them to like, I don’t know learn from that and because in the past it’s laid rubber and all that so yeah, I don’t know.” 

He went on to say that they might need to do a tire test or something similar. While he acknowledged that people enjoy seeing tire wear, he admitted that the situation at Bristol might have been a bit too much. “I’m assuming we’ll have to have a tire test of some sort. I think there was definitely a good from it, like we all loved seeing the tire wear. But I think if we could get, you know, maybe not as extreme of tire wear, but also like get rubber laid into the surface. I think that’s what we’re all kind of looking for, or hoping you think it could develop, but that’s really tough to do, I‘m sure. But no, I think the tire wear..It was a little extreme for sure yeah.” 

However, the #5 driver did not stop there, as he also had a hilarious take on the race afterward on social media.

Kyle Larson’s awestruck moment in Bristol

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The very first short-track race on the schedule was itself a test for the field, separating the best from the rest. In fact, the race had more than 50 lead changes and 16 different race leaders, and everyone was tested for their tire management. While fans loved the race from a spectator’s point of view, drivers were not really impressed with the Goodyear tire’s performance. The new compound, designed especially for the short tracks, wasn’t as sticky as expected but kept on shredding away over the course of the race.

Kyle Larson wrote his thoughts on social media. Taking things to X, he wrote, “Couldn’t believe what I was seeing out of my windshield. Real-life arcade game.” It was definitely a night to remember for him. Was it for you? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

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