Moments Before Jeopardizing Ryan Blaney, Kyle Larson Ignored a 4-Word Ultimatum From HMS Member

One of the biggest traits of Kyle Larson has always been his never-ending hunger to win. Regardless of his competitors or the quality of competition, the Hendrick Motorsports driver always has his eyes set on ending victorious. While that has helped him immensely, it backfired on Sunday when he almost crashed into Ryan Blaney.

Going into the race at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Larson was the only driver to have booked his place in the 2023 Cup Series finale. While a win for him on Sunday would have only made it more tricky for others, the #5 driver was guilty of a lapse in concentration.

Kyle Larson turned a blind eye to Hendrick Motorsports member’s key advice at Homestead-Miami Speedway

It is no secret that Kyle Larson has had a wonderful 2023 campaign. With his aggressive and tactful approach, he has been a stellar watch this season. Without a doubt, his four wins, 14 top-five, and 16 top-ten finishes so far have been well deserved.

Having said that, he was on the hunt for another victory on Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway. After incredibly leading a race-high of 96 laps, Larson was in second place behind Ryan Blaney. In the 213th lap of the 267-lap race, things took a wild turn for the Hendrick Motorsports driver.

As both Blaney and Larson headed for a pit stop, the latter tried to put pressure on the #12 car by narrowing the gap. While exiting the track to enter the pit road, the #5 car preferred to not slow down. In the process, he left it too late and was guilty of slightly bumping Blaney and eventually crashing into the sand barrels acting as barriers.

Had Larson not deviated from his route, he would have surely taken the Team Penske driver out of the race. Unsurprisingly, because of his crash, the HMS driver’s car was severely damaged. A couple of laps after the caution, Larson had no choice despite the best efforts put into repairing the car.

It was indeed a rookie mistake from a driver of Larson’s stature. It only looks more silly after the radio chatter just prior to the incident came to light. His spotter Tyler Monn specifically advised Larson with a 4-word ultimatum just seconds before he exited for the pit road. Monn said, “Do not speed here.”

Clearly, Larson was too caught up in the heat of the moment to pay heed to the warning. While it was unexpected of him, the 31-year-old was quick to admit his mistake after the race.

Larson takes responsibility following sand barrels crash at Homestead-Miami Speedway

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In his amazing career, Kyle Larson has crashed out of a race in different fashions but none have been as spectacular as what happened on Sunday. Hitting the sand barrels while battling for the lead was totally unexpected. While Larson did suggest Ryan Blaney slowed down more than he expected, eventually he admitted being guilty of misjudging the situation.

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The Hendrick Motorsports driver spoke to the media after the race. He then said, “I was just maximizing all I could and I didn’t expect him to slow down so early. I was just trying to get to the yellow line as quickly as possible and felt like I was in control, and from my vantage point, he slowed down a lot. But from there (on TV) it just looks like I bomb it in there.”

Larson added, “Just upset more than anything with myself. Even if he [Blaney] did slow down early, I still should have not pushed that hard.” Being the self-assessing person he is, the #5 driver took responsibility. However, he will have to put this incident behind him and focus with less than two weeks remaining for the 2023 finale race.

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