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LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 06: Kyle Larson, driver of the #5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, waits on the track prior to the NASCAR Cup Series Busch Light Clash at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on February 06, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
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LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 06: Kyle Larson, driver of the #5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, waits on the track prior to the NASCAR Cup Series Busch Light Clash at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on February 06, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
Apart from hopping into the car and racing, drivers have other duties to perform as well. This includes interacting with the fans and bringing them closer to the sport. Unfortunately, Hendrick Motorsports driver, Kyle Larson apparently seemed uninterested and upset one of his fans at Martinsville.
As it turned out, the Martinsville Speedway boasts an on-track experience for fans. Fans have a choice of obtaining an up-close experience with the drivers for a small additional charge of $25. This will be around the time when the drivers are just entering the track, ahead of the pre-race introductions.
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According to the fan, it was quite rainy, ahead of the race. Owing to that, many drivers had a small entourage with them, including an umbrella handler. Admittedly, most of them were interacting with the fans, in spite of the weather. This included Kurt Busch tossing t-shirts to the fans, and Denny Hamlin taking photos. Even the likes of Bubba Wallace, Austin Cindric, Alex Bowman, Martin Truex Jr, Aric Almirola, Harrison Burton, and Christopher Bell did the same.
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What did Kyle Larson do differently from everyone else?
However, Larson simply walked past a few people, crossed pit road, and walked away. The funny thing was that there was no urgency in his movements. Admittedly, Martinsville doesn’t have any kind of on-track meet and greet sessions with the general public.
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LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 05: Kyle Larson, driver of the #5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, drives during qualifying for the NASCAR Cup Series Busch Light Clash at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on February 05, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
The fan said, “I don’t know why it rubbed me the wrong way but it just did. Not everyone did the red carpet, but those that did, which was most of the starting grid, participated pretty enthusiastically. But Larson looked, from where I was, which was within 30 feet, seemed immediately bored and uninterested and basically bypassed everyone.”
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Admittedly, many have said that Larson is normally a very reserved person. However, that is hardly an excuse, because it appeared that he simply blew off all the fans.
