“That’s a Good Question..”: Kyle Larson Opens Up on Relationship With His Biggest NASCAR Rival

There are not many drivers who would thank their biggest rivals for their success. This is not true for Kyle Larson though. With a history of multiple incidents of running into each other on the track, Christopher Bell and Kyle Larson are not exactly friends. In fact, their intriguing rivalry always finds a way to bubble up to the surface—be it the Chilli Bowl Nationals or the infamous Wallace-Larson incident at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

However, in a recent conversation with David Gravel on YouTube, Larson opened up about his relationship with Christopher Bell. While answering a fan’s question on the issue, the 2021 Cup Series champion said, “That’s a good question. I think we are competitive rivals kind of in a way you know. Like he kicked my ass…we were in the same equipment. We raced for Keith Kunz, I don’t know what years it was…13 through 16/17 or something like that. And he beat me for like three years straight in the same equipment.”

Furthermore, the HMS driver admitted to something that most people would refuse to acknowledge. He said, “So, obviously, I was like jealous and had resentment to like his success. And probably overdrove at times. And I’ll be honest like I was the one to get into him more often.

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“He’s a really clean racer but I got into him a few times. So, I wouldn’t say that we were like friends much throughout our racing career. I wouldn’t say we’re friends now.”

The 2021 race at Watkins Glen was something that added fuel to the fire. During the race, Larson ran into Bell and “ran” his mouth a bit the next weekend.

How did Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell break the ice?

Interestingly enough, a helicopter helped them reconcile! Larson wanted to ride on Rick Hendrick‘s helicopter to Darlington. But Bell and Kyle Busch had already got their hands on the helicopter first. As Bell lived near Larson’s house and Busch all the way across the lake, Larson found it within himself to break the ice.

He shared, “So, me and Christopher hadn’t talked in a year so I text him ‘Hey the helicopter’s picked me up at my shop like you can come drive here and ride me if you want. And he goes like ‘Hey! We need to talk (laughs) before I fly with you.’ So we talked and it was cool. You know, we talked about the incident from six or eight months before and talked about Chili Bowl and all this. And honestly, we’ve been good ever since.”

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Larson said that Bell has always raced him with a lot of respect. And he also thanked him for his success in the past few years. According to him, if it was not for Bell, Larson would have never pushed himself to become a better athlete. Because after all, beating the naturally gifted Christopher Bell was what he wanted during the initial years of his career.