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AVONDALE, ARIZONA – NOVEMBER 09: Chase Elliott, driver of the #9 NAPA Autocare Center Chevrolet, stands on the grid during qualifying for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Bluegreen Vacations 500 at ISM Raceway in Avondale, Arizona. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

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AVONDALE, ARIZONA – NOVEMBER 09: Chase Elliott, driver of the #9 NAPA Autocare Center Chevrolet, stands on the grid during qualifying for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Bluegreen Vacations 500 at ISM Raceway in Avondale, Arizona. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
Almost identical was the action towards the end of the race at Watkins Glen, as it was earlier this year in Fontana. Kyle Larson raced hard, so hard that it cost his teammate, Chase Elliott, a couple of race wins and some serotonin.
And as a famous movie star once said, ‘Every action has an equal and opposite reaction,’ in this case too, just like Fontana, Hendrick Motorsports came up with an identical reaction for the Glen incident.
A meeting was called and long story short, Larson came to admit that he should’ve done things with “more respect.”
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#NASCAR … Kyle Larson on how the competition meeting at Hendrick Motorsports went Monday. pic.twitter.com/rhkO0XcqgX
— Dustin Long (@dustinlong) August 23, 2022
However, the guy on the other end, Elliott, was, in a way, indifferent to Larson’s modesty.
“That’s his opinion and, look, he’s entitled to that,” the 2020 Cup Series champion said of his teammate’s comments. “For me, I’m a pretty realistic person as it pertains to what is and what isn’t.”
“Reality is we finished fourth on Sunday and need to be better, need to be faster, needed to have a better restart there at the end of the race to get the job done.”
Chase Elliott says the Hendrick competition meeting Monday went “great” and he doesn’t feel there is anything that needs to be fixed. What he said today during a break in testing at Martinsville: pic.twitter.com/paRiSULXpt
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) August 24, 2022
Watch this Story: From Kyle Larson to Denny Hamlin: Chase Elliott’s Most Heated Moments
What did Kyle Larson say about Chase Elliott after Watkins Glen?
Kyle Larson reacted as you would expect Kyle Larson to react after putting the door to his teammate in what seemed like a racing move, but one that ended up making the teammate and his millions of fans mad in a quiet, suppressed way.
The defending Cup champion said they had “an open conversation” in the meeting, which he described as “positive” and “definitely constructive.”
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LOS ANGELES, CA – FEBRUARY 05: Kyle Larson (#5 Hendrick Motorsports HendrickCars.com Chevrolet) looks at Chase Elliott (#9 Hendrick Motorsports NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet) as he answers a question for a media press conference during the Busch Light Clash at The Coliseum NASCAR Cup Series race on February 05, 2022, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, CA. (Photo by Chris Williams/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
As for whether he and Elliott now have a better understanding, the #5 driver answered it in an indirect but apt kind of way.
“One thing’s for sure, we all like to win. We try really hard to do that. In the end, probably should have a little bit more respect next time,” Kyle Larson elaborated.
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“I wish things would have played out differently and Monday would have been a lot better for me.”
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