Remember back in October 2023, when Kyle Larson’s fight for the lead at Homestead-Miami took an unexpected turn? In the heat of battle with Ryan Blaney, Larson found himself in a chaotic moment on pit entry colliding with the sand. Desperately trying to close the gap on Blaney, he misjudged his mark—and what happened next was pure mayhem.

But almost a year to this incident, who knew a Toyota Camry pace car would also follow in those very same tracks, that too during the season’s final race?

In a wild twist at the 2024 Cup Series finale in Phoenix, lap 69 saw a surprising red flag after the pace car botched its exit onto pit road. Leading the field to green for a restart, the car lingered just a second too long and swerved into the protective sand barrels at the pit wall’s edge. While it only suffered a minor dent, the barrels burst open, spilling sand across the track and forcing crews to halt the race for cleanup.

At the time, Chase Elliott was leading with Christopher Bell on his tail in the front of the grid, while all four championship contenders were holding strong in the top 10. William Byron led them in third, followed by Ryan Blaney in fourth, Joey Logano in sixth, and Tyler Reddick in seventh. Sharing the update mid-race, Jeff Gluck took to X and wrote, “It appears the PACE CAR pulled a Kyle Larson Homestead and hit the sand barrels??????”

But with Larson’s sand-contact, the scenario was different as unlike a championship race, he had guaranteed a ticket to the championship race in Phoenix thanks to his earlier performance, Larson came into the 4EVER 400 with nothing to lose. But that confidence may have been his downfall. Locked in second, Larson was aggressively tailing Blaney as they approached pit road on Lap 213 of the 267-lap event. It was when Blaney smoothly guided his No. 12 Ford Mustang into the pit lane, but Larson, late on the brakes, overshot the entry and sent his No. 5 Chevrolet barreling past the pit barrier in a cloud of sand and debris. A split-second evasive maneuver kept him from colliding with Blaney—a move that likely saved both drivers’ races.

It wasn’t just chaotic but an oddly amusing moment watching Larson crash out while trying to make a championship push. Larson also mentioned on his radio, “I’m sorry, I did not expect him to slow down that much.”

While this time in Phoenix, the pace car driver quickly got out, took his bag (a yellow and black-colored duffle), hopped onto another pace car, and resumed his duty, drivers were served with water bottles and even made some funny remarks.

And what exactly did some of the drivers say during the 10-12 minute halt? 

• “Was that Michael Phelps? I thought he was just the pace car driver to start the race.” Ryan Blaney.
• “Does the pace car on the damage vehicle policy clock?” John Hunter Nemechek
• “I’ve never seen anything like it.” Erik Jones

Even the NASCAR fans were in for a bit of a laugh after Jeff Gluck posted the above-shown harmless tweet that quickly spiraled into a meme-worthy moment. But here was the pace car, which was supposed to lead the field in a controlled and orderly fashion, instead pulling off its version of a Larson-esque mistake.

Jeff Gluck’s reference to Kyle Larson resonated with fans

The fans had a field day with the pace car’s mishap, and their reactions were as hilarious as the incident itself. One fan hit it off with a simple, yet perfect, reaction: “Lmao that’s a new one.” It was the kind of response that captured the surprise and amusement everyone felt. Another one to joke about was HMS golden boy Chase Elliott, as he also noted, “Pit row was closed, He was not going to make it; it was a bit of a late decision.”

Another fan, equally shocked, posted, “What in the world?” It was that kind of reaction where you just can’t quite believe what you saw. Even Jimmie Johnson was heard saying, “Do we know who was driving the pace car?”After all, it’s the pace car; it’s supposed to keep the race running smoothly, not suddenly give fans another meme-worthy moment.

Then came the fan who nailed it with, “The pace car pulled a Larson.” That one hit home for everyone who remembered Kyle Larson’s 2023 Pit Lane fiasco. While we had an instant apology coming from Larson after the incident, the Pace car driver’s apology is yet to meet fans; if only we knew who the driver was.

And, a user on Reddit went a bit too far with the mockery by commenting, “Damn the pace car won’t be winning this race /s”. Someone took it a step further with a playful twist, saying, “Larson is in the pace car apparently lmao.” The idea of Larson himself somehow taking over the pace car was too funny to resist. But, jokes apart, fortunately, the Toyota Camry driver was able to avoid contact with race leader Chase Elliott.

And then there was the fan who simply and wittily explained, “Pace car crashing into the barrels is objectively hilarious.”

What are your thoughts on the pace car for the final race crashing into the sand barrels? Did you enjoy today’s race?