With the playoff action reaching the treacherous and technical short track at Darlington, NASCAR Nation saw two former rivals get at it once again. Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson and his former adversary Ross Chastain both looked like it was another bloody battle as the Trackhouse Racing Chevy tried its best to repeat what we saw a couple of months earlier this year.
The 2021 Cup Series champion on the radio got livid as Chastain did what he does best while the community discussed the brief stint online, picking sides.
Kyle Larson and Ross Chastain up the ante, once again at Darlington
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Well, who could forget the epic rivalry between the ever-polarizing Ross Chastain and Kyle Larson that reached a whole new level at Darlington this May in the regular season? The feud had a lot of backstory to it, with both drivers getting in each other’s faces several times before Larson decided to end it by slamming the #5 Chevy into the wall.
While the scene was drastically different last day with Chastain becoming more soft and mellow and losing his ball-to-the-walls attitude, he was very much aware of his former rival as he took it to him. Larson, who was putting on a blistering pace, was sort of held up by the Trackhouse Racing Chevy until Larson got into the left rear quarter panel off of turn 4.
Larson trying to lap the field had trouble getting past Chastain who did his best to keep his head high. “Go tell Brandon (McReynolds, Ross Chastain’s spotter), what the f*ck” was Larson’s reaction to the brief contact.
They have a history at this place. @KyleLarsonRacin | @RossChastain pic.twitter.com/HIvlxEfOhy
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) September 3, 2023
With the reminding the community of the ugly feud here in May, fans quickly jumped into the fray as they actively discussed the happening online, taking sides.
NASCAR community takes sides as Darlington witnesses another Larson-Chastain tussle
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The scene was very much reminiscent of the Larson-Chastain tussle here in May but in a toned-down form. After facing the heat from Larson’s boss, Rick Hendrick, and his own boss, Justin Marks, Chastain has all but mellowed down. But that doesn’t mean he goes out without a fight.
Trying to lap the #1, Larson went for it in Stage 1, where Chastain did his best to stand his ground, with a brief contact coming in between the two. While the drivers were off of it, NASCAR Nation’s insatiable thirst for drama got them into a frenzy online, with fans picking sides as they actively discussed the stint.
Good Ross. Keep holding him up
— Brandon Beal (@H_GamerBoy815) September 3, 2023
While one fan put things out there more explicitly, another urged Chastain to put the #5 in the wall, just like what he did a few months ago,
“Stuff him in the wall. Would be good payback for the spring”
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“Maybe Hendrick should not expect someone to lay over when they openly fu**ed Trackhouse”
“Larson out here running into people and getting mad at them for it lol”
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While others sided with the HMS driver, saying,
“If you watched the onboard camera of Larson you would see Chastain did everything he could to keep Larson behind him even tho he’s a lap down”