“Why the F**k?”: Kyle Larson Questions ‘Mad’ Martin Truex Jr’s Misled Fury After Denny Hamlin’s Unfair Win

The race in Richmond probably made Martin Truex Jr recoil in devastation in the end. Both the senior driver and Kyle Larson were at the front of the field initially, collectively leading 372 of the 407 laps. But those seven overtime laps overturned their soaring fortunes. Martin Truex Jr ended up finishing 4th, while Kyle Larson managed to swerve past him to get a 3rd place finish.

MTJ’s bleak fate came about due to a late caution and Denny Hamlin’s quick-reflex restart. After all this, the JGR driver was boiling with frustration. He chose to take out his simmering anger on both his teammate and Larson, who did not take it well.

Kyle Larson reacted in kind to MTJ’s vengeful actions

Larson was running well throughout the race, leading twice for 144 laps. When his Chevy was not leading, he was probably tailing Martin Truex Jr. But on lap 398, his dreams seemed to be on the verge of eclipsing. 23XI driver Bubba Wallace clipped his left rear and sent it spinning on the three-quarter-mile track’s front stretch. MTJ was about a half-lap from the white flag then, and cursed Wallace’s sloppy actions for ruining his pursuit.

After that, the twist in the tale came. Denny Hamlin caught the lead, and Joey Logano followed him. Then Kyle Larson saw a window of opportunity soon when he overtook MTJ. But the latter had creative ways to showcase just how angry he was.

He attempted to door-slam Larson’s Chevy on the final lap, and Larson responded in kind. He pushed MTJ’s car to the wall. Meanwhile, he fumed on his radio, “Why the f**k is he running into me? He’s the one that turned across my nose.” Then his crew chief, Cliff Daniels, responded, “I think he’s just mad at everybody right now.”  

That was not the end of MTJ’s anger as he soon got to his main culprit, Denny Hamlin, and bumped into his rear three times in a row. MTJ explained his stance, “The 5 just bumped me, drove into the side of me in Turns 1 and 2, and I got a little loose down the backstretch. I don’t know if my left-rear (tire) was going down or what, and I kind of slammed into him. No big deal.”

Kyle Larson also gave his take, “So I kind of just, we’re drag-racing to the start/finish line and didn’t really care at that point if I was going to squeeze him in the wall since he decided to turn left on me down the backstretch.”

Despite everything, Larson acknowledged Martin Truex Jr’s veteran position.

Larson hails MTJ as a ‘respected’ driver

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Tensions were hiked on the final laps at Richmond Raceway like never before. Martin Truex Jr vented his simmering frustration on the nearest object within reach of his fender. Even though Kyle Larson became his convenient scapegoat, the Hendrick driver showed poise while addressing the situation in a post-race interview.

He said Truex is probably the “most respected guy in the garage area.” Then he added, “So, I was surprised when he turned left on me down the backstretch after the checkered. I hope he doesn’t have any hard feelings to me because I definitely don’t towards him.”

Kyle Larson stuck to his reputation as a calm and composed driver and is basking in the glow of his solid 3rd place finish.

Read More: HMS Legend Predicts Bubba Wallace’s Post-Retirement Destiny After Clever Kyle Larson Apology