Published 04/11/2023, 10:59 AM EDT
For anyone who followed Sunday’s Food City Dirt Race at Bristol, it might not have been difficult to sense the heat between Kyle Larson and Ryan Preece. Having made multiple contacts during the race, the Hendrick Motorsports champion and Stewart-Haas Racing driver made sure to express their discontent with each other, though non-verbally, on the race track.
Around lap 79 of the race, Larson and Preece made contact which sent Preece right into the wall. Upset by the incident, Preece decided to communicate his displeasure by repeatedly getting beside Larson’s #5 under caution and gesturing toward him. This sent Larson to the back of the pack. However, this was not the end of the altercation.
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Reason for Kyle Larson’s frustrations at Bristol
During the last stage of the race, Larson clawed his way up on the track and soon found himself driving beside Preece’s #41. But once again, a fired-up Preece made sure to reiterate his disapproval of Larson’s actions earlier in the race. During turn 1, Preece made multiple contacts with Larson until the Hendrick Motorsports driver’s car hit the wall and spun out.
The impact of the contact damaged Larson’s vehicle, ending his day at Bristol. However, what’s important to note is that this was not the only time Larson spun out during the race at Bristol. Before Ryan Preece spun Kyle Larson out of the race, the HMS driver lost control and spun out all by himself during the last stage.
Explaining why all this must have been extremely overwhelming and frustrating for Larson, NASCAR crew chief and analyst Larry McReynolds said,
“But let’s talk about the frustration of Kyle Larson. What led him to be in that position? Because I felt like watching the heat race on Saturday night – started on the pole last night it was Kyle Larson’s race to absolutely lose. But this right here was about four laps after the restart at stage two – spun out completely on his own.”
Larry McReynolds slams Kyle Larson for a bizarre decision at Bristol
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Moreover, Larry McReynolds called out Kyle Larson for making a bizarre decision during the Bristol race. Claiming that his decision was a huge contributing factor to his bad day at Bristol, McReynolds continued,
“And again, they couldn’t change tires here. But remember, he dominated stage one, led all 75 laps, they pitted. They came back, and finished third in stage two. They pitted but they didn’t change tires! “One, I do not understand them pitting, I certainly don’t understand them pitting and not changing tires and I’m hearing that was a Larson call. But that’s what got them back there to begin with, and it just kind of went downhill from there.”
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After his final contact with Preece, Larson ended his race at the 35th position. Even though the Hendrick Motorsports driver led all 75 laps initially, he just could not make the best of his pole position and his fast car.
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