Kyle Larson, the driver of the No. 5 Hendrick Cars Chevrolet Camaro, justified his late race move against his teammate Chase Elliott that earned him the win at Watkins Glen on Sunday.
Kyle Larson via NASCAR YouTube
During the final restart, Larson drove it in deep into the first turn while at the same time drifting up the track into Chase Elliott forcing him up higher.
He then slid in front of him after Elliott had to check up in order to not wreck. Larson would then hold off A.J. Allmendinger to take the checkered flag.
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Following the race, Larson told NBC Sports’ Marty Snider, “I knew that was kind of my only opportunity. I’m not proud of it. But you’re being in the inside lane or the right lane and you’re being the leader choosing the left lane it’s definitely wins out. But when it gets late in the race it’s definitely risky. Like I said I knew that was my only opportunity to get by him.
He continued, “So I felt our cars were pretty equal today and had a lot of fun after the green flag cycle trying to chase him down and kind of burned my stuff up a little bit, but the restarts kept me in it and kept our team in it. So proud of our guys. Good to get another win here at Watkins Glen, get some more bonus points going into the playoffs, which is we haven’t had many of those this year.”
“Hopefully, this will build on some momentum and we can keep racking up some more points,” he added.
Kyle Larson via NASCAR YouTube
Snider then asked if he was in Chase Elliott’s shoes if he would want to have a conversation with him, Larson replied, “I’m sure, yeah, we would ultimately have a conversation. We have a competition meeting tomorrow. I think if I was in his shoes I would understand the risk that I’m taking choosing left lane also.”
“Again, like I said I’m not proud of it, but it’s for what I felt like I had to do to get the win,” he stated.
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During Larson’s post-race interview, Elliott can be seen talking to Rick Hendrick and Hendrick Motorsports Vice Chairman Jeff Gordon.
It’s unclear what he said, but during his post-race interview he was visibly upset although he didn’t have anything bad to say about Larson.
Chase Elliott via NASCAR YouTube
“Just a huge congratulations to Kyle and everybody on the 5 team. Congratulations everybody at Hendrick Motorsports for getting another win. Appreciate Kelley Blue Book for being on our car this weekend,” Elliott said when asked about his choice to chose the outside lane.
Elliott then reiterated, “Congratulations. He did a great job. Seriously, they deserve it. Looking forward to going to Bristol next week and trying to get one for our team.”
When asked about his conversation with Rick Hendrick, Elliot said, “Just congratulated him. Like I said, always good to see HMS win. The boss deserves all the wins and all the great things that on with this company. Proud of that and looking forward to next week.”
Larson further discussed his winning move with FOX Sports reporter Bob Pockrass telling him, “In the Xfinity race I found myself in the right lane on the front row a couple times with William and I always just tried to make a corner, like make a good corner, and I would always end up pinched and into the curb and hit the guy to my left.
“And I did the same thing on that restart before with Chase. And when I do that I’m exiting sideways and I don’t know if guys behind me are coming, and I’m in a vulnerable spot,” he continued. “So I felt like if I — I told myself if I got a good launch and was nosed ahead of him into the braking zone I was going to try and do my best to roll speed, avoid the curb, and use up as much real estate as I could.”
Larson again reiterated, “I’m not proud of it. I don’t like to do that. But in that moment that was my only shot to win. So I haven’t won a lot this year. I don’t have many playoff points at all and I feel like I had to do what I had to do to benefit our playoffs and benefit our points a little bit.”
Kyle Larson via FOX: NASCAR Twitter
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Larson did tell Pockrass that he would be upset if he was in Elliott’s position, “I would understandably be upset in his position as well, but I would also understand the risk that I take choosing the left lane. Even though it’s preferred, there’s a risk if that guy on the right gets a good launch he’s going to use you up on exit, the exit of turn 1.”
“I don’t know what’s going on in his mind, I’m sure he’s upset,” Larson continued. “I don’t know if it warrants an in-depth conversation or not, but we’re obviously teammates and we’re going to be around each other a lot whether it be at the shop or the track or on the race tracks. It will be just another thing that we have to work through,” he concluded.
“I felt like I did what I had to do to benefit our playoffs and benefit our points a little bit.”- Kyle Larson says he isn’t proud of the move he made to pass Chase Elliott, but it was his only shot to win. pic.twitter.com/Yw1uszi4Um
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) August 22, 2022
Larson would again address his race-winning move in a post-race press conference telling the media, “I had that restart before and I got kind of put in a bad spot because he had the dominant position me with the nose ahead.”
“Every time I was in the right lane yesterday in Xfinity I was in the same spot and I would always get pinched into the curb.” he explained. “A lot of times I got passed by the time I got to turn two so I figured it was probably going to be the last restart of the weekend and I told myself if I had a nose ahead of him before we got to the braking zone I was going to have to try my best to maintain that and not let him get a nose ahead of me and pinch my corner off and end my chance of winning.”
Larson continued, “So I had a good restart and I got in there hot and did what I had to do to win. Again, I’m not necessarily proud of it especially with a teammate, but I feel like I had to execute that way to get the win.”
What do you make of Larson’s comments about this race winning move?
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