Kyle Larson shared his thoughts after multiple clashes with Ryan Preece during Sunday night’s race at Bristol Motor Speedway on the dirt.
Kyle Larson via Noah Lewis YouTube
The two first got together when the two made contact coming into the straightaway. Preece appeared to get a run off the corner and struck his nose to the outside of Larson. Larson came up off the corner, chopped his nose off and put Preece into the wall.
Ryan Preece isn’t happy with Kyle Larson. pic.twitter.com/BWfBAzm1VL
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) April 10, 2023
Following this confrontation, Preece expressed his displeasure going so far as giving Larson a good finger wagging.
On Preece’s radio communication he was instructed to return the favor, while Preece made his opinion clear that Larson chopping his nose off “was not a mistake.” Preece’s spotter, Andy Houston, then added, “[Larson’s] spotter just told me, he was telling him.”
Kyle Larson and Ryan Preece via NASCAR YouTube
Larson would spin out later in the race, putting him in the back of the field. As he was making his back to the front, he ran across Preece in Turn 3. Coming down the front stretch, Larson had a run on the high side, Preece drifted up the track and fenced Larson.
Larson then came down the track and ran into the side of Preece’s car. After making contact with Preece’s door, Larson’s car spun up the track and into the outside wall.
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Larson initially reacted to the contact saying, “I’m guessing he was paying me back for whatever I did earlier. And ran me straight in the fence. And my car was broke and I ended up crashed.”
“It sucks,” Larson added. “But I should just be mad at myself for spinning out earlier and putting myself back there. It just sucks.”
He would elaborate to other members of the media when asked about their battles, “I haven’t seen the contact from earlier in the race. It was a tight clear off of four and obviously, I’m looking in my mirror and didn’t seem that he was to my outside yet. And I don’t know if he got into the wall, but he had a pretty short temper. Obviously, he was trying to crash me, I think, after that and was swerving at me under yellow.”
“I assumed it’d been an hour and a half or so since that happened and it wasn’t my fault why he ended up spun out and in the back so thought that he would chill out, but obviously didn’t and rammed into the fence, and ended our day. It is what it is,” Larson added.
Kyle Larson via Noah Lewis YouTube
“When asked if he was surprised, Larson responded, “A little bit surprised just because it’d been so long and like I said it wasn’t my fault why he was back there. I think something happened to him off of two and he ran into the back of somebody and spun out. Like I said it’d been probably an hour and a half, I would have to guess since then.”
“Figured would just be grown up and get the f*** over it, but I guess not,” Larson said.
Kyle Larson via NASCAR YouTube
He went on to say he won’t be carrying anything over and reiterating his initial comments about being mad at himself, “I’m not gonna let it carry it forward, but I’m mostly mad at myself. I shouldn’t have been back there. I spun out. I shouldn’t be in here right now. It’s just racing.”
When asked if he would speak to Preece, Larson answered, “What’s there to talk about? He’s mad at me, I guess I’m mad at him. What’s there to talk about?”
Larson did adamantly state that NASCAR should not step in. When asked if they should he retorted, “No, why?”
He elaborated, “I mean who’s to say he intentionally wrecked me. Only he knows.”
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When asked about the contact between himself and Larson, Preece told NASCAR, “I think we just had a really fast United Rentals Ford Mustang. And we got stage points in that first stage and then that toe-link got wrecked. Really, the track was so slick and it was hard to gain positions from there on out.”
Speaking with more members of the media who asked him about the contact between Larson, Preece said, “I was just trying to run the top, it was just real slick. I just got loose and both ended up in the fence. I don’t know.”
When one member of the media implied the contact was intentional, Preece responded, “I don’t race dirt. I don’t know. I tried running the top. I’m a guy that runs the bottom. I know he was making speed up top and I tried to move up there and we were just too loose.”
“Ultimately, I still agree that a lot of people are going to stand their ground. By no means was that intentional,” he said.
Ryan Preece via NASCAR YouTube
Preece was asked if there would be an issue between him and Larson going forward. He answered, “No, I don’t think so.”
He would reiterate this saying, “I don’t think we have had any issues. So I don’t see why we’d have any issues going forward.”
Ryan Preece via Stewart-Haas Racing YouTube
When asked about why he said “game over” on the radio, Preece said, “Well, I think you just get mad getting run into the fence, right? There was no meaning. It’s just from inside that race car you’re like, ‘Well, I’m not going to lift when it comes to being run into the fence.’ Every time you lift, if guys see you lifting when you’re at the right rear corner they’re going to keep running you up into the fence.”
“I think when I meant ‘game over’ I meant just not going to keep lifting and giving that respect of ‘Hey, I’ll give you this room.’ It comes down to that,” he explained.
He then reiterated he was trying to run the top, “I was just trying to run the top. You guys saw it. He was running the top and making ground and I tried to move up and it’s really slick if you’re not in the right spot. Not racing dirt, I guess you figure that out.”
What do you make of Larson and Preece’s comments? Do you think Preece intentionally took out Larson or was it a racing incident on a dirt track?