Kyle Larson might have stepped over a line when speaking on the Harvick Happy Hour podcast this week. He told Kevin Harvick that he wanted to embarrass the Xfinity Series drivers and NASCAR for two different reasons. The Xfinity Series drivers, because they thought they were better than they actually are.
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NASCAR has limited the number of Xfinity Series races that Cup Series drivers can race in a year. So Larson’s words were met with criticism from fans on the internet and they perceived him as being arrogant and cocky. Dale Earnhardt Jr., the co-owner of JR Motorsports, did not like much of what Larson said either.
The popular icon explained why he was at odds with the thoughts of Larson on Dale Jr. Download. The number of races that a Cup Series driver can race in the lower tiers is limited to five. But Larson has chosen to race only two. The appearances were at Homestead-Miami and Bristol — two tracks that he is extremely good at.
Junior doesn’t understand why he is complaining when he isn’t even making complete use of the opportunities available to him. On Saturday, Larson led 276 of 400 laps to win the race at Bristol. He did embarrass the Xfinity Series field. But again, will he be able to do it on a different track? One at which he is not so good?
Junior relayed these questions, “He picked Homestead and Bristol because he knew those two would give him a great shot at winning. He wanted to win two triples this year so he could tie with Kyle Busch, who has done that twice. And then, he doesn’t have another race on the schedule. He goes, ‘I want to embarrass them every time I drive.'”
“I wish he would sign up for some more races now. Because I know one race team and one owner and 160 employees that would love another shot.” The mocking statement and the open challenge ought to sting the Hendrick Motorsports driver. It remains to be seen if the pot will boil enough to bring him to the Xfinity Series track once again this year.
Away from the differences in opinion, Junior and Larson did agree on the fact that there needs to be an elite driver who keeps the Xfinity Series field in check. Junior pointed out that Mark Martin played that role back in the day and then was followed by Kyle Busch. The only point of argument is that Larson is not running nearly enough races to succeed them.
