The NASCAR fraternity was flabbergasted when Kyle Larson asked his spotter to “shut the f*** up” during the race on Sunday. Although, former Cup Series driver, Kevin Harvick believes he had a good reason to say that. The 2014 Cup Series champion believes spotter Tyler Monn overstepped his boundaries with the HMS driver and got an appropriate response.
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The whole fiasco unfurled due to Denny Hamlin pushing the #5 driver up the track a few laps before the red flag came out. Yung Money lost several places as a result, hence both Larson and Monn lost their cool. As far as Harvick is concerned, Monn should have not said a word on the radio then.
“Denny Hamlin has definitely gotten the best of Kyle Larson through the years. It’s very lopsided and I can see where the spotter is coming from on that scenario. But I also think that the spotter should probably keep his mouth shut and not say that. I think he needs to stay in his lane.”
"I would have told him to shut the f*** up too." 😂 @KevinHarvick reacts to the tense moment between Kyle Larson and his spotter at New Hampshire. @KaitlynVincie | @MambaSmith34 | #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/Z2QgNJNmIn
— HarvickHappyHour (@HarvickHappyPod) June 25, 2024
“I think that is something that the drivers need to worry about and if you’re gonna talk about something like that, don’t talk about it on the radio. I think a lot of times these spotters take a little bit more leeway with the things that they say on the radio than they probably should,” Harvick said.
Denny Hamlin’s dominance over Kyle Larson
Hamlin was the reason behind the tension in the #5 camp. He and Larson have a lot of respect for each other off the track but when racing, they’re fierce rivals. Only that Larson has never gotten the better of Hamlin in a one-on-one battle yet. The two racers have finished 1-2 six times so far and Yung Money has always finished second-best.
The first time it happened was at Richmond in 2016 and the most recent one took place at Dover this year. Then at the Bristol Motor Speedway last season, Hamlin made his famous “I beat your favorite driver” comment after finishing ahead of Larson. Even in 2021, when Yung Money won the championship, he could not get the better of Hamlin at Darlington.
These two have gone at it several times before but those emotions have never been carried outside the race track. They might always try to one-up each other on track but there is a high level of professionalism between the pair.
