Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson is often referred to as ‘The Golden Boy’ in NASCAR, owing to what has been a notion of implied bias by the governing body as well as fans and the surrounding sporting fraternity towards him.
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Despite Larson being one of, if not the best driver on the field currently, quite a few NASCAR fans do not buy into the argument of the #5 Chevrolet Camaro driver being hailed as a ‘generational talent.’
While this notion from the fraternity might come across in several ways, some more hostile than the other, one example of the same came last year during Cup Series’ visit to Homestead-Miami.
Larson was seen trying to gain every tenth as he aimed to enter the pits behind Ryan Blaney, ultimately causing him to crash into the barrels of sand kept ahead of the pit road entry barrier.
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As the NBC booth commentators narrated the incident, fans on Instagram felt there was bias in play during the same.
“The booth blaming Blaney for trying to make it to pit road safely is next level Larson glazing,” opined one fan while others took to him being compared to F1 champion Max Verstappen and questioned, “This the guy they say is better than max verstappen?”
“Max Verstappen would of made the entry,” spoke another follower of the sport on similar lines while another fan accepted the Hendrick Motorsports driver’s mistake and wrote, “Not his finest moment.”
Fans who seemingly watched open-wheeled racing also gave their thoughts on the incident and said, “Amd he says he is better then verstappen pfff i have never properly watched nascar this is the first thing i see dont take this seriously.”
Larson previews upcoming Homestead-Miami race
Looking ahead to the second race of the Round of 8 this weekend, the Elk Grove, California native touched on how he as a driver has always performed well at the intermediate oval that is Homestead-Miami Speedway.
A place where additional speed can be found when running close to the fence, few drivers are better at the craft with Larson and Tyler Reddick springing as prime examples.
“I love Homestead and we run well there. Would hope for a clean day. We’re going to be fast there so let’s just try to get some stage points and get a good finish,” he said during an interview last weekend.
It remains to be seen how well the #5 HMS driver and crew perform this Sunday.
