Kyle Larson Appreciation Thread

BROOKLYN, Mich. — Kyle Larson said he’s embarrassed about the mistake he made last weekend and is thankful Ty Dillon wasn’t injured when Larson slammed into Dillon’s car at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

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“Just made a big mistake,” Larson said Saturday of the incident with Dillon in Turn 1 on the road course. “I got in there deep, and I got out of shape. I was hoping that by the time I got it under control, I could go straight before they turned into the corner.

“Once I realized that I was going to hit (Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s car), I tried to just do what I could to turn right and miss both of them. Obviously, that didn’t happen.

“Embarrassing. Feel really bad about wiping Ty out and just very thankful that him and I were both safe and didn’t get seriously injured. It was scary for both of us.”

Larson drove too deep into the braking zone. He then charged into the 90-degree right-hand turn in an attempt to avoid hitting Stenhouse and Dillon.

“When you miss your braking point by a little bit, or a lot, there’s no slowing down,” Stenhouse said.

Dillon said he was not expecting the contact from Larson’s car.
“Typically, when you’re going to hit the wall or you can see something coming, you will tense your core, tense your muscles as hard as you can – at least I do,” Dillon said. “I think that maybe makes impacts feel different on different parts of your body.
“With that one, I had no getting ready for it. I think my body just took a lot of the dissipation of the impact. I think that’s why my ribs and everything were just sore.”
Dillon said he was sore until Friday.
After the accident, Larson ran over to Dillon to check on him.
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“I hit him hard and it knocked the wind out of me, so I knew it was a hard hit for him, too,” Larson said. “And it was 1,000% on me, so I wanted to make sure he was OK.
“I like Ty. He’s a really good guy. I felt bad immediately, and I wanted to check on him the next day. Thankfully, he understood the mistake and that made me feel much better about it because I feel horrible about it and just glad that we were both safe.”
Dillon said nothing was spoken in anger when Larson approached after the accident.
“I wasn’t mad,” Dillon said. “He’s too good of a driver for him to do anything like that on purpose. I know Larson. I think he was in shock initially because he asked me, ‘What happened? I don’t really know.’ (Dillon told him) ’You hit me really hard.’ But I was glad to see that he was OK.
“When I got out. I’m still trying to get my bearings back. Everybody was like, ‘You were limping.’ I had no leg problems. I just wasn’t sure what on my body was still in the right place. So I was just kind of getting my feet under me. I think it just shocked him as much as anything. I could kind of see the fear and everything in his eyes.”
Dillon said he appreciated Larson checking up on him Monday.
“I’m sure from his vantage point, it was really scary,” Dillon said. “He reached out to me on Monday checking in on me, and it was really kind.
“I knew it was a mistake. Looking at (the data from Larson’s car), it’s really a rare mistake that you wouldn’t think that he would make, but we’re all human. And that was kind of what I told him, ‘Hey, we’re all going to make mistakes.’”
 
BROOKLYN, Mich. — Kyle Larson said he’s embarrassed about the mistake he made last weekend and is thankful Ty Dillon wasn’t injured when Larson slammed into Dillon’s car at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

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“Just made a big mistake,” Larson said Saturday of the incident with Dillon in Turn 1 on the road course. “I got in there deep, and I got out of shape. I was hoping that by the time I got it under control, I could go straight before they turned into the corner.

“Once I realized that I was going to hit (Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s car), I tried to just do what I could to turn right and miss both of them. Obviously, that didn’t happen.

“Embarrassing. Feel really bad about wiping Ty out and just very thankful that him and I were both safe and didn’t get seriously injured. It was scary for both of us.”

Larson drove too deep into the braking zone. He then charged into the 90-degree right-hand turn in an attempt to avoid hitting Stenhouse and Dillon.

“When you miss your braking point by a little bit, or a lot, there’s no slowing down,” Stenhouse said.

Dillon said he was not expecting the contact from Larson’s car.
“Typically, when you’re going to hit the wall or you can see something coming, you will tense your core, tense your muscles as hard as you can – at least I do,” Dillon said. “I think that maybe makes impacts feel different on different parts of your body.
“With that one, I had no getting ready for it. I think my body just took a lot of the dissipation of the impact. I think that’s why my ribs and everything were just sore.”
Dillon said he was sore until Friday.
After the accident, Larson ran over to Dillon to check on him.
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“I hit him hard and it knocked the wind out of me, so I knew it was a hard hit for him, too,” Larson said. “And it was 1,000% on me, so I wanted to make sure he was OK.
“I like Ty. He’s a really good guy. I felt bad immediately, and I wanted to check on him the next day. Thankfully, he understood the mistake and that made me feel much better about it because I feel horrible about it and just glad that we were both safe.”
Dillon said nothing was spoken in anger when Larson approached after the accident.
“I wasn’t mad,” Dillon said. “He’s too good of a driver for him to do anything like that on purpose. I know Larson. I think he was in shock initially because he asked me, ‘What happened? I don’t really know.’ (Dillon told him) ’You hit me really hard.’ But I was glad to see that he was OK.
“When I got out. I’m still trying to get my bearings back. Everybody was like, ‘You were limping.’ I had no leg problems. I just wasn’t sure what on my body was still in the right place. So I was just kind of getting my feet under me. I think it just shocked him as much as anything. I could kind of see the fear and everything in his eyes.”
Dillon said he appreciated Larson checking up on him Monday.
“I’m sure from his vantage point, it was really scary,” Dillon said. “He reached out to me on Monday checking in on me, and it was really kind.
“I knew it was a mistake. Looking at (the data from Larson’s car), it’s really a rare mistake that you wouldn’t think that he would make, but we’re all human. And that was kind of what I told him, ‘Hey, we’re all going to make mistakes.’”
Larson having a Brad K 2013 type Championship hangover. Some weeks in the hunt for the win, some weeks completely lost.
 
Larson having a Brad K 2013 type Championship hangover. Some weeks in the hunt for the win, some weeks completely lost.
Larson is top 5 in points, and has the best passing differential in cup this season. And that's with bad luck and race execution woes.

A bit of a hangover but he's still a final 4 threat. He's much better than 2013 BK.

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I don’t know if If anyone is ever going to be more “popular” than Chase (though I don’t love him). But I can’t tell you why.

But I think Larson can definitely be a better driver. I wear my #5 shirt almost every Sunday even though I sometimes root for some underdogs to win so the lil guys can get a shot in the playoffs.

Winning all the races is fascist, I like to see some wins spread around. But it doesn’t bother me to see Larson get a few extra wins along the way to his next championship 😬
 
I don’t know if If anyone is ever going to be more “popular” than Chase (though I don’t love him). But I can’t tell you why.

But I think Larson can definitely be a better driver. I wear my #5 shirt almost every Sunday even though I sometimes root for some underdogs to win so the lil guys can get a shot in the playoffs.

Winning all the races is fascist, I like to see some wins spread around. But it doesn’t bother me to see Larson get a few extra wins along the way to his next championship 😬
Chase is a connection to the old NASCAR by being Bill’s son, so he gets the older fans. He’s a good looking guy so he gets the female fans. He took over for Jeff Gordon in the 24 so he got a lot of Gordon fans. I’m a fan of Hendrick in general so he has those kind of fans too. It has nothing to do with his personality at all.
 
Chase is a connection to the old NASCAR by being Bill’s son, so he gets the older fans. He’s a good looking guy so he gets the female fans. He took over for Jeff Gordon in the 24 so he got a lot of Gordon fans. I’m a fan of Hendrick in general so he has those kind of fans too. It has nothing to do with his personality at all.

Why would the popular driver need a personality? He has a bit of one now, but back in his driving days Jr didn't have much of a personality either.
 
Why would the popular driver need a personality? He has a bit of one now, but back in his driving days Jr didn't have much of a personality either.
He doesn’t need one and I outlined why. He does have a sarcastic sense of humor that I like
 


The Felon isn't going to like this. Go #1 Team!
 
man Larson is really making the most of his chance at HMS. JG has to be int he running for the best steal ever in getting him into the fold
 


Is she wearing a winston cup series hat? AWEEEESOME
 
man Larson is really making the most of his chance at HMS. JG has to be int he running for the best steal ever in getting him into the fold
Nobody else wanted him. Look at all of that sponsorship he has attracted. Jeffy didn't have to do anything....his wheelhouse.
 
Yeah, but the only OEM with a tail that wags the dog was the only one in the running.
Lets not kid ourselves. Larson came with a risk. If he melted down and had racist rant, it would have been a terrible signing. So there was risk.
 
Lets not kid ourselves. Larson came with a risk. If he melted down and had racist rant, it would have been a terrible signing. So there was risk.
No question, but the greater risk was immediate perception. The Chain Gang is above that. The other risk was funding....but that was negated because The Felon laid down his own cash....and it looks like he still does despite his early reports of sponsors knocking down his door. I am sure this factored into his re-signing. If The Chain Gang could get past the immediate perception, this was a steal in the business world, but pretty ugly in terms of ethics.....but you know, he isn't The Felon for nothing.
 

McLaren and HMS interesting marriage
Here is the full interview. Something that wasn't in the article, Gavin Ward said that early on in the conversations about the McLaren team possibility running an extra car regularly at the 500, he jokingly said 'well if you give me a car and put Kyle Larson in it I'd definitely want to do it. Little did I know that was a possibility'

 
Lets not kid ourselves. Larson came with a risk. If he melted down and had racist rant, it would have been a terrible signing. So there was risk.

Good lord, give it a rest, he did not have a rant or was even anticipated to have one. The BS blown out of proportion reaction to a word he said to his good buddy, in a joking matter, during an on line race was all there was.
 
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Good lord, give it a rest, he did not have a rant or was even anticipated to have one. The BS blown out of proportion reaction to a word he said to his good buddy, in a joking matter, during an on line race was all there was. The BS he indured came from soft skinned knee jerk whiny folks.
This is not it, in so many ways.

This sport has not earned the benefit of the doubt to have anyone involved in it using that word in any sort of manner in any setting. Plain and simple. Not to mention the social climate of the country at the time when this happened.
 
Good lord, give it a rest, he did not have a rant or was even anticipated to have one. The BS blown out of proportion reaction to a word he said to his good buddy, in a joking matter, during an on line race was all there was. The BS he indured came from soft skinned knee jerk whiny folks.
Some people just can't forgive, forget and move on. Kyle apologized profusely and still paid a heavy price, but that's just not good enough for some.
 
This is not it, in so many ways.

This sport has not earned the benefit of the doubt to have anyone involved in it using that word in any sort of manner in any setting. Plain and simple. Not to mention the social climate of the country at the time when this happened.
A classier response than I was ready to drop. Thank you and well said.
 
Lets not kid ourselves. Larson came with a risk. If he melted down and had racist rant, it would have been a terrible signing. So there was risk.
I cant let this slide- Kyle Larson is NOT a racist and never was, what he said was in jest, was it thoughtless? Yes. Nobody was worried about any possible "melt down racist rants". I've never heard the kid meltdown to begin with. There was no more risk then any other driver in the field.
 
No question, but the greater risk was immediate perception. The Chain Gang is above that. The other risk was funding....but that was negated because The Felon laid down his own cash....and it looks like he still does despite his early reports of sponsors knocking down his door. I am sure this factored into his re-signing. If The Chain Gang could get past the immediate perception, this was a steal in the business world, but pretty ugly in terms of ethics.....but you know, he isn't The Felon for nothing.
When you can land a driver of that magnitude you go all in. Ethically and morally Hendrick did the right thing, we dont punish someone in perpetuity. Larson is a good man and I'm happy he has risen above all of this and enjoying the success he deserves.
 
Nobody else wanted him. Look at all of that sponsorship he has attracted. Jeffy didn't have to do anything....his wheelhouse.
Nobody? You dont really believe that do you? One of the best drivers in the world, not just NASCAR, yet " nobody" wanted him. The 2 players that wanted him and could pay for him out of their own pockets say otherwise, the others wanted him but couldnt pony up the money to do it but would take him in a second
 
Nobody? You dont really believe that do you? One of the best drivers in the world, not just NASCAR, yet " nobody" wanted him. The 2 players that wanted him and could pay for him out of their own pockets say otherwise, the others wanted him but couldnt pony up the money to do it but would take him in a second
Oh there's no question that many wanted the talent....but only two were agreeable to the baggage, and one who runs his OEM show who could actually pull it off.
 
When you can land a driver of that magnitude you go all in. Ethically and morally Hendrick did the right thing, we dont punish someone in perpetuity. Larson is a good man and I'm happy he has risen above all of this and enjoying the success he deserves.
.Come on man. Hendrick did what he did because he could. He wasn't operating on a higher moral plane. Ethics and morals may vary. Larson is a good driver....don't know the man--I'd like to believe that he means what he says.
 
.Come on man. Hendrick did what he did because he could. He wasn't operating on a higher moral plane. Ethics and morals may vary. Larson is a good driver....don't know the man--I'd like to believe that he means what he says.

When I think of Rick Hendrick's business practices, I think of someone who operates with the highest morals and ethics.
 
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