The Bubba Wallace–Kyle Larson incident at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway spoiled Wallace’s reputation. Moreover, he had to suffer penalties for his outburst. His relationship with Larson too took a big hit. However, the 23XI Racing driver’s social media suggests that it might be on the mend too.

Certainly, the fight was ugly. It had elements that took viewers back to the 1979 Daytona 500, where Cale Yarborough and Bobby Allison resorted to their fists. But that wasn’t the only moment of ugliness that Larson has been involved in.

For most of 2022, the Hendrick Motorsports driver had been involved in a war of words with Emmett Hahn of Chili Bowl Nationals fame. The whole controversy revolved around Larson’s boycott of the competition in 2023. Initially, Larson had pointed out that the competition didn’t pay its winners and participants sufficiently. In later interviews, he elaborated that his stance was for the sake of other drivers as well.

Hahn viciously hit out against the statements, saying, “I’ve got to say this though—first it was about ‘it didn’t pay enough’ and then the story became it was about the guys in the back of the field. He bought himself a jet plane, a two and a half million-dollar motorhome and if he really wanted to help these back of the field guys, he would.”

Read More: Bubba Wallace Rues Absence of Hendrick Motorsports Star Kyle Larson at Chili Bowl After Boycott Over Purse-Related Protests

At the end of the day, despite Larson‘s boycott, Chili Bowl was a success. Not much changed for the drivers in Tulsa.

Bubba Wallace missed him, but fans didn’t

Surprisingly, Wallace tweeted during the event that he was missing Larson. Despite all the “animosity,” it was quite a nice gesture.

Fans however didn’t agree with the driver.

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It was obvious that fans of dirt racing couldn’t care less whether Larson participated or not. They wanted thrilling action, and they got that—Larson or no Larson, it’s all the same for them.