One of the highlights of the Daytona 500 race this year saw Kyle Larson dash into the outside wall on the last lap. This happened as multiple cars were battling for a place inside the top five before the mix-up took place. No wonder the 30-year-old seemed quite disappointed after the race.

The accident looked quite lethal in real time. In fact, it even drove fans crazy when NASCAR failed in providing an update on his health post the incident. All said and done, Larson was lucky to be unharmed. But could things have played out differently for him at “The Great American Race”?

Kyle Larson would rue missing out on a glorious chance

Former Hendrick Motorsports crew chief Steve Letarte was recently on the NBC podcast. He discussed how Kyle Larson would regret the events at Daytona 500. To this, he said, “Yeah, so first of all, the fact that Kyle Larson has a regret shows you what this race means. He’s not going to have a regret for a day, he’s going to have a regret for 365 days until he gets back to the Daytona 500.”

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“The other thing is, I think we had a lot of conversation a couple of years ago that Kyle Larson may be one of the best to have ever. I think we can have that argument still. And the fact that it wasn’t so crystal clear tells you why we think Denny Hamlin’s gonna be so good, why we think Brad Keselowski’s gonna be good.”

Steve also explained how it is not all a luck factor at Daytona. He said, “Now for some, it’s affected that way. But just because they are doing the right thing you get taken out by somebody else doesn’t mean it was just completely luck for everyone. That’s like a slap in the face to the ones that are great at it.”

Steve continued with the different scenarios that could have maybe helped Larson. “This is a skill set, this is practice. And to be quite frank, Kyle Larson, self-admittedly for years, has just not loved this style of racing for multiple reasons. He’s also not been in this position enough to know.”

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Steve analyzed the options Larson had

The 43-year-old deep-dived into the event that took place. He said, “We know he [Larson] has the skill. This isn’t a skill question, this is a decision-making question, right? I [Kyle] had a run for Bell. This is it. What do I do with it? I think there are two options for it. The middle which he chose and if Bell goes with him, Kyle Larson wins the Daytona 500.”

“I think his other option is to somehow try to give a push to #47… So that momentum of Kyle Larson crashes into #47; it shoves him way out there. Does the #5 lose that momentum? And the pole inside leads to the podium back and the top lane takes control of the race like I don’t know. It is impossible to know. I think either of the moves was okay. I don’t think this is the right move… Kyle Larson didn’t go to the middle, start ping-ponging, lose control of his car. That’s not what happened.”

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“I’m just saying Kyle Larson went to the middle, stable, in control, and was hoping to have some help in the middle lane. He then got up in a wreck, that’s speedway racing… I don’t think his move was completely wrong. Instead of questioning Kyle Larson’s move, I want to congratulate the victor.”

It all depends on how Kyle Larson takes it from here. The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion can make a statement by registering a strong finish at the Auto Club Speedway.