The Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway was meant to be a duel of NASCAR titans. Still, Kyle Larson found himself wrestling more with fate than his competitors. Fresh off his Southern 500 win, Larson seemed poised to dominate again—until a “bad call” left him languishing in 19th place.

Larson’s race day started cinematic, snatching the lead from pole-sitter Christopher Bell in Stage 1. Following up his Southern 500 victory with a stage win in Kansas seemed like a predictable script. He led a high-profile pack, including Bubba Wallace, C-Bell, Denny Hamlin, and Brad Keselowski—all playoff drivers. But every story needs a plot twist, and Larson’s story had one lurking just around the corner.

Hendrick Motorsports driver’s candid confession

Kyle Larson was the fastest and most agile from the get-go. But after leading 98 out of the first 114 laps and winning Stage 1, the Hendrick Motorsports ace’s charmed run came to a screeching halt, like a slow slide down the leaderboard. The culprit? Old tires and traffic.

Larson and Chase Elliott lead the pack on the restart on lap 132. But Larson almost slid out on turns 1 and 2 because the #5 team had not made a 4-tire pit stop. Later, he revealed, “We stayed out on tires, we had like 10 laps on them. There was a lot of people that pitted for four. I had a bad restart and almost spun in [turns] 1 and 2 and lost all my track position and abused my right rear tire on that first corner. Just had to nurse it to the next pit stop and then fight from there.” 

The costly error saw him slide from the front to 20th by the time Stage 2 ended. Later, crew chief Cliff Daniels took responsibility for the faux pas. 

“I know we sc**wed you. It was a bad call. My fault. We’ll make it up to you,” admitted Cliff Daniels. Kyle Larson replied that he made some mistakes, too. “It’s all good. We’re all going to dig down deep here,” admitted Daniels in a moment of raw honesty.

With only 15 laps to recover, Larson was amidst a mad scramble involving Bubba Wallace, Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski, and others. While Larson had the advantage of an extra set of tires, the gamble by Daniels could have costly consequences for his advancement to the next round. But that’s not all!

Just after Larson’s incident, another driver soon started experiencing difficulty. 

Watch This Story: Kyle Larson Namedrops Top 3 Guy As Biggest Championship Roadblock

After Kyle Larson, tire trouble adds to NASCAR Playoffs suspense for another driver

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Kevin Harvick added his own twist to the tale amid all the chaos. Suspense filled the air as he suspected a flat tire, while the green flag pit stops kicked off. The tension escalated as he dived into the pits, searching for answers. 

He wasn’t the only one, as Lap 108 brought its share of catastrophe. Bubba Wallace, who had been running in a strong second place, made hard contact with the wall.

The end result? His #23 car’s right tow link broke, throwing his prospects for staying above the elimination line into turmoil.

While Lap 260 stole the show with its drama. Another playoff contender, Chris Buescher, was in trouble when his tire gave out, causing him to hit the wall. While a relatively minor event, it was a major game-changer, bunching up the field and halting Hamlin’s almost certain win.

Can Larson hit the throttle on his second chance, or will he hit a wall? Keep tuning in to EssentiallySports to find out.

Read More: Fans Declare War on Each Other Amid Kyle Larson’s Awaited Kansas Achievement