“I Definitely Felt Bad About That”: Kyle Larson Apologizes for ‘Overreacting’ to His Clash With Justin Haley at the LA Coliseum

Reigning Cup Series champion Kyle Larson certainly did not earn many favors at the LA Coliseum. During the race, he punted Justin Haley into the wall, just as the latter was in a great position. Naturally, it prompted some heated moments in the immediate aftermath of the incident. Now that Larson has had time to cool down and collect himself, he analyzed the matter with a clear head.

He confessed that he overreacted to the supposed initial contact with Haley. Admitting his fault in the accident, he said that he felt bad about dashing Haley’s hopes. At the time of the contact, the two drivers were battling for third, when things went horribly wrong.

“I’ll start off by saying I overreacted,” Larson said. “I’ll play it out in my mind. I went down the backstretch and knew (Haley) was on my outside. I got clear late in the straightaway, and the next thing I know, he was running the left side of me. You just see red really quickly. ‘Dang it.’ It was like, ‘Now I’m stuck on the outside, and I’m about to get shoved really far back, and I’m mad at you,’ so, yes, I hung a left on him.”

How did the incident between Kyle Larson and Justin Haley play out?

Apparently, the one to blame was Larson’s own teammate William Byron. The #24 driver bumped into Haley, who was then pushed forward into Larson. This led him to mistakenly believe that Haley was at fault. So, he tried to exact revenge on the Kaulig Racing driver.

He said, “I did not want to crash him, but I wanted that inside lane for the next corner. So I felt really bad. Instantly felt bad that I crashed him. He came over and talked to me after the race. I told him ‘I’m sorry that I wrecked you. Yes, I wish I would have understood the racetrack that we were at and that somebody else probably shoved him into me, and maybe I wouldn’t have overreacted as bad as I did. I definitely felt bad about that. It is what it at this point.”

Larson admitted that he needs to learn from moments like these. Normally, he does his best to stay cool, calm, and collected; but on that day, he just snapped. According to him, the idea that there were no points on the line played a role in making him overreact. He kicked himself for wrecking the Kaulig car, especially since he is aware of the fact that spare parts are in short supply.

READ MORE: Justin Haley’s Spotter Criticizes Kyle Larson Once Again for LA Coliseum ‘Temper Tantrum’