Saturday’s Daytona race was so close, yet so far for Jimmie Johnson’s LMC driver, Erik Jones. He showed great pace throughout the event and was in contention for a strong finish; however, he could only manage to finish 5th behind Daniel Suarez, Justin Haley, and Cole Custer. And apart from other things, there is one particular reason, or rather one particular person, that Jones surely had to credit for his problems in the race that evening.

Kyle Larson came across as an enemy, not just for Jones, but for many others in the Saturday race. One of the best examples of this was seen in Stage 1, where Kyle Larson attempted a bump draft on Bubba Wallace in the tri-oval, a risky maneuver that spun Wallace’s car out of control and ended the playoff hopes of many, including Kyle Busch. And there is no better person than Jones to explain his Larson’s aggressive antics, which he opened up about post the race.

Erik Jones wants to know Larson’s thoughts

When asked about the shoves received from Kyle Larson throughout the race, Erik Jones, while speaking to NASCAR reporter Noah Lewis, said, “I don’t know, I got to ask Kyle. The run before, you could see the #7 and I were working really well together, pushing to the lead…The #5 got behind us, was just super aggressive, bulldogging through us. He kept getting me a little more out of shape, was just too much at one time. Fortunately we didn’t wreck. I don’t know, I got to ask Kyle, don’t know what his thought was. Wasn’t really helping us go forward, kind of slowing us down before I got super out of shape. I got to see what his thought was.”

It was sad for Jones as he acknowledged his race was going well. He observed that a third lane began to form and looked very threatening. Owing to that, the middle lane got skittish and began shoving until they got themselves checked up. Erik Jones happened to be in a different lane and was a big beneficiary.

Larson had his stance on it, too. He later admitted, “I’m just staring at his rear bumper. I don’t know the guy in front of him, if I’m close to him or what not. I’m just trying to help our lane advance and get me clear to lead my lane.”

One reason Larson could have acted aggressively against Jones is to not want a new winner in the race, saving the playoff hopes alive for his teammate, Alex Bowman. Jones added, “I saw that Bowman was close to not making it in. I’m not surprised he’s not going to push me to the win, but I don’t know, I got to talk to him. Just see if he honestly was trying to push me and help me. I did see the situation.”

Ryan Blaney does Hendrick Motorsports driver Alex Bowman a massive favor

While all this was happening, Ryan Blaney managed to rise from 13th on lap 158 to edge everyone out for the win. Since he already had a Cup win earlier this season, his win implied no new winner booking the playoff spot. As a result, Alex Bowman managed to secure his spots in the final 16.

In light of this, when asked what he owed Blaney, Bowman humorously said, “7 million beers. I’m certainly thankful for him. Ryan’s a good dude. Happy to see him win.” Blaney, being a sport, returned with the same tone, saving him some tax, saying, “I’ll take 5. Save him some money, I’ll take 5 million.”

As we head into the 2025 playoffs, the battle for survival truly begins. Bowman is lucky to be saved by a fellow racer from another team, to focus on his playoff journey. While all four drivers of Hendricks Motorsports are safely inside now, Bowman sits lowest amongst them, making his chances seemingly look vulnerable.  However, he has shown flashes of speed this season, and will need to put his best foot forward to prove he belongs in the championship fight.