Ross Chastain has truly been the most polarizing figure in NASCAR this season so far. While the Trackhouse Racing driver has been incredibly fast and competitive more consistently than anyone else, he’s also been more controversial than everyone else. This was something that defending Cup champion Kyle Larson recently touched upon.

In an interview ahead of the race at Watkins Glen, the #5 driver opened up on the number of drivers whose hit list Chastain is on, but at the same time, he applauded the #1 driver for recovering his races even after going through or causing wrecks.

“Ross has like a two-page list of guys, it seems like,” Larson said. “We’ve seen it in the past, people will make life pretty tough on you, but he’s done a really good job of even when he does get into moments where he has issues with other drivers in the race, he still recovers from it really well.”

“I feel like that can only last so long.”

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Kyle Larson predicts a tough “cool little story” in playoffs for Ross Chastain

Kyle Larson went on to describe how he thinks Ross Chastain and other drivers looking to take their revenge on him while he hunts for the championship would be “a cool little story to follow throughout the playoffs.” 

The Hendrick Motorsports driver claimed that had Chastain and his team not made so many people mad at them, they’d be “the championship favorites.” 

“I know he’s had probably the fastest car most weekends and him, his team, and his pit crew have done a really good job,” he emphasized.

In the end, the defending Cup Series champion admitted that he can’t even imagine Ross Chastain going through the next stage of the season easily.

“I can’t imagine with everyone that seems to be upset with him that it will be an easy playoff for him,” Larson added.

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