The 2025 NASCAR Cup Series stop at Iowa Speedway had all the drama you could pack into one short track weekend for the Hendrick Motorsports team. William Byron was busy soaking up the glory of his second win of the season, Alex Bowman quietly bagged a solid seventh-place finish, and yet, the post-race chatter wasn’t about either of them. Instead, the headlines swirled around the other Hendrick Motorsports’ star duo. Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott.

Now, they seemed magnetically drawn to each other’s fenders for all the wrong reasons. From restarts to mid-corner battles, they just couldn’t give each other breathing room, sparking plenty of speculation about tension in the garage. But when Larson finally addressed the situation, his reaction was a lot more surprising, and a lot less dramatic, than fans and pundits were expecting.

Kyle Larson clears the air on Iowa run-in with Elliott

During last week’s race at Iowa Speedway, Kyle Larson’s radio told a much different story than the calm, collected tone he used in the garage this weekend. At the time, his frustration was boiling over after losing valuable track position in the closing stages. A tussle with Chase Elliott pushed Larson out of the preferred racing line, sending him tumbling from fifth to twelfth.

That’s when his voice crackled over the radio with a pointed rant: “How much f—— room do I have to leave people? I’ve been trying to be a good teammate, a good competitor, and it hasn’t gotten me anywhere for the last hour.” Naturally, those comments fueled speculation that tensions were brewing inside the Hendrick Motorsports camp.

But when asked directly about the incident, Larson brushed aside the drama. “I really wasn’t, you know, that mad at Chase,” he said, explaining that a string of cautions had already tested his patience and the contact was just the tipping point. Adding to the chaos, Christopher Bell’s No. 20 clipped him at one stage, further compounding the frustration.

“It was just everything kind of compiled and I was trying to keep it cool, and then I just exploded,” Larson admitted. After watching the replays, however, his perspective changed. “I’ve forgotten about it,” Larson said with a shrug. Larson emphasized that what looked like teammate drama from the outside was, in reality, just a heat-of-the-moment reaction to a messy race.

With the Watkins Glen race looming, his focus is squarely on the bigger picture. Larson is looking to maximize points for the regular season championship as he sits third behind Byron and Elliott currently. Plus, he is also looking to secure momentum heading into the playoffs. As far as he’s concerned, Iowa’s fireworks are already yesterday’s news.

Larson faces uphill battle at Watkins Glen

With just three races left in the regular season, Kyle Larson’s championship hopes are very much alive. But he’s got work to do. Sitting 45 points behind points leader William Byron and only 18 points back from teammate Chase Elliott, every stage point and position on track matters. Watkins Glen offers an opportunity to make up ground.

But Kyle Larson hasn’t exactly made life easy for himself. A subpar qualifying run on Saturday will see him roll off 27th, well behind Byron in 10th and Elliott in 20th. If Larson’s going to cut into the gap, he’ll need to summon some of that signature “Larson magic” on Sunday. Fortunately for the No. 5 team, Watkins Glen has been a solid hunting ground for Larson in the past.

Larson has won at The Glen in 2021 and 2022. If we take a look at last year’s performance, then he had a respectable 12th-place finish. This time, however, he would want nothing but a win to close down the gap in the championship standings. Known for his aggressive yet calculated road course driving style, Larson thrives in high-pressure situations. That experience will be vital if he’s to charge through the field from deep in the pack.

Still, with Byron starting well ahead and Elliott just a handful of points clear, Larson will need to not only execute flawlessly but also hope for some breaks to fall his way. Now, whether that’s through caution timing, pit strategy, or rivals’ missteps, anything counts. In a championship battle this tight, one miscalculated move could swing the standings dramatically.

So the question is: Can Larson turn a 27th-place start into a statement run that reshapes the championship fight? Or will Watkins Glen become a missed opportunity in his title chase? We don’t have to wait that long to get the answers. The Go Bowling At The Glen starts in just a few hours.