“We Were Awful After That”—Hendrick Motorsports Star Kyle Larson Lets Slips a Scary Crisis That Almost Turned His Fortunes for the Worse

Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson clinched his first victory of the season at the Richmond Raceway this Sunday. Despite leading 63 and 201 laps this season in Las Vegas and Phoenix, respectively, Larson had not been able to seal the deal—until now.

However, just because Larson finally got that victory doesn’t mean that he was not reminded of the last few races. This was because the road to the checkered flag at the Richmond Raceway wasn’t exactly smooth for him, hence invoking a familiar fear of not making it to the finish line.

The scary crisis that could have changed everything

During Sunday’s Toyota Owner’s 400, Kyle Larson found himself in a difficult position during the second stage. Having made contact with Trackhouse Racing Team‘s Daniel Suarez on the pit road, Larson almost saw his potential win slip away.

Larson’s contact with Suarez left his right front fender damaged and also hurt the racecar’s handling. And as a result, the 2021 Cup Series champion felt his car slow down, which might have been extremely scary for him at that stage. While explaining how he was able to get back on track, Larson said, “What an awesome Hendrickcars.com Chevy. We can’t say enough about it. I got into the #99 on pit road there sometime in the second stage. And we were awful after that.

“I was hoping the damage was the reason why, but they had to calm me down a little bit and get refocused and was able to get it done.”

It was a job well done by the crew in calming Larson down, as he gained the top spot and held on to it to take the checkered.

WATCH THIS STORY: $22.6 Million Hendrick Motorsports News Ignites Speculation; and Kyle Larson Might Have Played a Role in This

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Kyle Larson on racing with an interim crew chief

Last month, NASCAR announced a suspension penalty for all four Hendrick Motorsports crew chiefs. Hence, the #17 crew chief Kevin Meendering stepped up to fill in for Cliff Daniels.

During the post-race on-track interview, Larson was asked about how gratifying it was for him to finally seal the deal in Richmond and get the first win for his interim crew chief Kevin Meendering. To this, Larson replied, “It’s really cool. We’ve been close to winning a couple. William has been extremely good this year. It was going to be between probably him, the 19, us, and the 20 was really good.

“So just things worked out. My pit crew had a great stop. So shout out to Brandon Johnson. He is our jackman. He just turned 30 today. Our spotter, Tyler Monn turned 30 today. Great day for them guys.”

Moreover, Larson did not forget to give a shoutout to Daniels. He added,

“Thanks to everyone on this team, Cliff Daniels, for everything he does to prepare the team to be as strong as we are without him on the box. So good to get a win, and hopefully many more.”

Currently, Kyle Larson has successfully accumulated 222 points. With 3 Top 5 and 3 Top 10 finishes this season, Larson is currently in the 6th position in the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series standing.

READ MORE: “I’m 30 & American” – Kyle Larson Explains Refusal to Do “Fake PR” F1 Test Amid “Impossible” Dream