Chase Elliott retaliated on teammate Kyle Larson during the NASCAR playoff race at Kansas Speedway
On Sunday, the NASCAR Cup Series raced on the 1.5-mile of Kansas Speedway. The race was the second of three races in the opening round of the NASCAR playoffs.
Denny Hamlin was on cruise control and looked to be heading to the win. Larson was on a charge to the front but the laps were running out.
However with 7 to go, Harrison Burton found the wall and that brought out the caution. That sent the race into an overtime finish.
Most of the leaders hit the pit lane. Chase Elliott and Tyler Reddick were running side by side toward the exit of the pit lane.
At that moment, Brad Keselowski and Kyle Larson both exited their stalls at the same time. Keselowski, Larson, Elliott and Reddick were now four wide at the pit exit.
Keselowski ran Larson wide as he exited his box. Larson was shoved into his teammate, Chase Elliott.
As the rolled around on the apron under caution, Elliott turned hard left. He made more contact with Larson in retaliation.
Both Larson and Elliott drive from Hendrick Motorsports.
After the race, Elliott walked up to the window of Larson. The two drivers had a brief conversation.
Larson and Elliott have a bit of a history. Larson ran into Elliott for the win at Watkins Glen last season. And months prior to that, Larson shoves Elliott into the wall at Auto Club Speedway while the raced for the lead.
Chase Elliott not ok after contact with Kyle Larson for Watkins Glen win (Video)
Kyle Larson wrecks Chase Elliott at Auto Club Speedway (Video)
Larson is a playoff competitor. After the win last week, Larson is already locked into the second round of the playoffs. Elliott missed the playoffs after suffering an injury earlier in the season.
Kyle Larson comments after the contact
“We kinda took ourselves out of it. All in all, a great weekend. Had the best car today, for sure. We could drive off to a big lead,” Larson told NBC Sports after the race.
“That’s the first time I’ve seen it, right there,” Larson said as he watched the replay of the contact with Chase Elliott.
“From my vantage point, I knew we were three wide leaving — I’m trying to leave as much space as I can. He’s coming out into the lane quickly because the No. 6 wants to slow us down.”
“I tried to leave as much space as I could. Obviously, I made contact with him. But, if I didn’t I was going to clobber the No. 6 in the right front.”
“I thought the safest bet for all of us was to squeeze out a little bit. I understand why he’s mad or was mad in the moment.”
Larson concluded, “I hope when he sees the replay he understands that I didn’t have any space. Or not much, just inches. A bummer but I’m glad that neither of us got tore up there.
Kansas Results: September 10, 2023 (NASCAR Cup Series)
Chase Elliott comments
Both Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott took four tires on the final pit stop. Only a handful took two tires.
“Four won the race didn’t it? So, four was the right decision,” Chase Elliott told Bob Pockrass.
“We were in the mix to have a solid day. I’m not sure that we had anything for Denny or Tyler. But, I thought we were as close as we’ve been. So, that was nice.”
Elliott was asked about what message he wanted to send to Larson as he turned into him under caution.
Elliott responded, “Oh, there was no message. No.”
It’s worth noting that in recent incidents, NASCAR has penalized drivers after that admitted fault in various situations.
NASCAR point standings after Kansas
