The ‘dumb mistake’ that cost Kyle Larson his cup championship

The ‘dumb mistake’ that cost Kyle Larson his cup championship

Kyle Larson

Kyle Larson is eliminated from the playoffs. The defending champion failed to produce a solid run at ROVAL. Christopher Bell secured a direct entry to the Round of 8 by winning the race while Kyle Larson’s playoff spot was taken by Chase Briscoe of SHR.

Kyle Larson had a quiet day at Charlotte until he hit the wall on turn 7 with just 12 laps reaming in the race. The Hendrick Motorsports driver needed just a good finish to progress to the next round. So, when Larson pitted after the hit, his crew chief instructed his team to repair his car and make sure he finishes the race.

Unfortunately, it took the No:5 crew more time than expected to fix the broken right rear toe link of the Camaro ZL1. Larson was multiple laps down when he returned to the track and wasn’t able to earn the finish he required to move forward.

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Kyle Larson opens up about his playoff exit

Kyle Larson
Kyle Larson

Kyle Larson said it was a dumb mistake on his part that prompted the elimination. He pointed out that the whole season was similar for him. Larson pointed out that he is not surprised he committed a costly mistake at such an important time.

“Just a dumb mistake on my part…It’s frustrating to end like this, but as up and down as I was this season, I’m not surprised I made another mistake, and a costly one at an important time,” Kyle Larson said.

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Kyle Larson said that the whole season was tough for him. He added that there was no real rhythm for the team this season. Larson added that he will remain to keep fighting to be better prepared for the 2023 season.  

“It’s been tough. There’s been no real rhythm to it for me and our team. But we fought hard all year to get better, and we’re going to continue to fight and continue to work hard to be better for the rest of the season, as well as be more prepared for next year,” Kyle Larson added.

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Larson pointed out that it’s days like these where one has to look for the positive takeaways and focus on the areas that need to be bettered. He said, “It’s days like today that you can take positives from…and focus on areas that you need to be better as a person, and as a driver, and as a team and come back stronger,”.

Kyle Larson said that there are a lot of areas he needs to get smarter and better. He said, “I learned there’s still a lot of areas to get a lot better and smarter again, doing a better job. Everything last year seemed to be good [and] I was on my game and things were working out — restarts, everything,”.

What are your thoughts on Larson’s playoff exit?

Also read: ‘That was the most rigged shit ever,’ NASCAR Twitter reacts to Christopher Bell’s chaotic ROVAL win

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