NASCAR: Kyle Larson’s subtle jab at Kyle Busch was legendary
By Asher Fair
Kyle Larson took a subtle jab at Kyle Busch following Busch’s frustrating experience in the the NASCAR Cup Series playoff race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Nobody left Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday evening following the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series playoff opener, the South Point 400, more frustrated than Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch.
After battling back from falling two laps down following early contact with the wall to put himself in a position to finish in the top five, the 34-year-old Las Vegas, Nevada native found himself finishing in 19th place.
With only a handful of laps remaining in this 267-lap race around the four-turn, 1.5-mile (2.414-kilometer) Las Vegas Motor Speedway oval, Busch ran into the #52 Rick Ware Racing Ford driven by Garrett Smithley, who was running 12 laps off the lead lap.
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This caused significant damage to Busch’s #18 Toyota, which caused him to lose several positions and fall off the lead lap before the checkered flag flew.
His post-race media session was anything but pretty, and he was not afraid to share his frustration, eventually leaving after proclaiming “I’m answering the dumbest f***ing questions over and over again”.
Busch’s frustration was rooted in his belief that some of the drivers of the backmarker cars shouldn’t even be competing in the Cup Series anyway, and when two of those backmarker drivers, including Smithley, defended themselves, Busch ripped them again on Twitter, saying that “top-tier drivers” get the “top-tier rides”.
Busch’s frustration continued on Twitter well into Sunday night and even into Monday morning, where he called out several fans who were clearly getting under his skin.
One “fan” who commented was fellow driver Kyle Larson, the driver of the #42 Chevrolet for Chip Ganassi Racing.
It is fairly well-known that Larson is competing in the Cup Series to fund his hobby of dirt track racing, and he has never been shy about sharing his dirt track background with anybody.
That includes Busch.
Busch responded.
Whether or not Busch understood that this was really a subtle jab at his post-race comments is unknown, but he very well may have been playing along given his sarcastic tone in his replies to fans throughout the earlier portion of the night.
Then again, perhaps he thought it was a serious question.
We can speculate all night, but it won’t matter. Because regardless, to make sure he got the point, Larson responded.
https://twitter.com/KyleLarsonRacin/status/1173497975781371904
I’d like to know what Larson considers “decent”.
Kyle Larson and Kyle Busch are slated to get back into action with the second race of the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs this Saturday, September 21 at Richmond Raceway, the site of Larson’s most recent victory back in September of 2017, for the Federated Auto Parts 400, a race Busch won last year.
This race is set to be broadcast live on NBC Sports Network from the Richmond, Virginia oval beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET. Busch sits in fourth place in the playoff picture ahead of Larson in eighth heading into it.