The NASCAR giants have inherited quite the team now and look very promising for the future. Having said that, the team must be having high expectations from both Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson. While healthy competition is always advisable, it has sometimes gotten out of hand between the two.
Elliott and Larson have been competing from a very young age and are only getting better with time. Having said that, they became teammates in the 2021 season when Larson joined Hendrick Motorsports from Chip Ganassi Racing. Since then, they have had their ups and downs on the track as it all started last year at Fontana.
Coming off his 2021 title win, Larson was beaming with confidence and keen on repeating the feat in the 2022 season. On came the Auto Club Speedway race in Fontana. With just under 20 laps to go, Larson was in a tussle with Joey Logano before Chase Elliott came riding up the outside. What happened next was probably instinct from Larson as he veered to his right, with Elliott ramming into the wall.
This saw the No. 9 driver run out of contention to win the race and eventually, Larson ended up as the winner. Clearly, Elliott wasn’t too happy about it. Later on, Larson did go on to admit that it was a mistake but the damage was already done. However, Elliott remained patient and did not make any fuss in the public about it.
Memorable Moments of the 2022 NASCAR Season (according to @bobpockrass).
"#3: Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson tangled twice during the season and both times Larson was the beneficiary as he won at California and Watkins Glen. Is it over? We’ll see." pic.twitter.com/QsQ3xXY6AJ
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) December 13, 2022
His patience, though. was tested six months later this incident, when the duo was once again involved in a clash. Following a caution and with five laps remaining, Larson shoved Elliott out of the way to take the lead. Once again, the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion emerged as the winner, this time at Watkins Glen International. Clearly, Elliott was hard-done the second time in the same season by his own teammate.
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It is understandable how frustrating it might have been for Chase Elliott given all the efforts he had put in. It only got more annoying for him, knowing it was his very own teammate. After the race, Elliott was seen speaking with team owner Rick Hendrick and Vice Chairman Jeff Gordon.
#NASCAR … I asked Chase Elliott about lip readers who suggested he told Rick Hendrick and Jeff Gordon on pit road at Watkins Glen that things couldn’t be fixed in regards to the incident with Kyle Larson. This is what Chase said … pic.twitter.com/eLSVjl3AHb
— Dustin Long (@dustinlong) August 24, 2022
While it certainly didn’t look all well from Elliott’s face, the young driver was quite calm and polite in his post-race conference. He congratulated Larson for the victory, saying that it was a great job and that he thoroughly deserved it. All said and done, it was difficult to digest given how Elliott had lost all enthusiasm after the incident. On the other hand, Kyle Larson had plenty to say.
It was the second time in the 2022 season that Larson had been the guilty party in a clash with Elliott. But the former Chip Ganassi Racing driver was quite open about what happened. As per The Athletic, he said, “I did what I felt like I had to do to get the win and get some bonus points that we desperately need as we head on into the playoffs.”
