"I’m bummed at myself for doing that" - Kyle Larson disappointed with NASCAR Talladega race performance

Reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion and a key player in the 2022 playoffs, Kyle Larson was left dissatisfied after the Elk Grove, California native's outing at Yellawood 500 yesterday. The 500-mile-long race at Talladega Superspeedway saw the Hendrick Motorsports driver finish in a lowly P18, unable to capitalize on the points on offer during the race.

The 30-year-old driver did manage to grab points in the second stage of the second Round of 12 race in the playoffs before the sport heads to Charlotte Roval. The third race on the oval-turned-road course will determine the ultimate 8 drivers who will further advance into contention for this year's title. Larson, however, could not manage to replicate his P3 finish in the second stage into a top-5 or top-10 as he dropped back after losing momentum in the final stage.

Kyle Larson elaborated on what happened from his point of view and said:

“We were able to get some stage points, so that was good. Stage two was working out. We almost got the stage win; we fell into third, but we were OK with that. In the final stage, the pit cycle worked out well. I just got squirrely off of (Turn) 2 once and lost a little bit of track position. I made one bad lane decision and pretty much ended our race. I’m bummed at myself for doing that. I thought it was going to be the right move, but it ended up being the wrong move.”

The nature of superspeedway racing, as many drivers are aware of, depends on one's skill behind the wheel as well as luck being on their side. It seemed as if Larson's fortunes were not in his favor as much as he would have liked.

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Kyle Larson claims he feels safer in a Sprint car rather than a Cup car

The ongoing concerns over the new seventh generation of Cup Series cars introduced this season have been well-spoken about by the drivers and teams. The new car, dubbed the 'Next Gen' car, is known for transferring impacts on to the driver in case of accidents, and drivers have been complaining about the same to the governing body since the start of the year.

Hendrick Motorsport's Kyle Larson added fuel to the fire when he claimed his part-time hobby of driving sprint cars on dirt felt safer than the Cup Series cars and said:

“It is a bit odd that I feel more safe in a Sprint car than a Cup car at this point, so, not good.”

Watch the complete interview below:

Kyle Larson will return to Charlotte Roval next weekend as he tries to solidify his chances of advancing to the next playoffs round for the Bank of America Roval 400.