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Kyle Petty, the former NASCAR driver and son of Richard Petty, believes the incident between Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott at Fontana was just a glimpse of a bigger story.
The rivalry between the Hendrick Motorsports drivers has been brewing for some time. With Kyle Larson winning the 2021 Cup Series championship and his first race of the 2022 season, Petty believes it has ruffled Elliott. He spoke in a recent interview about the rivalry and said:
“At 3 o’clock in the morning when you wake up. And you’re laying there in bed and you’re staring at the ceiling, your teammate won 10 races and a championship. It tears your butt up, you can’t go back to sleep.”
Petty believes that it's this kind of pressure on the driver that pushes them to grow. He explained that staying in Larson's shadow doesn't do Elliott any favors, and said:
“The big thing is, getting your butt kicked every week on the racetrack. And I think that will make Chase, in long run, a better driver ‘cos Chase knows he’s gotta up his game.”
From the team's point of view, Kyle Petty explains that Rick Hendrick, the team's owner, has experience with such rivalries, which has kept the team ahead. He further said:
“And Rick’s [Hendrick] always had that. We go back and look at Jeff Gordon, if you look at Dale Jr., if you look at Jimmie Johnson, they’ve fed off each other. That’s what keeps that team ahead.”
Kyle Larson's spotter takes the blame for Fontana run-in with Chase Elliott
Last Sunday's winner of WISE Power 400, Kyle Larson, came together with his team-mate on lap 179 of 200 which pushed Chase Elliott into retirement.
At the time, Elliott was of the opinion that Larson blocked him on purpose. After the race came to an end, however, Larson said that he was unaware of Elliott's presence. This was also confirmed by the driver's spotter Tyler Monn, who tweeted several hours later and said:
“Today I made a mistake. I will take full responsibility for what happen on track today. I was worried more about the 22 and not the 9. It was a late call on me it had nothing to do with Kyle.”
Meanwhile, the 29-year-old has put the incident behind him and is preparing for this weekend's Pennzoil 400, which will take place at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
