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Kyle Larson, driving the No. 5 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports, led 56 laps and earned another top-10 finish on Sunday at Charlotte Motor Speedway. But his P9 finish was not exactly fun for the defending Cup Series champion.
Larson, who went into Coca-Cola 600 as a defending champion, started the race from the rear of the field after damaging his car during Saturday’s practice.
In the race, he spun out on lap 166 of 413 and hit the wall several times. His car even caught on fire and faced three pit road penalties, sending his No. 5 car to the rear of the field on restarts.
The 29-year-old was having a bad day in Charlotte and, after hitting the wall, Larson was heard on his radio saying:
“I just suck. Me. As a driver. I suck. Nobody else.”
At another point while running P25, Kyle Larson called Coca-Cola 600 the worst race of his life he had ever experienced.
He said:
“I think this is the worst race of my life and we’re only halfway.”
During the closing lap, Larson was aggressive for his second win and it appeared he would win the race. However, again things didn’t go as per plan as Chase Briscoe caught Larson on lap 399, which brought out a caution and sent the race into overtime.
Furthermore, in overtime, hard-charging Austin Dillon with four fresh tires made the front of the field go four wide to challenge Larson for the lead.
However, both collided and caused a seven-car crash that sent the race into double overtime. Larson's chances of winning Coca-Cola 600 were lost, and he finished P9 at the finish line.
Kyle Larson describes his outing at Charlotte Motor Speedway
During the post-race interview, Kyle Larson spoke about his outing at Charlotte Motor Speedway and struggles, especially in the first half of the race.
Larson said:
“The first half was a struggle for all of us, but I was especially frustrated with myself. To rebound from that and have a shot to win there late was something to be proud of. Our team fought really hard, so I’m happy with that. (Chase) Briscoe was really good that long run there.
"Wish we would have been just a little bit better so he never would have got to me to work really hard and ultimately spin.”
The Coca-Cola 600 was arguably the most challenging race of the season, which saw 18 cautions and multiple wrecks. Even half of the grid were unable to complete the race.
