Kyle Larson was surprised to hear Tony Stewart’s decision to part ways with Donny Schatz after their 18-year run in Sprint Car racing. Although Larson knew the split was coming, he didn’t expect it to happen mid-season, with Kerry Madsen stepping into the #15 car.Stewart, a three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, cited underwhelming performance in recent times as the reason for the split. He secured eight World of Outlaws championships, nine Knoxville Nationals, and 234 victories with Schatz behind the wheel.In a pre-race interview at Richmond Raceway, veteran NASCAR reporter Bob Pockrass asked Kyle Larson, who is an accomplished dirt car racer himself, about his thoughts on Tony Stewart's mid-season driver swap.“The only thing that surprised me was that it came now. I heard that it was probably coming at the end of the year. But yeah, in the middle of the season, that was a bit surprising. But you know, racing is still business so I can understand it,” Larson said.Pockrass then asked if Larson hates Donny Schatz now that Schatz is teammates with David Gravel at Big Game Motorsports. For context, the Hendrick Motorsports driver had a heated exchange with Gravel during the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series "Knight Before" at Eldora Speedway last month.“No, I don't hate Gravel. Why does everyone think I hate Gravel?” Larson said. “It's (smack talking) a thing, but you don't have to hate somebody to talk sh*t.”This week's race is scheduled for 400 laps around the 0.75-mile Richmond oval on Saturday night. It will mark the second-to-last regular-season race, with Larson already locked in the playoffs thanks to his three wins from Homestead-Miami, Bristol, and Kansas.Outside NASCAR, the 33-year-old co-owns the Kubota High Limit Racing, a 410 winged sprint car national series. The series hosts 60 races in 20 states across the country this year, with a payout of nearly $6 million in prize money.“Never bet against yourself”: Kyle Larson's crew chief on tougher regular-season championship fightAfter a 39th-place finish at Watkins Glen, Kyle Larson’s crew chief, Cliff Daniels, remained optimistic about their chances for the regular-season championship in the final two races. Despite trailing by 85 points, he believes the speed of the #5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet can keep them in contention. Cliff Daniels said (via NASCAR):“There’s not a whole lot to be said about right now, other than we’re just not getting the results. We’re going to keep building on the momentum that we have as a group: our operation, our chemistry, and all the things that we’ve been kind of fostering and growing this year.”“Never bet against yourself, and just being realistic about where we are, the fact that we have shown up with speed the last handful of weeks, I’m really hopeful that people count us out,” Daniels added.Kyle Larson (left) and Cliff Daniels (right) - Source: ImagnWilliam Byron currently leads the standings with 812 points, ahead of Chase Elliott and Denny Hamlin by 42 and 81 points, respectively. Both Christopher Bell and Kyle Larson are down by 85 points, with Ryan Blaney behind by 112 points in sixth.