NASCAR drivers (and fans) love Twitter drama when Kyle Larson is in the middle of it
Kyle Larson might not be the most active NASCAR driver on social media, but whenever a post blows up, Larson seems to be involved.
“I wouldn’t say I post enough, or as much as my team and NASCAR probably want me to,” Larson said. “But I definitely pay attention to what’s going on on social media and chime in when I want to.”
Last week, for example, Denny Hamlin posted a video of himself running into Larson’s heels with a shopping cart while the two were grocery shopping with Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
The move was plotted out by Hamlin and Stenhouse Jr. following last Sunday’s race in Southern California, and was intended to mimic what happened earlier that day on the track. The video, which Hamlin posted on Twitter Sunday night, received nearly 10,000 likes.
“Denny wrecked me last week. Not on purpose or anything, but he did end up wrecking us,” Larson said. “We were all staying together and we were going to pick up some groceries on Sunday night. Denny and Ricky thought it’d be funny to run into me with the shopping cart.”
Larson said he knew the two were up to something, but it still caught him by surprise.
“I saw them giggling, scheming something,” Larson said. “It was a pretty funny video. I think some people maybe didn’t see the humor in it.”
One of those people was Chip Ganassi, owner of the team Larson drives for. He responded to Hamlin’s video with a tweet of his own a few days later.
“I have a building full of people including myself that do not think that’s funny. #badtaste,” Ganassi wrote in response.
Larson said he appreciated the support, but ultimately, he didn’t take Hamlin’s post too seriously.
“We’re still buddies,” Larson said with a laugh.
In fact, Larson, Hamlin and Stenhouse Jr. are a regular squad. The crew went golfing together last week between their races in California and Arizona.
“Stenhouse, myself and Denny, we hang out every week,” Larson said. “And usually go golfing after practice or qualifying on Saturdays.”
There are other drivers in the Cup Series that Larson might not be as close with personally, but social media provides an outlet for the same type of banter. Larson, for example, was the instigator of Kevin Harvick’s Truck Series bounty between NASCAR Cup drivers. That, too, recently unfolded on Twitter, with Harvick promising $50,000 to any full-time Cup driver who beats Kyle Busch in his next four truck races.
Larson is among the pool of drivers, including Hamlin and Chase Elliott, who said he would challenge Busch. Larson said he would race against him at Homestead-Miami.
“It’s good exposure for the truck series and NASCAR,” Larson said. He also shared some thoughts about how the terms of the bet could be improved.
“I wish if one of those Truck Series drivers were to beat Kyle, they would be in on the cash also,” Larson said. “Because they can beat him. It’s been done. It hasn’t been done in a while, but there’s some good talent in the Truck Series and they could use the funding a lot.”
Larson sparked the series-wide bet with a tweet; He posted three cherry emojis in response to a video of Busch winning a truck race earlier this season, insinuating Busch was beating easier competition (i.e., cherry-picking). Harvick came to Busch’s defense with the bet.
Despite the joke, Larson recognizes Busch’s talent. He offered the reigning Cup Series champion some pretty high praise.
“Hopefully I can beat him,” Larson said. “It would be really tough. I think he’s the best driver we have in NASCAR, so it won’t be easy for sure, but it’ll be fun.”
Larson is ranked among the top-10 drivers in points currently, but he has not yet won a race this season. He will have his best opportunity to do so at Homestead. The track is one where the No. 42 Chevrolet driver has historically run well, in both a truck and a car.
When asked if Larson would put any of his own cash up for the truck bet, Larson was again quick with the banter. This time, offline.
“Me?! No.” Larson said. “I don’t make as much money as Kevin Harvick.”
This story was originally published March 8, 2020 at 6:00 AM.
