Kyle Larson had an abysmal race at Darlington on April 6th, 2025. The driver of the No. 5 NASCAR Chevy – often touted as one of the best drivers in modern motorsport – lost control all by himself early in the race, pounding the inside wall. He went 160 laps down as his crew attended to the damage, only to return to the racing surface and spin out again after contact with a competitor with very few laps to go, triggering a caution that ultimately changed the course of the entire race.
Larson drives for Hendrick Motorsports (HMS), which also fields the No. 24 NASCAR Chevy for William Byron. Though Larson spent most of the day dealing with a wrecked car, Byron went on to lead almost every lap. However, a competitor took control during a late-race pit stop, miring Byron deep in the field.
By this point, Larson was back on track, 160 laps off the pace. Larson ended up in front of Bubba Wallace – a driver he’s had run-ins with before – and braked. Wallace’s No. 23 Toyota TRD Camry nosed hard into the back of the No. 5 Chevy, sending Larson for his second spin of the day and triggering the race’s final caution.
Ride with the Nos. 5 and 23. https://t.co/UIkXwiOu2F pic.twitter.com/UOZCsr3dVj
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) April 6, 2025
It’s not clear why Larson and Wallace were in that position to begin with, or why either driver responded so aggressively. Larson wasn’t a threat to Wallace in terms of position. Did Larson make a genuine mistake, or was he trying to tip the race back in the favor of his HMS teammate, Byron, since Larson himself had nothing to lose? Or did Wallace purposefully take out the No. 5 Chevy to bring out the caution and help his own teammates?
There’s another piece to the puzzle. Byron didn’t end up winning the race, either – Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 Toyota TRD Camry, won the ensuing race off Pit Road and never looked back. Ironically, Hamlin owns the Wallace machine.
At the time of this writing, NASCAR hasn’t announced any penalties resulting from the incident.
Comments
Is it just me or did nascar just become a 200 mph demolition derby
Well the drivers have no skin in the game. Wreck em and get on the plane and go home. They do not have to show up at the shop in the morning and swing wrenches. Owners have to get these idiots under control.
If I were NASCAR … for (3) races … Larson, Wallace, and Hamlin would sit out the races, they wouldn’t even be allowed on the tracks, with basically one month away their chances of any kind of a Championship run would be over. Scott and Bill are right, the car owners (Hamlin in this issue) need to reel in the drivers in order to stop the demo-derby racing series currently being done. On another note … if anyone from NASCAR is reading/seeing this … end the crazy an hard to keep up with “stage races”, it’s a waste of time an resources. Bring back the old style points system, 2 points for leading a lap, so many points for winning, so many points for leading the most laps … that way, we saw the best racing NASCAR ever had (1990’s) a great driver can come back from behind like the late Allen Kulwickie did with the Hooters #7 Ford Thunderbird won … after Earnhardt and Wallace had taken out each other … Allen won the Winston Cup Championship as well at the same race, and while we’re at it, bring back the Tobacco sponsors like Winston, Camel, etc …I don’t smoke, and they never enticed me to do so, same with the Beer sponsors … and this is from a former Busch Grand National Series Sponsor who with Lucks Country Style Foods sponsored Jim Bown Motorsports.