Bless y’all’s hearts.
And before anybody starts typing an angry Facebook comment in all caps, yes, I’m about halfway kidding.
About halfway.
The past few weeks have been rough for Kyle Larson. The finishes haven’t been there. He flipped a sprint car Tuesday night while leading at Attica. He raced until nearly 2 a.m. Sunday at EchoPark Speedway after NASCAR waited out a monsoon, climbed right back into a High Limit sprint car Monday, then jumped into a World of Outlaws car Tuesday.
Somehow, people watched all of that and decided, “Yep. He’s washed.”
Lord have mercy.
Every fanbase has that guy.
You know exactly who I’m talking about.
The fella who leans back in his lawn chair, takes a sip of sweet tea and starts every sentence with:
“Now that Kyle Larson, I tell ya what…”
Or…
“Kyle Larson was once a race car driver, I reckon.”
Or my personal favorite:
*”Should’ve never tried that Indy 500 stuff. Done scrambled his brain.”
Bless his heart.
This poor soul watches exactly one form of racing all year. If it doesn’t have a stock car on asphalt somewhere between Daytona and Darlington, he acts like it doesn’t exist. Sprint cars? “Ain’t real.” The Slinger Nationals? “What’s a Slinger?” IndyCar? “Too many right turns.” Formula 1? “Them fellas need some fenders.”
His entire motorsports worldview fits inside a Bass Pro Shops bucket hat or a cassette tape from his parents’ closet.
I’ve affectionately named this species NASCarolina.
And they’re convinced the defending Cup Series champion suddenly forgot how to drive because he had a rough month while racing more than just about anyone else on Earth.
I don’t buy that for one second.
What I see is a guy who has spent his entire life trying to outrun everyone in every race car he can physically fit inside.
Sometimes that means you overstep.
Sometimes the cushion bites back.
Sometimes a motor explodes.
Sometimes you flip while leading.
That’s called living at the limit.
If you want someone content to finish eighth every week and preserve their average finish, there are plenty of drivers who’ll happily cash the check.
Larson isn’t wired that way.
He’s trying to win.
Always.
That’s what separates him.
It’s also why he’s one of the greatest wheelmen on the planet. Another one of my favorite drivers, Max Verstappen, is in a similar type of rut right now, mind you.
And you know what racers do, they overcome. They go back to work. They turn the wheel until they get it right.
People forget this isn’t just about what Larson does behind the wheel. His fingerprints are showing up all over the future of American racing.
Need an example?
Corey Day.
Who was pounding the table for Hendrick Motorsports to take a serious look at him?
Kyle Larson.
Larson recognized elite talent because elite talent tends to recognize itself.
Now Corey Day looks like one of NASCAR’s brightest young prospects.
Funny how that works.
The same folks hollering that Larson is “washed” today will be the first ones posting eagle emojis and American flags the next time he wins on Sunday.
Because that’s what Kyle Larson does.
He goes through rough patches.
Then he reminds everyone why doubting him was a bad idea.
So here’s my advice.
If you’re jumping off the Larson bandwagon because he had a rough stretch while racing four nights in a row across multiple disciplines…
Stay off.
Don’t come sprinting back the next time he wins a Cup race on Sunday, a sprint car race on Wednesday and another dirt race before the weekend is over.
We’ll save those seats for the fans who appreciate racing in all its forms.
And to my favorite fictional NASCarolina philosopher…
“That Kyle Larson, I tell ya what…”
Yeah.
He’s still one of the baddest wheelmen walking the planet.
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