One of the hot topics following Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway was a potential brewing feud between Hendrick Motorsports teammates Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson.
On a late pit stop in Sunday’s race, Larson swerved to avoid an exiting Brad Keselowski, which led to him dooring the side of Elliott’s car. As the two drivers exited pit road, Elliott swerved back at Larson’s door in frustration, and then following the race Elliott sought out his teammate on pit road to talk about the incident.
If you missed Sunday’s race, here is a post with the video of the pit road incidents between the two drivers, and post-race talk on pit road:
Video: Chase Elliott Confronts Kyle Larson After Pit Road Contact at Kansas
Elliott stopped by SiriusXM NASCAR Radio’s Sirius Speedway on Tuesday afternoon to discuss the incident, and he says there is nothing there as far as a feud between him and his teammate. In fact, Elliott apologized for showcasing frustration before fully understanding the situation on Sunday.
“We obviously ran into each other on pit road, and I didn’t have the full picture of what went on. I was frustrated. That stuff happens, for sure. But at the end of the day, I’ll certainly take the blame for my frustrations on that front,” Elliott explained.
The 2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion says that he and Larson were able to put the issue to bed in their brief chat on pit road following Sunday’s race. While Elliott says it’s a good thing he has no residual beef with his teammate, it’s a bad thing for those, who crave drama.
“The good news is he and I could have a conversation like adults, and it’s a non-issue. The bad news is, it’s a non-issue for all of y’all and everybody that wants to talk about it,” Elliott pointed. “There’s nothing to talk about. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, I know you guys love your drama, but there’s just none here this week.”
For those who feel that Elliott and Larson share disdain for one another or are jealous of each other’s success, Elliott shut those thoughts down immediately.
“I don’t feel that way at all,” Elliott said when asked if he is jealous of Larson. “Our relationship has actually been good. We had a lot of dialogue, and like I said, we talked about it there after the race, and that was it. There’s nothing more to really even discuss.
“When you talk about things, and you get the full picture of what was going on, and you have a discussion like adults, there’s really no need for anything else. Neither he or I care about what is said during the week. At the end of the day, I think we’re both pretty performance-motivated and driven, and we’ll continue to be.”
As far as the conversation on pit road, Elliott says it wasn’t heated. It wasn’t impassioned. It was simply one guy asking what happened, and the other explaining what happened. End of story.
“I just asked what happened, and he told me what happened, and I said, ‘Okay,’ it was really that simple. In my mind it was done and over with at that point,” Elliott said. “I think everybody, who likes to talk about this stuff, that was where the topic I guess got taken to a different level. But I left it there. Unfortunately, y’all didn’t At least you had something to talk about. I’m sure my social team appreciated the mentions. But outside of that, there’s nothing to it.”
Here is the full clip from SiriusXM NASCAR Radio:
.@chaseelliott shares his perspective on the late-race pit road incident with @KyleLarsonRacin at @kansasspeedway ??
?? “I didn’t have the full picture of what went on so I was frustrated […] the good news is he and I can have a conversation like adults and it’s a non-issue.” pic.twitter.com/njpkqZzYlB
— SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Ch. 90) (@SiriusXMNASCAR) September 12, 2023
Elliott, who is not in the NASCAR Cup Series driver’s championship Playoffs is still very much in the hunt for the NASCAR Cup Series owner’s championship with his No. 9 team. Elliott will shift his focus to this weekend’s Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway, where he will pilot a beautiful black and gold NAPA Gold Filters Chevrolet Camaro ZL1.
It seems as though for now, any chance of a flame up of a feud between Hendrick Motorsports teammates has been extinguished. Time to move on to another story.
