“An honest mistake”: When Kyle Larson shared his take on the controversial incident with Chase Elliott

Hendrick Motorsports teammates Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott got into a controversial incident during the 2022 Cup Series season. The incident occurred in the early season in February at the Auto Club Speedway, and after the race, Larson shared his take on the incident.

At the Wise Power 400 race with 22 laps to go, Elliott attempted to overtake teammate Larson and Team Penske driver Joey Logano for the lead on turn three. However, Elliott was forced into the walls by his teammate, leading the #9 Chevy Camaro ZL1 into the pit for necessary repair, costing valuable time.

Elliott returned to the track several laps later while Kyle Larson glided smoothly with his lead and won the 200-lap race, leading 28 laps. Meanwhile, Chase Elliott finished the race in 26th place on the grid. This situation escalated quickly, and Tyler Monn, the spotter of the #5 car, took responsibility for the incident. He wrote:

"Today I made a mistake. I will take full responsibility for what happen on track today. I was worried more about the 22 and not the 9. It was a late call on me it had nothing to do with Kyle."

Kyle Larson also expressed remorse that the situation ended his teammate Chase Elliott's comeback efforts. Larson stated:

"It was just an honest mistake on probably both of our faults. I should have had more awareness in my mirror. My spotter could have told me he was coming with a big run, and we would have avoided that mess. I would have probably not been side drafting on Joey as hard as I was. I would have been more so protecting on Chase than worrying about Joey." (via racingamerica.com)

A similar instance happened later in the season in August at the Glen.

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Déjà vu for Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott at 2022 Watkins Glen International

In the second half of the season, the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson pulled a similar move on his teammate Chase Elliott as he did in the first half. During the Go Bowling! race at Watkins Glen International in the 2022 season, Larson's last-minute aggressive move shattered Elliott's chance of winning the race.

During the last restart, with just five laps to go at turn one, Kyle Larson overtook his teammate's #9 Chevy Camaro ZL1, sending him wide. Elliott finished the race in fourth place while Larson took home the win. Chase Elliott was upset by Larson's move on him and had discussed the incident with team owner Rick Hendrick and VP Jeff Gordron in the pits.

It doesn’t matter. The day’s done. Just thinking about (Daytona) and learning what I need to do to be good there. There’s nothing I can do about today now. So doesn’t matter, does it? And I’ll answer that for you. It does not. It doesn’t matter,” Elliott stated. (via NASCAR)

Despite a major on-track feud with his teammate Chase Elliott handled the situation professionally, offering a short congratulatory note to the #5 team during the post-race interviews.