"Best driver in the world f**king spins out in front of us" - Bubba Wallace’s spotter reflects on Kyle Larson crash's impact on playoff hopes

Freddie Kraft took a jab at Kyle Larson after the Hendrick Motorsports driver collected Bubba Wallace at Michigan, hampering his playoff hopes. Kraft's dig at Larson followed the latter's remark on Max Verstappen and his crash during the FireKeepers Casino 400 race.

Larson spun during Stage Two of the recently concluded Michigan International Speedway race. In doing so, he collected Bubba Wallace, Chris Buescher, Christopher Bell, and Todd Gilliland. Besides ruining his own race, the #5 driver also damaged Wallace's hopes amid the latter's fight for the playoffs.

Wallace was running in 12th, behind Larson, who was in 10th, with five laps remaining in Stage Two. At this moment, the Hendrick Motorsports driver suddenly lost control of his Chevrolet Camaro, spun ahead of the #23 driver, and made contact.

Wallace was sent spinning into the wall, losing positions as a result. Ultimately, the 23XI driver finished the race in 26th place and saw his playoff hopes fade for another day. Speaking about this, Kraft, Wallace's spotter, opened up about it on the Door Bumper Clear podcast.

"So the first stage, we did the same thing," Kraft said. "We flipped it, we were going to get stage points still. You know we restarted that stage I think eighth of ninth, drove back up to third or fourth. Second stage we flip it again, we come out 12th as long as we don't get wrecked." (10:15-10:30)

"We were going to get stage points. Unfortunately, the best driver in the world f**king spins out in front of us. So it's a tough week to say that you're the best driver in the world and then spin out." (10:31-10:44)

Notably, Freddie Kraft's dig about the "best player" has come after Kyle Larson claimed that he considers himself superior to Max Verstappen (the reigning F1 world champion) in terms of overall racing skills. Even though Larson has labeled himself the 'best,' his Michigan crash raised eyebrows and drew criticism from the 23XI spotter."

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"Yeah, I just messed up" - Kyle Larson takes responsibility for the Michigan wreck

Kyle Larson (5) leads driver Denny Hamlin (11) during the FireKeepers 400 at Michigan International Speedway (Image via Imagn)

Kyle Larson took responsibility for his actions that compromised Bubba Wallace, Todd Gilliland, Chris Buescher, and Christopher Bell's race at Michigan. In a post-race interview, the #5 driver admitted that his mistake cost him and his team valuable points.

"Yeah, I just messed up. You try to get all you can on restarts," Larson said. "I was just trying to funnel myself up the racetrack. I didn’t want to get stuck on the bottom three-wide. Just got myself in an awkward aero spot and lost it. It’s unfortunate. I made a mistake and cost ourselves a lot of points today."

As a result of the wreck, the 32-year-old lost his lead in the regular season standings. He is now ranked fourth, with 782 points to his credit. Tyler Reddick emerged victorious, taking over the top spot. Chase Elliott and Denny Hamlin hold the second and third positions, respectively.