"Bubba just decided to run through me" - Kyle Larson's views on last lap exchanges with Bubba Wallace during 2024 NASCAR Busch Light Clash

In the press conference following the 2024 Busch Light Clash at the LA Memorial Coliseum, NASCAR Cup Series driver Kyle Larson reflected on his final-lap contact with Bubba Wallace.

Kyle Larson returned to NASCAR action for the first time since last year's season finale. As the racing world gears up for a brand-new season to kick off in Daytona later this month, fans were treated to the campaign's first non-points race at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in California.

The race, rescheduled to a day before its original date, delivered its fair share of chaos on the track. As the 151-lap event entered it's closing stages, Larson was entangled in a contact with 23XI Racing driver Bubba Wallace. Reflecting on the incident, Larson explained in the post-race press conference (via Frontstretch):

"He was really fast there, and I let him go because he was way faster. Restarts get crazy. I think it was the second-last restart and I was able to get in front of him. Then the leaders' cars started racing, that was right when Ty Gibbs got back in line and Bubba just decided to run through me."

Despite the initial contact, Kyle Larson adopted a pragmatic view, attributing it to the "style of racing" Bubba Wallace embraced. He added:

"He sent me through Ty (Gibbs) and (it) spun him. There I was just like, 'okay, whatever, it's the style of his racing.' I haven't seen any other replays from the last restart, but he got me again, and then got me again in the next corner."

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Kyle Larson wanted to "get back" at Bubba Wallace

By the time the final lap approached, Larson felt compelled to retaliate. He explained (via Frontstretch):

"I think at that point it was three times and my none, so I wanted to get him back before the checkered. I wasn't trying to spin hum out or anything, I was just trying to shove him through the corner like he was doing me."

"So, a product of this racing and finally reaching my limit, I guess, but yeah that's how it was," added Larson.

Kyle Larson finished the race in fifth position, whereas Bubba Wallace's night concluded with a 12th-place finish. The latter's race was marked by a pivotal moment when contact from his teammate Tyler Reddick led to Wallace spinning.

Meanwhile, Denny Hamlin, driver for Joe Gibbs Racing and co-owner of Wallace's 23XI Racing, secured the victory. The win was Hamlin's fourth at the event.