“He’s got a lot of hype”: Kyle Larson “excited” to witness sprint car prodigy rise through the ranks

After impressing at Bristol, Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson is all set for the first race of the round of 12 at the Kansas Speedway. During his pre-race interview with Frontstretch.com, Larson was questioned about his views on Hendrick Motorsports 21-year-old prodigy Corey Day.

The youngster caught Larson after finishing fourth in Reese's 150 ARCA race held at the Kansas Speedway on Friday, 27 September 2024. The reporter asked Larson about finding similarities in Corey Day in the initial days of his career. To which the #5 Chevy Camaro driver replied, reminiscing about his debut Truck Series starts and how he wrecked them.

"I think he's got a lot of hype, but at the same time, you know, he's so new to stock cars that, like he is, he is really learning and having to learn quickly. So I'm excited to kind of see how he progresses, and as he understands the car more, I think you'll you'll see less mistakes, probably less like over aggression," stated Kyle Larson. [03:38]

The #5 Chevy Camaro driver highlighted that it is "fun" to watch Corey Day as a "fan" and see him "try and learn." Larson believes that Day has a good grip on his tires. He concluded:

"I think he's just whether that being a sprint car or just in the short amount of starts and having stock cars. So he's young and he learns quickly. so he'll be good." [05:14]

Andy Jankowiak confronts Kyle Larson’s acclaimed prodigy after the Kansas race

21-year-old Corey Day raced in Reese's 150 ARCA race held at the Kansas Speedway on Friday, 27 September 2024, and finished fourth. Day won a top-five spot by side-bumping Andy Jankowiak in the last lap, and the 36-year-old ARCA driver is not thrilled with the outcome and confronted Kyle Larson's acclaimed prodigy after the race.

Joe Gibbs Racing team driver Tanner Gray won the race, and Day was 2.108 seconds behind him. On the other hand, Andy Jankowiak finished in seventh place due to Day's side bumping and pushing him into the guard rails in the last lap. In a video, the #73 driver was seen confronting Corey Day about the crash.

Before the collision, the #73 driver was in third place and leading the 18-year-old Trackhouse racing team driver, Collision Zilisch. But the push from Kyle Larson's acclaimed prodigy changed the outcomes of the race. In the post-race interview, Jankowiak expressed his anger about the aggressive driving.

"I guess I got to stop being so nice to everybody, because I'm trying to give guys room out there, and it's not coming back. The other way, we're getting run over by, you know, Hendrick Motorsports cars," stated Andy Jankowiak [00:13].

Continuing further, he mentioned that they are a small team and are fighting hard for a good finish this season. But they were robbed of their top-five finish in the last race by smashing him in the wall.