“I don’t know what information he’s getting”: Team Penske star blames Kyle Larson for destroying his potential victory

Team Penske driver Austin Cindric has blamed Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson for not letting him win the Ambetter Health 400. During a post-race interview with NASCAR analyst Bob Pockrass, Cindric expressed disappointment in Larson for his last-minute maneuver that destroyed the Penske driver's potential victory.

Cindric qualified second for the race and was just 0.002 seconds behind the leader and his teammate Ryan Blaney. Cindirc completed the lap with a best time of 30.91 seconds and a top speed of 179.359 mph. Meanwhile, Larson was 17th with a best time of 31.225 seconds and a top speed of 177.55 mph.

Austin Cindric had a solid run in Stage 1 and maintained his spot. However, things changed during Stage 2 where Kyle Larson finished first and the Team Penske driver was ninth. Despite a slow start in the final stage, the #2 Ford Mustang Dark Horse driver changed his pace and was in the top three cars during the final laps.

With two laps to go, the two dominant cars were involved in a crash, sending the race into overtime. On lap 258, Larson forced the Team Penske driver into the outside wall while battling for the lead. Cindric's car bounced off the wall and collected the Daytona 500 champion William Byron's car.

Reflecting upon the incident, Austin Cindric expressed his disappointment and said (via journalist Bob Pockrass' X handle):

"I don't know what information he's getting, but obviously my car was on his outside, so it definitely merits conversation. So, the abortion is we let a lot of laughs and had four the fastest cars in Atlanta and didn't win with one of them."

Joe Gibbs Racing driver Christopher Bell won the race and Kyle Larson finished in third place. Meanwhile, Cindric wrapped the race in 28th position and Byron in P27.

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"It's a constant battle with myself": Kyle Larson aims to win a second championship title through improvements

NASCAR Cup Series driver Kyle Larson had a spectacular 2024 season. He scored two more wins than the championship title winner, Joey Logano. Larson made his way to the playoffs following his season-high six wins in the series and competed till the round of eight but missed his spot in the Championship 4 race.

Reflecting upon the scope of improvement, Larson told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90 (via X handle):

"I don't know. I feel like we haven't won a championship in a few years," Larson said. "So there's still definitely a room to improve on yourself and on the team and car. For me personally, you look at the personal statistics at the end of the year, and I feel like I still crash about the most."

"That's probably one area I've probably tried to get better even though it doesn't seem like it," Larson added. "Yeah, that's the thing that I look at for this coming years: How do I maintain who I am without crashing as much? So it's a constant battle with myself, but I feel like I can figure that out and, you know, be more successful," he added.

Kyle Larson joined Hendrick Motorsports in 2021. Since then, he has made two Championship 4 appearances and won the title in his debut season. In addition, the #5 Chevy Camaro ZL1 driver is currently the most winning driver of the 2020s and aims to secure the 2025 championship title.