“I’m sure that was my fault”: Kyle Larson confesses to his blunder that cost Team Penske rival’s Atlanta race

The AmBetter Health 400 race ended dramatically, and Team Penske driver Austin Cindric pointed fingers at Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson for destroying his potential victory. Later, during a post-race interview with NASCAR reporter Kelly Crandall, Larson confessed his true feelings about his last-minute maneuver.

The Team Penske driver qualified second for the 260-lap race and was just 0.002 seconds behind his teammate and pack leader Ryan Blaney. On the other hand, Larson was 0.317 seconds behind Blaney and qualified in 17th place with a best time of 31.255 seconds and a top speed of 177.55 mph.

Both drivers maintained their spots in Stage 1. However, things changed in Stage 2. Kyle Larson won his first stage win of 2025; meanwhile, Cindric fell to ninth place. Despite a slow start in the final stage, the #2 Ford Mustang Dark Horse driver regained his position in the top three cars during the final laps.

With just two laps to go, on lap 258, Larson forced Cindric into the outside walls while competing for the lead. The Team Penske driver bounced back and collected Larson's teammate William Byron.

Reflecting upon his last-minute maneuver, Kyle Larson confessed (via X handle):

"Yeah, that was my fault. I haven't seen a replay, but I'm sure that was my fault."

Further in the interview with Crandall Larson Larson stated:

"I was gonna clear him a little bit better and, like, just drive in front of him, and he could pick me up in the backstretch, and I think he just, he just got there, like, he got closer to my right side quicker than I anticipated, and then I'm, like, tight, you know? My spotter is yelling last second, outside, outside, and I'm just, I'm trying to give space because I don't want to get hooked myself in the wall."

"So I just probably ran him out of space. I haven't seen the replay yet, but I'm assuming that's what happened. He was just a kind of a lazy, you know, drive a contract by my end," he added.

Joe Gibbs Racing driver Christopher Bell won the race, followed by Carson Hocewar in second place and Kyle Larson in third place. On the other hand, Austin Cindric wrapped up the race in 28th position and Byron in P27.

---

"It's a constant battle with myself": Kyle Larson opened up about his scope of improvements

Former NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson had a remarkable run in the 2024 season. He secured two more wins than the Cup Series champion Joey Logano and made his way into the playoffs. His season-high six wins led him to enter the round of eight. But he failed to land a spot in the Championship Four race.

Reflecting upon his scope of improvements, the HMS driver 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 has made two appearances in the Championship Four race and won the title in his debut season with Hendrick Motorsports in 2021. Additionally, he is the most winning driver of the 2020s and aims to secure his second title in the 2025 season.