Kyle Larson claims massive shunt in Daytona 500 'one of the bigger' crashes he's had

Kyle Larson suffered a massive impact on the final lap of the Daytona 500. The #5 driver said it was one of the biggest crashes of his career.

Larson didn’t suffer from any injuries even though the car was wrecked after the incident.

Larson spoke to the media after the race where he said:

“I’m okay. It was definitely a huge hit. … It was definitely one of the bigger ones I’ve ever had. But thankfully, you know, car held up, I guess, and all my safety equipment was fine. And I’m fine.”

Kyle Larson and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. were side-by-side as they took the white flag. Larson was on the inside line and later made a move to the middle of the track. No other driver followed Larson, hence he lost momentum slipping down the order.

Aric Almirola’s awkward contact with Travis Pastrana's car caused Pastrana to lose control of his car. The #67 car turned Larson’s car, sending it to the outside wall, and being dragged along the wall until it came to a halt.

Larson had a shot at victory, but the untimely move cost the #5 driver his maiden Daytona 500 win. Before the final lap began, Larson was the favorite to win the race as most of his competitors were out of victory contention.

The #5 driver said:

“I wish I would have been able to finish and win the race. I felt good about it. I felt like I was in a great opportunity, great spot to win. But ultimately, it didn’t work out."

"And I knew the nine was out, the 24 was out, the 48 was not in position to win there before I got crashed. So I was just hoping that the 47 had somehow got back to the lead before the caution flag fell.”

After an eventful race starting on the front row, the Hendricks Motorsports driver failed to take the checkered flag, finishing 18th.

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Three-wide racing is not possible with these cars, says Kyle Larson

Drivers avoided taking the middle line for the 200-lap race in every stage. On the final lap, other drivers didn't support Kyle Larson’s venture to the middle as they were hesitant to take the line.

The #5 driver said in the interview:

“This package, for whatever reason, you can’t run three-wide so it just stays [two-wide]. We all know that now too. So we all just stay two-wide. You don’t go anywhere.”

He continued:

“It kind of is what it is. I would like for them to try and tweak the package. I don’t know what it takes to make it three-wide racing or whatever. It just makes it really calm until the end and it’s kind of frustrating when you get stuck fourth, fifth row on back. You have nowhere to go.”

Kyle Larson also highlighted the car's vulnerability to small bumps after the Busch Light Clash.