“Kyle Larson and I connected”: Austin Cindric pulls back the curtain on Atlanta incident with HMS superstar

Austin Cindric and Kyle Larson had an on-track incident in Atlanta that ended Cindric’s race. Afterward, Cindric and Larson connected to discuss the situation and set expectations for future races.

Going back to the incident, Austin Cindric was in contention for the win at Atlanta Motor Speedway when a late-race incident with Kyle Larson ended his chances. While battling for the lead, Larson moved up the track and put Cindric into the wall, causing him to collide with William Byron before crashing hard into the inside wall on the backstretch.

Cindric, who had already wrecked from the lead at Daytona, had to settle for a disappointing 28th-place finish. Frustrated after the race, he called out Larson’s move, questioning the information the latter received before making the aggressive maneuver.

As sourced via Ford Performance NASCAR, Cindric was helping his team load the car after the race when he realized he needed to reach out to Larson. Instead of seeking Larson out immediately, he handed his business card to Jeff Andrews of Hendrick Motorsports, signaling that he wanted to talk.

Cindric explained that he wasn’t in the right mindset to have a direct discussion at the track, but realized the importance of clearing the air. He recalled that he had a stack of business cards from his early racing days, which he used to hand out to team owners and managers while trying to make connections. In this case, it served as a way to get in touch with Larson without an immediate confrontation.

By Monday, the two drivers connected and had what Cindric described as a productive conversation. Larson took responsibility for the incident, acknowledging that his move led to Cindric’s crash.

Though the discussion didn’t change the race's outcome, Cindric felt it was important to set expectations for how they would race each other going forward. He expressed respect for Larson and accepted that they would likely be competing against each other for wins throughout the season. In his own words,

“I wasn’t in the best headspace to talk, but I knew it needed to happen,” Cindric admitted.

“Sometimes guys will reach out to you and sometimes guys won’t. I don’t have a super close relationship with Kyle by any means, so it’s not like he’s got my number. I guess that was my way of saying, ‘Hey, we really need to talk about this,’ in a way that was gonna be not emotional for me because at the time I was pretty frustrated.” he added,

Cindric, who currently sits fourth in the NASCAR Cup Series standings, admitted in the same interview that he is now focused on the upcoming race at Circuit of The Americas (COTA). The shorter course at COTA is expected to change race dynamics, but Cindric believes the bigger factor will be the introduction of a new road course tire.

“It’s supposed to be similar to what we used at Watkins Glen in the playoffs,” he said. He expects tire wear and strategy to play key roles in the race outcome.

Cindric will now shift his focus to the upcoming NASCAR Cup Series race at Circuit of the Americas, where he looks to turn his luck around. The 2025 NASCAR EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at COTA will take place on Sunday, March 2, at 3:30 PM ET, airing live on FOX.

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Kyle Larson’s Frustration with Superspeedways Continues

Kyle Larson has built an impressive NASCAR career, winning a Cup Series Championship and securing multiple race wins with Hendrick Motorsports. However, one major achievement has continued to elude him—the Daytona 500.

During a recent appearance on Corey LaJoie’s Stacking Pennies podcast, Larson openly discussed his struggles at superspeedways, particularly at Daytona, where he has never secured a Cup Series win. Reflecting on his performance in the 2025 Daytona 500, Larson admitted his frustration with decision-making in the race. Speaking to LaJoie, he said,

“It’s difficult and I feel like you said: you think you start to figure it out, like with the 500... although we haven’t had good finishes, I’m confident when we go to superspeedways. But Daytona I was just like mad afterwards. Every move I made, which wasn’t mini-moves, was the wrong one; and then you just get gridlocked.” [15:45 onward].

Larson also pointed out the unpredictable nature of superspeedway racing, where luck plays a significant role. Using his Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron as an example, he noted how small margins can decide a driver’s fate.

“I’m like right in the middle, like OK, when am I going to wreck? And then you see guys like William (Byron), who’s right next to me misses the wreck by THIS much. Every time! Why can’t I align myself up in the right lane?” [16:15 onward].

Despite his skill across different tracks, superspeedways have remained a weak spot in Larson’s career. While he has had competitive runs, he has struggled to find consistent results at tracks like Daytona, adding to the frustration of missing out on a win in one of NASCAR’s most prestigious events.