Kyle Larson’s crew chief cites Richard Petty and Cale Yarborough’s names in urging NASCAR fans to “maintain perspective”

Kyle Larson's crew chief, Cliff Daniels recently took to social media, urging the fans to maintain a fresh perspective following last Sunday's race at Bristol Motor Speedway. The 500-lap event received quite some backlash for not living up to the expectations of NASCAR fans.

Larson, driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro for Hendrick Motorsports, led a race-high 462 laps en route to his fifth win of the season. The margin of his victory was an astonishing 7.1 seconds, which translated into the third most dominant performance at the 0.533-mile short track in Bristol, Tennessee. However, the race had only eight lead changes. Passing was difficult due to the lack of tire wear, which induced similar lap times for everyone.

The spring race at BMS, which Denny Hamlin won, witnessed 54 lead changes. Having said that, it's not new for a single driver to lead laps like Larson did last week. Back in the day, former drivers Richard Petty and Cale Yarborough led the majority of laps in several NASCAR races.

Explaining the same, Daniels posted:

"Petty used to lap the field. Cale led every lap of the ‘73 Bristol race. Examples could go on “Back in the good ole days”"

"We have the car of today and the sport of today, lots of good going our way with fans and exposure. Dialogue to improve it is perfect. Maintain perspective. Watch Kansas on Sunday it’s going to be a great race," he added, urging the fans to watch the upcoming race at Kansas Speedway.

NASCAR is set to host the Round of 12 opener at Kansas Speedway on September 29. Fans can watch next week's race, i.e., the Hollywood Casino 400 from 3 PM ET onwards on NBC and USA. Radio updates will be available on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

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Kyle Larson defends Goodyear amid fans' wrath

There has been a lot of talk regarding the absence of tire wear at Bristol, and several fans blamed Goodyear for that. However, Kyle Larson recently penned his opinion on social media platform X, hence acquitting Goodyear of the blame.

"Bristol’s ALWAYS been tough to pass," Kyle Larson explained. "Speed on pit road and most likely there’s a good chance you’re going a lap down on the next run. That’s the way it is and has been for a very long time. We had more natural cautions from wrecks because cars could run closer and we never quite made it a full fuel run because eventually someone’s RF tire would explode from overheating."

"I’m not saying I want tires to explode again but we’re trying to crutch this race car on short tracks with the tire and then blame Goodyear every week cause cars can’t pass. I don’t have the answer to fix what we currently have and neither do you but please stop blaming Goodyear. It’s not a tire problem," he added.

According to NBC Sports, Goodyear used the same compound in both races (spring and summer) at Bristol. So why the difference in lap times? The answer is unknown. NASCAR will be using the same tire in the championship race at Phoenix Raceway. Fans are left to speculate how that might affect the most important race of the season.