"The good thing is we have a win already" - Kyle Larson upbeat despite disappointing finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway

Reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson has been on a run of bad luck for the past two races.

The driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 has been unable to finish the last two races in Pheonix and Atlanta. Larson suffered a mechanical failure in Pheonix, where he crashed out of the race yesterday in Atlanta.

Larson explained his point of view on the crash after the race, and said:

“We were just coming to the end of the stage. He (Denny Hamlin) was just trying to help me get a run down the front stretch. He just got to me in the corner and got me loose. I hate that happened, but it’s a product of this racing and product of pushing; trying to draft and get your lane going. Nothing is intentional."

The 29-year-old thought about his championship and was happy he had already won a race, stating:

"Obviously, I wish we were still out there and both of us racing. The good thing is we have a win already. Two DNF’s in a row isn’t what we want, but our No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevy is fast."

Despite the two DNFs, Kyle Larson has kept his spirits up as NASCAR heads to the Circuit of the Americas next weekend for the EchoPark Automotive Texas Grand Prix.

Denny Hamlin's views on incident with Kyle Larson

Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson had a coming together in the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 yesterday, which rendered both drivers out of the race.

Hamlin tried to push Larson in stage two of the race, which ended with Larson spinning and taking the pair out. Hamlin spoke to Bob Pockrass afterwards and said:

"I was pushing the #5 and we had plenty of grip, but the track get light right off of (turn) 4 and I needed to let him go."

The Joe Gibbs racing driver sits near the bottom of the points table and needs a good result in Austin, Texas next weekend.