What happened to Kyle Larson's Terry Labonte tribute car at Darlington? HMS driver explains late-race spin

Kyle Larson was one of the favorites to win this year's Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway. However, luck didn't side with the Elk Grove native as he cut his left-rear tire and rammed straight into the outside wall coming off of turn 3, late in the final stage.

It was heartbreaking for fans to see Larson's Terry Labonte tribute car break down like that. It was equally devastating to see Larson run top-10 all day and yet settle for a 34th-place finish in the end.

In a post-race interview with FOX Sports, the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion explained what went wrong for him.

"I was struggling and I got really loose into that long run and William (Byron) caught me," he said. "I was just letting him by in (turns) 1 and 2, and I just kind out there. I was trying to be really wide away from him and then I just stayed wide too long and I got hung in the marble and hit the wall.”

Kyle Larson had no idea as to which tire had flattened out. Moments after the race was over, he said:

“I don't know which tire... but the tire shredded and spun into turn 3. I hate that my mistake, not even trying hard at all, cost us a race. Really frustrated at myself right now but good car today. I was running a really good race till that point.”

Nevertheless, Kyle Larson has been great at intermediate tracks like Darlington. Last year, he won the crown jewel Southern 500. His average at the track “Too Tough to Tame” is an impressive 9.4 and in his six attempts at the 1.366-mile quad-oval in South Carolina, the Hendrick Motorsports icon has registered three top-two finishes, leading 270 laps.

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Kyle Larson’s ride gets voted by fans as having the best throwback scheme

Moments before the race at Darlington Raceway began, it was announced that Kyle Larson’s number 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, which flaunted Terry Labonte’s 1996 red and yellow paint scheme, had won the 2024 Best in Class Throwback Paint Scheme title by fan votes. Labonte drove the #5 car to the victory lane at the 1996 championship with the same age-old Kellogg's paint scheme.

The veteran racer himself was present on the track to participate in driver introductions alongside Larson.

For the third straight year, a Hendrick Motorsports car won the best in the lot paint scheme title. Last year, Chase Elliott's no. 9 Llumar-themed car, which was also a tribute to his legendary father Bill Elliott, won the poll. The year before that, his car which featured the same yellow and blue paint that was seen on Jimmy Means’ car back in 1993, took home the honors.