Kyle Larson had a miserable Sunday at Phoenix Raceway, and he wasn’t particularly interested in sugarcoating it.
The Hendrick Motorsports driver struggled with his No. 5 Chevrolet throughout the Freeway Insurance 500, eventually crashing out and finishing 34th. But before his afternoon ended in the garage, Larson delivered one of the day’s most memorable assessments of his race car.
And with NASCAR keeping tabs on drivers’ colorful language through its swear jar initiative, those frustrations came with an amusing twist.
The latest total? A whopping $6,565.
Kyle Larson Doesn’t Hold Back During Phoenix Nightmare
Larson entered Sunday’s race leading the NASCAR Cup Series Chase standings. By the end of the afternoon, he was fortunate to still be holding that position.
His problems started well before the crash.
The No. 5 Chevrolet lacked speed and grip, leaving Larson increasingly frustrated as other drivers worked their way through the field. And at one point, he made it painfully clear just how little he felt he could do about it.
“I don’t know. Nothing is good, and even when it feels good, they’re way [expletive] faster. This [expletive] 77 is light years faster than me, and I know I’m probably not the best short track guy, but I feel like I’m [expletive] maximizing what I got,” Larson said over the radio.
The No. 77 belonged to Carson Hocevar, and Larson couldn’t understand how Hocevar was finding so much more speed when he felt he was already getting everything possible out of his own car.
That wasn’t his only colorful assessment.
Following an earlier restart on two tires, Larson summed up the handling of his Chevrolet in similarly blunt terms.
“It didn’t feel completely like ass, but we were completely like ass,” Larson said.
During another difficult stretch, he reported, “No grip. No turn. Definitely no rear.”
Eventually, Larson’s afternoon went from frustrating to disastrous. He hit the wall with a flat right-front tire, bringing out the caution and forcing his Hendrick Motorsports team to take the damaged Chevrolet to the garage.
The repairs proved too extensive to complete, ending Larson’s race with a 34th-place finish and no stage points.
Somehow, he still left Phoenix atop the Chase standings. But with Christopher Bell closing the gap to just five points and three races remaining, Larson’s championship lead suddenly looks far less comfortable than it did when the green flag dropped.
NASCAR Swear Jar Reaches $6,565 After Phoenix
Larson wasn’t the only driver whose radio communications got a little colorful Sunday.
Denny Hamlin also had a frustrating afternoon, ultimately finishing 28th after falling a lap down.
At one point, Hamlin reacted to news that he was the beneficiary of the free pass with a blunt two-word response.
“[Expletive] me,” Hamlin said over the radio.
The exchange quickly caught the attention of fans following NASCAR’s swear jar, with one joking that it meant another $5 for the growing total.
Dirty Mo Media also joined the fun, posting, “A crisp Andrew Jackson in the swear jar,” in response to Larson’s particularly colorful radio message.
NASCAR’s latest swear jar graphic shows a total of $6,565, with the next update scheduled around the Oct. 25 race at Talladega Superspeedway.
The running tally has become an entertaining way to follow drivers’ uncensored reactions during races, particularly when things aren’t going their way.
And after an afternoon filled with handling complaints, tire problems and an early trip to the garage, Larson certainly gave fans plenty to talk about.
He may have escaped Phoenix with his championship lead intact, but his radio messages won’t be forgotten quite as quickly.
Kyle Larson’s Brutal Phoenix Radio Rant Comes With a Price Tag