Getty Kyle Larson looks on before race.
Kyle Larson dominated the March 3 NASCAR Cup Series race at Las Vegas, where he led a race-high 181 laps and sent a warning shot to his competition by making his first trip to Victory Lane in 2024 at the same track he won his first race with Hendrick Motorsports in 2021 en route to winning the title.
Interestingly, that wasn’t the only shot fired by the 31-year-old driver. The other came earlier in the first stage of the race when Clint Bowyer radioed to the No. 5 pilot from the Fox broadcast booth during a lengthy red-flag delay.
@KyleLarsonRacin brilliantly returns fire with @ClintBowyer during red-flag delay at Las Vegas.
“Now being that you guys were having a little fun at my expense, now I’m going to have some at yours, Kyle,” Bowyer started. “How about your teammate (Byron) there getting on the outside of you and passing about eight cars down there in three and four? Pretty cool, huh?”
Larson chuckled.
“Yeah, I remember doing that a time or three to you when you were racing,” the HMS driver replied, which drew a big laugh from Bowyer’s booth mates Mike Joy and the latest addition, Kevin Harvick. “So I’ll go back and look at the notebook and try and do a better job.”
“Bam! You’re getting better at this. I like that,” Bowyer responded.
Kyle Larson and Clint Bowyer Have a History
There’s a history between Kyle Larson and Clint Bowyer. Bowyer, who is known for being silly and giving/receiving swipes with others on occasion, did just that during a 2022 appearance on “NASCAR Race Hub” when he mocked the driver and his teammates.
It happened when HMS Vice President of Competition Chad Knaus appeared with Bowyer and host Adam Alexander, and the group discussed Byron. The show displayed a cartoon graphic of the driver in an odd pose, where he appeared to be preparing to slap something.
At 6pm/ET Join @adam1alexander @ClintBowyer @chadknaus For #RaceHub on @FS1 They break it all down from @phoenixraceway PLUS………It’s “RadioActive” Night! Tune In, it should be interesting! #NASCAR
When Alexander asked Knaus about the driver’s pose, the seven-time championship-winning crew chief joked that the driver of the No. 24 is leading a self-defense class at the organization.
Bowyer couldn’t resist.
“You might need one with that group,” he said, referring to the need for a self-defense expert. “They’re good at a lot of things, but I wouldn’t think that cage match would be one of those things with your bunch.”
Kyle Larson Surprised to Not Be Called Out
The teasing between the pair has become so common that Larson was actually surprised during qualifying for the 2022 All-Star Race at Texas when the Fox analyst didn’t make fun of him after he made a mistake.
“I stalled it,” Larson told reporters of his blunder. “When you’re sitting there, you’re not fully compressed with the clutch. You’re trying to find that sweet spot and I didn’t want to spin my tires really bad and I got a little too greedy obviously and stalled it.
“It’s embarrassing. I’m the only guy that stalled. Pretty embarrassing. I think it’s honestly more embarrassing than Aric Almirola, who was sleeping. I’m sure Bowyer was busting me on the broadcast.”
A reporter informed him that the broadcaster didn’t say anything.
“That’s surprising,” Larson admitted.
It’s not surprising to anyone when the broadcaster fires a shot at the driver anymore these days. Now, it appears, he’s learned how to fire back.