Hendrick Motorsports teammates Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson made contact at Fontana from which Elliott came off worse of the two while the defending champion Larson went on to win the race.
Chase Elliott was furious over his in-car radio at Kyle Larson by ranting at his team-mate with some expletives when the two of them made contact on the frontstretch in the final stages of the WISE Power 400.
“What the F*** is he doing, man? It wasn’t even close,” – Chase Elliott fuming mad at HMS teammate Kyle Larson
During a recent interview, former NASCAR driver Kyle Petty was in discussion about how Kyle Larson success is finally creeping upon Chase Elliott and gotten into his head.
“At 3’O’clock in the morning when you wake up. And you’re laying there in bed and you’re staring at the ceiling, your teammate won 10 races and a championship. It tears your butt up,” said Petty.
“You can’t go back to sleep.”
“Because that’s where Kyle Larson has gotten under Chase (Elliott), and gotten into Chase’s head,”Petty added. “Not this accident. This is just a little spur, this is just a little burn in the saddle.”
Chase-ing Larson?
Do you think the competition at @TeamHendrick is motivation for its roster to catch @KyleLarsonRacin?
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) March 1, 2022
“The big thing is, getting your butt kicked every week on the racetrack. And I think that will make Chase, in long run, a better driver ‘cos Chase knows he’s gotta up his game,” he said.
“And Rick’s (Hendrick) always had that. We go back and look at Jeff Gordon, if you look at Dale Jr, if you look at Jimmie Johnson, they’ve fed off each other. That’s what keeps that team ahead,” he continued.
“So he’s got two guys positioned to carry him for a long-long time.”
Kevin Harvick takes first dig at Chase Elliott to “stir the pot” heading into 2022 Season
Jeff Andrews, GM at Hendrick Motorsports, spoke with Elliott after the race and said discussions will continue within the organization.