CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Kyle Larson has just two wins this season and both came at the expense of teammate Chase Elliott.
The relationship between NASCAR’s last two Cup champions seemed precarious Sunday night at Watkins Glen International as Larson celebrated in victory lane while Elliott sought out team leadership for what appeared to be an animated conversation.
The 2020 Cup champion and NASCAR’s most popular driver had just clinched the regular-season title, but Elliott had dominated the race and might have picked up his fifth win of the year had Larson not muscled his way past his teammate on the final restart.
Larson forced Elliott to miss the corner and slide back into traffic, all while Larson skirted away to his first victory since February at Fontana. He ran Elliott into the wall to win that race.
“I am not proud of it,” Larson said upon climbing from his car Sunday. “I don’t like to do that. But in that moment, that was my only shot to win. I haven’t won a lot this year. I felt like I did what I had to do to benefit our playoffs.”