The 2025 Goodyear 400 at Darlington turned into a mess in the final moments. With just four laps to go, Kyle Larson spun out after Bubba Wallace hit him from behind. That brought out a caution flag that flipped the entire finish and helped Denny Hamlin grab the win.
The crash happened while Ryan Blaney and Tyler Reddick were battling for the lead. Larson was already having a rough day — he was 167 laps down after wrecking early in the race. He was trying to stay out of the leaders’ way when things went sideways.
What should’ve been a normal end to a long race turned into a hot topic that had fans arguing and drivers scrambling to explain what really happened.
Bubba Wallace Breaks Down What Happened at Darlington
“I saw the No. 45 [Tyler Reddick] slow down, and as I turned back down the hill, I couldn’t see him anymore. I just figured he was going to stay slow down the backstretch and finish second or whatever here. Then Larson stops, and I was like, ‘Oh, something else happened,’” Wallace said after the race.
Wallace said he couldn’t avoid hitting Larson because he was too close when Larson suddenly slowed down.
“He just panicked… I couldn’t react; it was unfortunate for all parties involved,” Wallace explained.
Some fans were quick to accuse Wallace of wrecking Larson on purpose to help teammate Reddick. But race data and replays showed Wallace didn’t do anything wrong — it was Larson’s unexpected braking that caused the contact.
Larson owned up to the mistake later at Bristol Motor Speedway.
“Honestly, me just trying to be so out of the way there that I screwed up. I hate to affect the finish… It kind of is what it is at this point,” he said.
The Athletic’s Jeff Gluck confirmed this with Larson’s crew chief, Cliff Daniels, after the race. Gluck wrote on X, “Cliff Daniels said Kyle told him he felt bad about being part of the last caution. They were trying to stay out of the way of the leaders and stay low… but Bubba didn’t know Larson was going to slow down that much.”
Larson’s day was already a disaster before that final wreck. He crashed on Lap 4 all by himself and spent almost two hours getting the car repaired. He eventually got back out only to end up caught in more trouble.
Despite all the drama, the race ended with Hamlin scoring his fifth career win at “The Track Too Tough to Tame” after an overtime restart shuffled Blaney out of the lead.
Both Wallace and Larson are now focused on Bristol, hoping to put this behind them. Wallace is chasing a playoff spot, while Larson just wants to forget what was probably one of his worst race days in years.
