Kyle Larson went off on the radio during Stage 3 at Iowa Speedway, expressing his frustration with fellow Hendrick Motorsports driver Chase Elliott in a rather unfiltered manner. Since then, the NASCAR community has been wondering how the two drivers have been dealing with the tension.
Larson recently addressed the incident and dismissed any suggestion of an in-house rift between him and Elliott.
How Did the Tension Between Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott Unfold at Iowa Speedway?
Larson rarely loses his cool on the radio, but during Stage 3 of Sunday’s Iowa Speedway race, he finally snapped after a series of on-track incidents pushed him to his breaking point.
“How much f*****g room do I have to leave people?” Larson said “… I’ve been trying to be a good teammate, a good competitor and it hasn’t gotten me anywhere for the last hour.”
Kyle Larson ticked off over his radio mid-race after getting roughed up several times in traffic. Crew chief Cliff Daniels coached him through it.
“How much fucking room do I have to leave people?”
…
“Vent, yell at me, and then we’re gonna figure out how we’re gonna reset.” pic.twitter.com/Zkfwm7wQ6n— Steven Taranto (@STaranto92) August 4, 2025
The Hendrick Motorsports No. 5’s troubles began early with a confrontation involving teammate Elliott during a Stage 2 restart. Elliott’s aggressive door-to-door contact with Larson set the tone for what would become a frustrating evening. Not long after, a restart saw him bumped repeatedly, pushing him well outside the racing groove and costing him valuable ground.
From roughly fifth place, Larson slipped back to 12th before the race was slowed by a caution. The contact and subsequent position loss clearly wore on the typically composed driver, leading to his uncharacteristic radio outburst. Elliott wrapped up the race in 14th place, while Larson couldn’t recover properly and had to settle for a disappointing 28th-place finish.
What Does Larson Think About Elliott After Iowa?
Thanks to NASCAR’s playoff format, both drivers remain contenders for the 2025-26 championship, but Hendrick Motorsports can’t afford to have two of its top drivers getting in each other’s way like this. However, Larson insists he holds no ill will toward Elliott following the incident.
He explained Thursday that his anger wasn’t specifically aimed at Elliott, but stemmed from a series of frustrations that had been building throughout the race.
💬 “I honestly wasn’t even that frustrated with Chase at all it was just a number of things were building up over all those cautions that we had.”
😡 @KyleLarsonRacin clarifies his radio comments from @iowaspeedway, explaining his reaction.
More ➡️ https://t.co/WGRTG5gnEd pic.twitter.com/jq1vElBzhH
— SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Ch. 90) (@SiriusXMNASCAR) August 8, 2025
“I honestly wasn’t even that frustrated with Chase at all. It was just a number of things building up over all of those cautions that we had,” Larson said on NASCAR on SiriusXM Radio. The 2021 Cup Series champion clarified that his outburst came after Christopher Bell’s No. 20 Toyota made contact with him off Turn 4, which proved to be the final straw in an already frustrating sequence of events.
“And then the 20 got into us and my top kind of blew off there for a little bit, but it was just a good way for me to vent and get some frustration out and try to refocus,” Larson continued. “Unfortunately, I think maybe the next restart, or the one after that, we got some damage that pretty much ended our shot at having a good day.”
The damage Larson referenced ultimately sealed his fate for the remainder of the race, turning what could have been a competitive finish into a forgettable performance. His explanation provides context for what appeared to be frustration aimed at his teammate but was actually the result of accumulated racing incidents throughout the evening.
“So yeah, it’s just, like I said, NASCAR racing is tough. These cars are; you can get into people and sometimes it doesn’t cause much damage, and other times it does,” Larson explained. “I’ve been on the giving end plenty of times, so it just didn’t go well for us at Iowa. But we’re looking forward to Watkins Glen and hopefully can do a good job there.”
Can Both Hendrick Motorsports Drivers Bounce Back at Watkins Glen?
Both Larson and Elliott will look to reset their 2025-26 campaigns at Watkins Glen International, where each driver has found success in recent years.
Larson recorded back-to-back wins at the road course in 2021 and 2022, establishing himself as one of the favorites whenever the Cup Series visits the upstate New York facility. However, he finished outside the top 10 there in his last two attempts, showing that even his road course mastery isn’t guaranteed.
Elliott also brings impressive credentials to Watkins Glen, having claimed victories in 2018 and 2019. The road course specialist has historically thrived on the technical tracks that require precision and patience. However, his last two visits saw him finish 32nd and 19th, respectively, indicating that both Hendrick drivers will need to rediscover their form at the venue.
For Hendrick Motorsports, having both drivers competitive and working together rather than against each other will be crucial as the playoff picture continues to take shape. Larson’s explanation should help put any concerns about internal team tension to rest, allowing both drivers to focus on maximizing their championship potential in the coming races.