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Kyle Larson runs into the back of Alex Bowman exiting pit road at Martinsville

JHby: Jonathan Howard11/03/24Jondean25
Kyle Larson Alex Bowman Martinsville
Screenshot credit: NASCAR on NBC via X.com

Is this a mistake that comes back to bite Kyle Larson? After the end of Stage 1, Larson ran into the back of Alex Bowman while leaving pit road. We have seen the NASCAR champion make critical mistakes in the past.

For the time being, it doesn’t appear that the incident with Alex Bowman is going to matter much. Kyle Larson fired off just fine and even passed Bowman on the restart.

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We only saw a few laps before a caution came out. So, perhaps Larson will have to handle a slightly damaged car. Right now it appears he is just fine and moving up in the field.

Last week we saw Kyle Larson force the issues and he spun out racing for the lead. However, that is part of his success. Larson pushes the limits as far as they will go. At times, that means he oversteps and makes a mistake.

This incident on pit road was a chain reaction. Ryan Preece was trying to go around Bowman, there was contact, and then the cars got backed up into one another.

Right now it does not appear that the contact will mess with Larson much. But if he doesn’t keep his head on straight, he could find himself making another mistake. There is a lot of race left to go today.

Kyle Larson can’t afford to wreck at Martinsville

Already today we have seen drivers like Christopher Bell struggle. The two drivers locked into the Phoenix championship race, Tyler Reddick and Joey Logano, are doing fine. Neither is in contention to win today.

So, Kyle Larson has a real chance to make it on points or a win. It will take consistent pit stops, focused racing, and a little bit of luck. But right now things are not looking too bad for Larson.

The only issue is that Hendrick Motorsports has three drivers fighting over two spots in the Championship 4. At least one will be the odd man out. There is a nightmare scenario where none of the HMS drivers advance.

Kyle Larson is doing what he has to do right now. He avoided disaster on pit road once. Larson definitely can’t afford to do it again.