"That strategy didn't work" - $9M Kenny Wallace makes thoughts clear on Rick Hendrick's star Kyle Larson missing out on championship
Kenny Wallace has explained why Kyle Larson missing the championship race is the right thing. Wallace believes Larson didn’t perform well in the NASCAR Playoffs, particularly in the previous race at Martinsville where the driver’s strategy didn’t work.
Kyle Larson is a 32-year-old professional racing driver who pilots the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro for Hendrick Motorsports. He became a hot topic after he missed the Championship 4 despite winning the most races at six and leading the most laps at 1,687 laps, this season.
Kenny Wallace, who is worth $9 million per Celebrity Net Worth, said the strategy to run with old tires at Martinsville Speedway cost Larson the chance to advance to the next round. On his “Coffee With Kenny” show on X (formerly Twitter), Wallace said:
“Listen, his crew chief left him out there with 20-lap old tires, same thing with Christopher Bell. So that strategy didn’t in Martinsville did not work,” [2:19]
The former NASCAR driver emphasized that the league is currently in the playoff stage. He pointed out that most sports in the US have a playoff system, implying that Kyle Larson’s regular-season success doesn't really matter.
Moreover, Wallace reminded on his show that Larson himself said during the post-race interview that he had an underwhelming performance in the Round of 8.
Larson was eliminated from playoff contention along with Christopher Bell, Chase Elliott, and Denny Hamlin after the Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway. This means Joey Logano, Tyler Reddick, Ryan Blaney, and William Byron are the four drivers set to fight for the championship.
The championship race will be held at Phoenix Raceway on November 10.
Kyle Larson did not blame the NASCAR playoff system for missing the championship race
During a post-race interview at Martinsville, Kyle Larson refused to blame the NASCAR playoff format for missing the Championship 4 despite winning the most races during the season. Larson explained he just had two bad races in the Round of 8.
When asked about whether his race wins should’ve put him in the championship mix, Larson said (via Frontstretch):
“No, I mean not necessarily. I feel like we had a lot of bonus points, we had 20 more than the next guy to start this round. We just had two unfortunate races, you know, with Vegas, all the issues we had there, and then Homestead with the flat and the damage underneath the car kind of made it a fight.” [1:06]
The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion added:
“I think the wins do benefit you a lot. We won a lot of stages so I don’t want to say there’s anything wrong with the format. You just can’t have two bad races in the Round of 8.”
The Xfinity 500 race witnessed Kyle Larson coming home in third behind race leader Ryan Blaney and Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott. While the California native earned a good amount of points (46) at Martinsville, it wasn’t enough for him to advance to the next round.
So far, Larson has amassed six wins, 14 top-5s, and 17 top-10s this season. He also has five pole positions and has led 1,687 laps (followed by Christopher Bell with 1,002 laps led).