No one likes a backseat driver.
Okay, I suppose that’s the spotter’s job: to be another set of eyes for their driver and inform them of what’s going on around them. The driver’s primary responsibility is to operate the vehicle. Kyle Larson clearly dislikes it when his spotter instructs him how to do his job.
During the NASCAR Cup Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway today, Larson was racing for the lead with Tyler Reddick when Denny Hamlin ran them both down and began racing Larson hard for second place.
Hamlin dove to the inside of Larson and ran him up the track, rubbing into the side of the #5 car and leaning on Larson to take the spot away.
The move ended up dropping Larson all the way back to 5th, and after the caution flag flew a couple laps later, his spotter Tyler Monn had some advice for his driver over the radio:
“He runs you like that every time. You know why? Because you let it happen.”
But Larson really wasn’t in the mood for any criticism from the spotter’s stand:
Of course the frustration at Hamlin from the #5 team probably isn’t just from today’s race. Last year at Pocono, Hamlin wrecked Larson for the win – and after the race, Larson said that despite being a friend, Hamlin races him “like an asshole.”
We’ll see if Larson is finally getting to the end of his rope with Hamlin…
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