In a 2013 Late Model race called the “Battle of the Beach,” an up-and-coming driver named Kyle Larson spun the race leader on the last lap to win the race.
Larson initially rammed C.E. Falk III in the final turn, but that didn’t do the trick. So Larson finished the job by hooking Falk in the rear and turning him around as Larson drove to victory.
As he celebrated, the crowd booed. Other drivers expressed their distaste for Larson’s driving style. But Larson went home with the trophy, which he said at the time was all that mattered.
“I went for the win,” Larson tweeted after the race. “I honestly feel bad, but I'm here to win. I'm a racer and won't settle for anything less.”
It’s hard to believe that was the same driver who raced Matt Kenseth so cleanly Sunday at Dover International Speedway, doing everything he could to make a pass without roughing up the race leader.
Ultimately, the 23-year-old Larson raced his guts out but couldn’t complete the winning move. Kenseth won the race instead and earned a Chase for the Sprint Cup berth for this season; Larson, in his third full Cup season, remained winless in 87 starts.
“I'm still early in my career, so I don't want to make anybody mad or make any rivals,” Larson said Sunday. “I try to race everybody with respect.”
Did Larson do the right thing at Dover? There’s no correct answer to that, because it all depends on a driver’s personal code.
Does he want to be known as the kind of competitor who will rough people up for a win and do whatever it takes to get the trophy? Or does he want to be known as a clean driver who did things the “right way” in the eyes of his peers and earn respect in the motorhome area?
It’s a tough balance, and certainly a dilemma for any driver still trying to find his way in the sport.
Yes, perhaps Larson could have used the bumper a bit more to execute the kind of bump-and-run on Kenseth that Carl Edwards pulled on teammate Kyle Busch last month at Richmond International Raceway. It might have been successful, but it also might have created an enemy out of Kenseth, who doesn’t handle getting knocked out of the lead very calmly (see: Logano, Joey).
But at the same time, the Chip Ganassi Racing driver is well-liked by the other drivers. They view him as a true racer with loads of talent. He was voted onto the drivers council by his peers. When he walks into the motorhome lot, there’s a warm community for his family to live in.
It’s not easy to be a ruthless, Intimidator-type driver in today’s NASCAR. Fans say they want drivers to go all out for the win, but then they hate the ones who do (just look at the incidents involving Logano and Brad Keselowski over the last couple years).
There are so many repercussions, not the least of which involves potentially negative attention for a team and sponsor. Plus, there's the formation of rivalries that can drag on for much longer than a couple races.
“(When) there’s some drama in the sport, it takes drivers years to get over it,” Larson said.
He’s right. But it doesn’t make it any easier to look at the series standings today and see Larson in 21st place, well outside of a Chase berth.
If Larson is able to score his first career win and make the Chase in the next 14 races, then Dover will become an afterthought.
But should he fail to make the Chase by the end of NASCAR’s regular season in September, it will be increasingly uncomfortable to look back at Dover and wonder what might have been.
Follow Gluck on Twitter @jeff_gluck
PHOTOS: Behind the wheel with Kyle Larson
