Latest / Kenny Wallace Media / Kyle Larson & Bubba Wallace Have History & Tussled Again at The "Clash"

Transcript

Kyle Larson & Bubba Wallace Have History & Tussled Again at The "Clash" · Kenny Wallace Media

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  Yeah, I know it was fun. It was good to get a lot of
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  green flag laps in and you know, restarts in.
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  The first half were fun. I was trying to kind of all
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  figure it out and then you was surprised.
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  The second-half ran as long as it did too.
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  So got crazy at the end, but able to to get a top five again
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  here three years in a row. Fifth, you would like to be
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  better, but I felt like our car was was better.
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  Just you know a good a good point to you know, work on it,
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  try and get better for the other short tracks.
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  Zaxter, Neil on nascar.com. Kyle, just the fact that we got
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  this race in this weekend, the decision to move it to Saturday
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  night, what did you think about it?
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  And just the fact that we were able to do something like this,
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  so, so flexibly. Yeah, I mean it was it was
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  awesome. I I was not planning on racing
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  anything other than a heat race today and and had no thought
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  that like running the whole race was actually an option.
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  So I, you know Cliff had asked me if I heard the rumors or
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  whatever around you know 11:30 or so and that got me excited.
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  So I'm happy that you know they were able to do that and and
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  obviously you know I'm sure it they they take a huge financial
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  hit NASCAR does. But you know I think at the same
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  point the crowd is awesome you out there for a spur of the
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  moment you know race and and your free admission and and all
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  that. So hopefully hopefully a lot of
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  these fans who've maybe never been to a race before you know
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  will will now fall in love with the sport and and you'll venture
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  out and and it kind of grow from there.
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  So you maybe this this could accidentally work out really
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  well for NASCAR. The only fan frenchchurch.com
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  Kyle. So can you can you explain what
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  maybe happened between you and and Bubba that sent him around
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  there in the last few laps? Yeah well so he he was really
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  fast there and on one of the long long runs there at the end
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  and and I let him go because he was way faster and then you the
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  restarts get crazy. I think it was a second last
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  restart and I was able to get in front of him and then the
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  leaders got started racing and that was right when Ty Gibbs got
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  back in line and and Bubba just decided to run through me and
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  sent me through Ty and spun him. So I I hated that because I mean
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  we were running 5th, 6th and 7th.
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  I just thought we would kind of just settle in and get to the
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  finish. But yeah, so I mean and then you
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  know there I was just like, OK, you know what, whatever.
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  It's it's the style of this racing and then you haven't seen
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  any of the replays from the the last year restart but he got me
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  again and then and then got me again the next corner.
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  So I I think at that point you know I was three times in my
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  none. So I was just I wanted to get
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  him back before the checkered. I wasn't trying to spin him out
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  or anything, I was just trying to shove him through the corner
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  like he was doing me and he ended up going around so product
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  of of this racing and and finally reaching my limit I
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  guess, but yeah, just how it goes.
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  And if this is the last clash that's healthier, how would you
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  sum up this three-year experiment in Southern
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  California? Yeah.
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  No, I mean, I haven't heard what the plans for the future of this
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  event is, but if it has ran its course, I think, I think I I
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  applaud NASCAR. I think they've, you know, done,
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  you know, pulled this off in a great way.
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  I would have never expected the first year that it would have
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  been as legit, you know, as it is and in the atmosphere is
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  great. It was not expecting the
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  atmosphere to even be this cool tonight.
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  So I mean, you there, there's definitely a place for this
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  style event. I think in our sport, you know,
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  for the Clash or whatever, you know, if it moves around to
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  different states or countries or or whatever.
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  So yeah, they've proven that they can do it.
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  They've proven that they can get a crowd.
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  They've, you know, and it's a very diverse crowd out there.
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  You know, I just walked through it to get to here and you know
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  having the the Mexico series here also is is a great thing
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  too. So yeah, I I hope they can take
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  this kind of model and and you move it around and grow it and
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  and try and broaden our fan base some.
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  We'll go to Lee, then we'll go to Adam.
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  Oh, you're good. OK.
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  We'll go to Adam. Adam carolineracingrefresh.com
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  And with this being the last race with the 2023 short track
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  package, is there much that you can take from this sort of
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  exhibition style race that you can carry forward to the short
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  tracks this year? Honestly, like, I didn't even
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  know what package we had this week and I just assumed it was
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  the normal short track pack or the new one.
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  So no, I I I don't know. I think we're going too slow
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  here anyways to like get a feel for the aerodynamic changes if
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  they were to take the spoiler off or or do anything of the
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  car. So no, I don't think there's
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  much you can learn, just more on the probably the car like
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  geometry and stuff like that with your, you know, set up that
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  way. But the arrow changes.
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  I don't think would have made a difference at all.
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  Any questions out from the press box?
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  OK. We're going to back to Brian.
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  Brian Twining, Bedford's Media Group, like you said it, you and
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  Bubba kind of got into it at the end there.
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  But I mean, with this being an exhibition race, do you think
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  the drivers are a little more open to forgive and forget?
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  Because now you have like a pretty extended break before you
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  get into Daytona and the actual real racing.
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  I don't know. I mean obviously Bubba and I
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  have had a history in the past so I'm I'm sure where I I don't
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  really know. You know what I mean?
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  Hopefully forgive and forget. I mean like I said he ran
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  through me three times. I was just the one who happened
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  to get him at the end. So I hope he understands that
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  part of it. But given our history, who
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  knows? But I'm over it.
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  I probably have been over it too if if roles were reversed and I
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  ran through him three times and he finally spelled me out the
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  last corner so. But you would have different
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  personalities too. We all do out there so everybody
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  handles it differently. So but yeah, no, I mean it's
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  just a product of this this racing really.
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  I mean I try to tell myself to be to to let things slide a
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  little bit more just knowing that your hits are coming from
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  behind and stuff. But usually when you're out
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  there you can you can get a good sense of you know when it's
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  happening from the car directly behind you or or 4 back.
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  So yeah, it's just kind of the way it goes with this race and
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  and yeah, so it's just The Clash.
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  We'll go to Jeff and then we'll go to Bob up in the press box.
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  Couple years ago, you know, there was so much talk about
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  like the low speed impacts with this car, you know, we're really
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  causing some of the head problems and the impacts were so
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  jarring. There was a lot of contacts
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  tonight. Did you?
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  Is it? Is that a thing that passed or
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  does it still hurt? Well, I mean, it doesn't feel
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  like the old style car because you would have never done that
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  with the old style car. You know, we wouldn't be running
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  into the back of people because we would damage our cars.
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  But yeah, I mean I didn't think about, you know, that much
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  during the race, but it it definitely felt a little bit
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  softer. You know, the direct hits from
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  behind compared to last year, it's still, you know, it's still
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  a lot. But I would say yeah, it felt a
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  little bit softer. So you know, it makes a
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  difference and and hopefully over time if we have a, you
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  know, another next Gen. car, we can keep all that in mind and it
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  makes something even softer and safer and and all that, OK.
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  We'll go up to the press box for Bob.
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  Yeah, Kyle, they changed the mufflers for this race.
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  I'm curious if you could tell any difference with the heat.
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  I wasn't sweating at all after the race and and I don't
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  remember being crazy hot last year either, but probably a
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  little bit hotter than than this year.
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  So yeah, yeah, I mean I I would say it had have been an
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  improvement and I know fans hate it, but I love mufflers on these
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  Cup cars. I think they're too loud.
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  So yeah, keep them. Keep them coming.
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  Kyle, thanks so much. Appreciate it.
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  Yep, we'll see you in Daytona.