“It was good to have a conversation and good to hopefully move along from it,” Kyle Larson said after a fiery 2022 Fontana clash, where his block crashed Chase Elliott’s No. 9 into the wall, dropping him to 26th. Elliott’s radio erupted with venom that day, a jolt from NASCAR’s quiet prince. Now, in March 2025, at Martinsville, these Hendrick Motorsports stars are spinning a fresh yarn.
NASCAR’s teammate tales are pure theater; think Ken Schrader and Ricky Rudd’s near-triumph at Bristol in 1990, foiled by a late caution. At Hendrick, with four cars in the hunt, every lap’s a tightrope walk. Martinsville brought 10 cautions and a sun-baked half-mile canvas for Larson and Elliott to shine. What did Larson spill after the checkered flag that’s lighting up the stands?
Redemption on the Oval: Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott team up
With the strong finishes that Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson were able to display in Virginia, they put up productive points for the team. Elliott finished in fourth, while Larson was fifth. It was a weekend where Elliott had been dominant throughout, mostly hovering in the front. Coming to the final laps of the race, the Toyotas overshadowed the Chevys as Bubba Wallace and Christopher Bell trailed to race winner Denny Hamlin. The No. 11 Camry was the class of the field, and while Elliott showed promise to contend against his rival, he was nowhere to be seen in the picture.
The final laps became a redemption arc for Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott. After a Stage 3 start sank Larson to 10th, he battled back to fourth by Lap 250. “Yeah, I feel like everybody’s kind of the same speed for the first 45 laps. Probably and then always felt like 11 was really good,” he told reporters. “So, surprise at 12 wasn’t, you know, way better on the short runs today. But yeah… I mean I was happy with my car. I just restart. I don’t know somewhere in the third stage go well for me. But then the next couple did, so we were able to get to 4th and then let chase back by to set on the bed.”
However, on Lap 290, Larson pulled off a surprise move after the final restart of the race. He was well within striking distance to contend for the lead but allowed his teammate to go through. After all, Elliott was the one gaining ground on Hamlin during the stage 2 run, and he had a better shot for the win. “Just both of us appreciate the help today, you know, he kind of let me in a tight hole on that final restart in the three and then I was very thankful that.”
.@KyleLarsonRacin after a top-5 day from @MartinsvilleSwy and he explains racing with teammate @chaseelliott in the closing laps. #CookOut400 #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/RcbQkGNIpD
— Peter Stratta (@peterstratta) March 30, 2025
“So I gave the spot back as he got to me just to repay it forward.” Well, this move by the No. 5 car could’ve led to a big stack-up. Larson blocked the inside lane to make way for his teammate, but Ross Chastain didn’t receive the memo like he did at Martinsville last year’s playoff race. If you know, you know. Moreover, this gesture was indeed special, given that the Xfinity race was mired in controversy and a lack of respect between the drivers.
Speaking of controversy, veteran team owner and driver Brad Keselowski proposed an idea to keep the young drivers in check at short tracks.
Keselowski wants team owners to suspend their drivers
While Sammy Smith’s deliberate move to ship Taylor Gray on the last lap is making all the noise, the Xfinity race, in general, looked like a demolition derby. A total of 14 caution flags followed by 104 caution laps highlighted the bigger concern of drivers just dumping their rivals to gain a position on the racetrack. Now, NASCAR could’ve dealt with this situation with an instant drive-through penalty or by being sent to the rear of the field.
But, NASCAR’s inability to police such incidents seems to have incentivised the drivers, especially the young ones in intentionally wrecking their rivals. So what’s the solution to this problem? well, Keselowski believes, the team owners need to step in and set a new precedent. “My 2 cents: The solution must come from the car owners, not NASCAR. Until the car owners are willing to park their drivers for getting this out of control, very little will change.”
Well, none of the teams would want their driver with a big sponsorship deal to sit out of the race. Moreover, there’s their sketchy rule regarding the waiver, so if the team benches a driver, they will have to forfeit all the playoff points from the regular season. Now, is that a risk that a team is willing to take just to keep their drivers in line? Keep an eye out for NASCAR’s penalty decision from the Martinsville weekend, it might help us understand how the governing body would dictate such calls in future.
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