The Iowa Corn 350 turned into a battleground on Sunday. On a track already littered with caution flags and overheated radios, a late-race clash between Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott sparked an online firestorm. What typically began as a short-track scramble on a restart escalated into a full-blown debate among fans over who crossed the line, if anyone did. And this time, the blowback didn’t fall on the usual suspects. It landed squarely on Larson.
The Stage 2 restart at Iowa turned volatile when Chase Elliott surged through the middle and clipped Kyle Larson’s No. 5 Chevy, sending it sideways in a heartbeat. Though Larson saved the car, the impact was sharp enough to stir tension, and it didn’t stop there. Within minutes, Larson found himself tangled again, this time with Christopher Bell and others. The back-to-back chaos pushed him to his boiling point.
Larson’s reaction was as dramatic as the contact. Over the race radio, he unleashed a torrent of f‑bombs, lamenting how little room was being left: “How much f—–g room do I have to leave people? … I’ve tried being a good teammate and a good competitor, and it hasn’t gotten me anywhere for the last f—–g hour.” The outburst wasn’t just about Elliott; it was a release of frustration from a string of aggressive racing. But instead of sympathy, the backlash online landed squarely on Larson, painting him as the one cracking under the weight of his own intensity.
By the time the checkered flag waved, Larson was out of playoff-winning position, and Elliott, despite his strong mid-race positioning, slipped out of contention as well. But the real storyline wasn’t the results sheet. It was the dynamic between two former Cup champions suddenly at odds, and the fanbase that quickly turned the spotlight on Larson instead of his teammate.
Fans called out Larson’s outburst
The moment the two cars touched, social media split in two. One camp rushed to defend Larson, with video clips of multiple angles of the clash posted on X, accusing Elliott of a cheap shot. But another, far more vocal crowd, saw it differently, and they weren’t pulling punches.
Some fans pointed out that Larson initiated the contact. Replays showed Elliott holding his line as Larson drifted ever so slightly down, tightening the gap. One fan summed it up plainly: “There was nothing dirty about it. Elliott was in his lane, Larson came down. Once they bounced, both got shoved up the track.” The visual evidence backed that reading, and many took that as a clear case of hard racing, not foul play.
Others weren’t interested in dissecting telemetry. They were fed up with what they saw as double standards. “Reap what you sow,” one fan wrote. “Larson can’t take it, then don’t dish it out.” For this group, Larson’s radio rant rang hollow. After all, he’s known for aggressive passes and squeezing rivals, even teammates, for track position. To them, this was just one of many such moments, only this time, he was on the receiving end.
Multiple angles of Chase Elliott trying to wreck Kyle Larson and running Larson extremely dirty. pic.twitter.com/UAFPCGM3Vw
— Demarious Smellit (@smellitallup) August 4, 2025
Another section of fans went further. They pointed to Larson’s behavior not just in this race, but across the season. “Pretty obvious Larson came down on Chase for the first contact,” one user posted. “Then Larson got mad and tried to wreck him later.” That’s not far-fetched either; there was another close call between the two on the following restart. While Larson didn’t fully retaliate, the tension between the cars was unmistakable. Whether intentional or not, it added more fuel to the theory that Larson’s fuse had officially burned out.
Several fans also reminded everyone that Larson hasn’t exactly been an innocent bystander in 2025. Multiple races have featured him using up competitors in the closing laps. Elliott was racing hard, just like everyone else. “He’s trying to win like everyone else,” one user said. “But Larson’s wrecked so many people this year, it ain’t even funny.” That sentiment reveals just how fractured Larson’s support has become. The goodwill of his 2021 championship run has started to erode under the weight of growing rivalries and increasingly reckless moves.
And then there were those with long memories. One fan dropped a not-so-subtle reminder: “About time. Still haven’t forgotten the little gnome at Watkins Glen, I’m sure Chase hasn’t either.” That’s a callback to the infamous bump-and-run at the Glen in 2022, where Larson dive-bombed Turn 1 on a late restart, forcing Elliott wide and costing him the win. Though Larson took the victory, the move sparked major backlash, especially since Elliott had already locked up the regular-season title. It marked a turning point in their on-track relationship and fan dynamics.
In the end, it wasn’t Elliott who left Iowa under fire; it was Larson. Despite the outburst, despite the frustration, and despite the contact, a large portion of NASCAR fans sided with the No. 9. Not because they thought he was perfect, but because they believed what they saw was just racing. And for once, Kyle Larson’s reputation as the cool-headed tactician was cracked, revealing a driver who might just be running out of patience.
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