Kyle Larson took full responsibility for the crash that ended his race early on Sunday. Larson made no excuses and said the mistake was entirely his fault. The incident came at the end of Stage Two during the NASCAR Cup Series Autotrader 400 at EchoPark Speedway.
Larson began the day near the front of the field and was running inside the top five for much of the race, including on lap 160, when the Hendrick Motorsports driver tried to shift from the top lane down toward the bottom. But the lower lane was occupied by Shane van Gisbergen’s No. 97 Chevrolet, and the two cars made contact exiting Turn 4. Larson’s No. 5 Chevy snapped sideways and spun hard into the outside wall on the frontstretch. Van Gisbergen avoided major wall contact and was able to continue after briefly going off course into the grass.
Larson walked away from the crash and was checked at the infield care center and shared his frustration in an interview with Bob Pockrass of Fox Sports.
“It was all me, you, know, typically I get caught up in, I feel like, others mistakes on these style tracks, but that was completly my fault. So that’s what’s embarrassing and frsutrating and I’m just glad nobody else, I don’t think, got taken out in it. So, but yeah, we had a great car and I feel like up until that point, I was doing a pretty good job,” Kyle Larson said.
Larson had one of his strongest runs on a drafting-style track last season during the spring race in Atlanta. He won Stage Two and finished third, behind race winner Christopher Bell and runner-up Carson Hocevar, under caution. This was one of his better results at Atlanta, where wins have been hard to come by in his career.
“We’re Getting Better and Better Every Time” – Kyle Larson on His Progress at Atlanta
Kyle Larson, who led 48 laps, finished 32nd in the 2026 Autotrader 400 after the crash. He also finished outside the top 10 at the 2026 season-opening race at Daytona. During the same interview, the 33-year-old also commented on how the mistake happened and what he learned.
“So, just, as always, just trying to build your notebook up on these places and yeah, I know it crashed right there, but I feel like, still we’re getting better and better every time we come to these and especially here in Atlanta,” he added.
Larson wished he could have done the move to the bottom lane differently. He saw race winner Tyler Reddick had been beside him earlier in the corner and thought he was clear of him when he made his move. What he didn’t register was that van Gisbergen’s car had also climbed inside and was out of his sight.
The Cup Series will continue this weekend in Austin, Texas for the first road course race of the year.
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