Time and again in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway, Larson tried to do all he could to stay in the hunt for the race win, but often times that meant the right-side of his No. 5 Chevrolet would meet the wall.
When Busch went to the inside of Larson with eight of 267 laps remaining and came away with the lead for the final time, Larson again drifted up the track and into the wall. Larson still managed to hang on to finish second.
Rather accusing Busch of trying any sort of “bump and run” move, Larson credited the cause of the wall run-ins with the aerodynamics of the race and the Next Gen car.
“We were racing for the win, so, I mean he never got into me so I was trying to squeeze the throttle and get position on him and I just got tight,” Larson said. “That was fun racing with Kurt. The last half of the race I was trying hard the whole time. I got out front of him some there in the third stage.
“We just kept fighting through it. Thanks to my team for giving me a war machine. I hit the wall a lot today. I struggled when people put air on me and I got really tight and I’d hit the wall. We’ll work on that and figure it out.”
Larson appeared to be one of the few cars that could keep pace with the Toyotas on Sunday, which claimed six of the top-10 finishing positions, including taking the victory.
“Happy with my car. The Toyotas obviously were extremely good today. They’re all in the Top 10 it looks like. They had the handling and a lot of raw speed,” Larson said.
“It was hard to hold off Kyle (Busch) and then I knew when Kurt got by him, it was going to be really hard to hold him off. I did my best. Just came up one spot short.”
Larson reiterated he had no issues with how Busch raced him for the win late in the race.
“I wasn’t upset with him or anything,” Larson said of Busch. “It was just hard racing there for the win. I knew when he got to my inside, I was struggling in traffic a little bit and he was able to get by and from there, I just had to hold on to second.
“I just fought really hard today and overdrove it at moments. Just had to work hard for it.”
Kurt Busch tops 'Kyle and Kyle show' for Kansas Cup win
Hamlin revels in Kansas win as owner from 'front row' seat
Toyotas have speed but need better "execution in pit lane"
NASCAR suspends three on Cup driver Justin Haley's team
How NASCAR is gearing up for its "biggest change" in 2022
NASCAR All-Star Race schedule, entry list and how to watch
Toyotas have speed but need better "execution in pit lane"
NASCAR suspends three on Cup driver Justin Haley's team
NASCAR Le Mans entry evoked fairness concerns by Toyota, Ford
The ex-F1 driver taking on NASCAR with a new team
Saddled with uncompetitive Minardi machinery, Tarso Marques didn't manage to score points in his three partial seasons of Formula 1. But now the Brazilian has the chance to show what he can do in NASCAR, and explains the story of his comeback with new Cup Series entrant Team Stange
The early benefits and challenges of NASCAR's Next Gen car
NASCAR’s new stock car generation is encouraging an influx of fresh blood into its top tier. But there are concerns that parts are in short supply as the entire paddock tries to build up stocks at the same time
How Penske's rookie sensation opened NASCAR's new era in style
After holding his nerve and hip-checking his teammate on the run to the line, Austin Cindric made a perfect start to life as a full-timer in the NASCAR Cup Series by winning the Daytona 500. Here's how the Penske Ford man emerged first across the line in the first points-scoring race for the much-anticipated Next Generation cars
Six key themes to follow in the 2022 NASCAR Cup season
There are plenty of uncertainties ahead of the 2022 NASCAR Cup season as an all-new fleet of cars take to the track for the first time. Ahead of this weekend's Daytona 500, our experts explain what you need to know
How NASCAR had to learn a harsh lesson ahead of Next Gen arrival
The NASCAR Cup kicks off with the Daytona 500 this weekend, but a major engine overhaul and a subsequent mountain of work has been required to be ready for the arrival of the Next Gen cars.
How Larson took the long way round to NASCAR Cup glory
From villain to hero, Kyle Larson had to reach his lifelong goal the hard way and go through a very public shaming after a ban for using a racial slur, but his talents shone long before his name grabbed the headlines...
How NASCAR is gearing up for its "biggest change" in 2022
It’s not just Formula 1 that’s set for upheaval in 2022, as the NASCAR Cup series adopts its Next Gen cars that will cast any in-built advantages aside and require teams to adopt a totally new way of operating. Far more than just a change of machinery, the new cars amount to a shift in NASCAR's core philosophy
Why Bubba Wallace’s Talladega win is such a big moment for NASCAR
Bubba Wallace claimed his maiden NASCAR Cup Series at Talladega on Monday to become the first Black victor in the category since Wendell Scott in 1963. Both Wallace and Scott had faced obstacles and racism in their paths to their breakthrough wins, and NASCAR is trying to put it right with its range of diversity programmes