Kyle Larson points blame as Dale Earnhardt Jr. reaches bold Hendrick conclusion
Kyle Larson made a stark admission about his own performance at Michigan as Dale Earnhardt Jr. made a big claim about the state of play at Hendrick Motorsports.
Kyle Larson declared “I was junk all day” after finishing fifth at Michigan as he blamed himself for a lacklustre performance.
And while he salvaged a good result, after afoul-mouthed outburst at eventual winner Denny Hamlin, the race prompted Dale Earnhardt Jr. to boldly conclude that William Byron has overtaken his teammate as the top driver at Hendrick Motorsports at this moment in time.
That claim came after Alex Bowman had a frightening crash while Chase Elliott finished 15th after sending a simple message on his future before the race.
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Byron and Larson ran second and third for much of the day, unable to pass Carson Hocevar, who sent a blunt message to Rick Hendrick, before his No.77 car blew a tire.
Denny Hamlin eventually overtook Byron to win, with the No.24 car running out of fuel with just over a lap to go and finishing down in 28th place as a result, while Larson tailed off to finish fifth.
He admitted that fuel saving was not the reason for his drop off, pointing the finger of blame in his own direction with his “junk” assessment.
Larson told Frontstretch: “I mean I was saving fuel from the drop of the green flag on that restart, but I wasn’t dropping back really because of saving fuel.
“My balance was really bad at that point, and a little bit of saving fuel but even if I was pushing I would’ve finished fifth, probably worse ‘cause I’d have ran out of fuel. Just a tough day but a good finish.
“I was best when the shade was out but I was junk all day. We were not very good but we made the most out of it, so I’m proud with that.”
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At one stage during the race, Dale Earnhardt Jr. suggested Byron has overtaken Larson in the Hendrick Motorsports picture before explaining his view further on the Amazon Prime Video post-race show.
“Yeah, the last couple of weeks, I think that he’s [Byron] eclipsed Larson as the best car at Hendrick Motorsports,” Dale Jr. said.
“Nobody’s really been able to say that for a long time. Larson was so good throughout the majority of this season, but he’s stumbled and kind of been kind of neutralized a little bit over the last couple of weeks.
“We know that won’t last forever, but Byron needs to take advantage of that and try to go out there and get his wins. He’s got a really good shot to separate himself from that pack and put himself in a championship contender form.”
