Kyle Larson was conducting post-race media responsibilities on pit road after the NASCAR Cup Series race at Richmond Raceway on Sunday when Bubba Wallace walked over, grabbed him by the shoulders, and promptly … apologized.
Larson was the final caution of the race when he spun due to contact from Wallace while racing inside the top-five with less than two laps remaining.
Oddly, the caution actually helped Larson overall because he went from a distant fourth to finishing third after the green-white-checkered due to where he blended and executing on the restart. It didn’t work out so well for Wallace, who lost time on pit road and finished 13th.
Nevertheless, Wallace wanted to let Larson know he felt bad for sending him around and that he understood if it came back around later this season.
“We’re all good,” Larson said with a laugh.
In fact, Larson said it was his fault because he got loose and backed up towards Wallace, leading to the contact.
“I was a little bit loose,” Larson said. “He just nudged me at start-finish …”
That’s when Wallace walked over to apologize.
Larson never even considered the possibility that Wallace turned him to maybe help his boss Denny Hamlin have a chance to win the race.
“No, not at all,” Larson said. “No, you heard what he said. If he was being intentional, it was to help his race, to get a caution and help his race out. It didn’t play out that way. It just is what it is. Obviously, I’d be pissed off if we spun and finished in the 20s or whatever, but like he said, I had some good karma and he had the bad karma.”
Larson said it with a laugh, but that’s how Wallace indeed summed it up as his over-the-wall pit crew continues to cost him good finishes this season.
“I got loose, overcorrected into him, spun him out,” Wallace said. “Karma is a real thing. I would have been content running fifth but just got loose and I apologize to the 5 team. It wasn’t intentional by any means.
“Karma is quick in this sport.”
Ultimately, Larson appreciated the quick apology, especially given the series of on-track incidents that transpired between the two in the past.
“I appreciate it for sure,” Larson said. “I guess I would have been pissed off if I would have fully spun, and his comment or his apology probably wouldn’t have mattered as much right now, but I would have eventually gotten over it. Because I kept going straight, and he came up, whatever, it’s good. We’ve had our run-ins, and I don’t think tonight was anything intentional.”
Matt Weaver is a Motorsports Insider for Sportsnaut. Follow him on Twitter.