Kyle Larson, Bubba Wallace booed by Bristol crowd ahead of Food City 500

Apparently, Kyle Larson doesn’t have many fans in Bristol, Tennessee.

According to Chris Knight of Catchfence, Larson was greeted to a chorus of boos from the crowd at Bristol Motor Speedway during driver introductions ahead of Sunday’s Food City 500. Larson, however, wasn’t the only driver to get the cold shoulder from the fans at Bristol.

Bubba Wallace, William Byron, Chase Elliott, Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin all received boos during their introductions. Given those names, a few of them fan favorites in Larson, Wallace and Elliott, it’s fair to question if anybody got cheered at Bristol…

Regardless, all those drivers will certainly be contenders at Bristol, all five of them starting inside the top-10. Larson is going for win No. 1 at Bristol, one of the few NASCAR coliseums he’s yet to conquer. He finished second to Denny Hamlin in the fall race last season and has finished inside the top-10 in 10-of-15 starts at Bristol on the concrete racing surface. That includes three second place finishes.

With the concrete surface making a return to the spring race, Larson is excited to get two opportunities a season at getting it done at Bristol.

“I’m glad we’re back to two races on the concrete at Bristol,” Larson said this week, via The Podium Finish. “Even growing up on dirt, I prefer the high banks on the concrete. It’s one of the coolest places to race at and I have had a lot of success there. I’m hoping for another great result this weekend.”

Kyle Larson, Hendrick Motorsports looking to rebound from underwhelming performances at Phoenix

Larson is coming off a P14 finish in last Sunday’s Shriners Children’s 500 at Phoenix Raceway, a day in which Hendrick Motorsports struggled all-around. Byron finished 18th, with Chase Elliott following him in 19th and Alex Bowman rounding out the group in 20th. All four failed to lead a single lap.

While it’s just a singular race, it’s notable in that Phoenix is the host of the final race of the season, the race which determines the Cup Series champion. Should their uneven performance as a team be a concern? Kevin Harvick believes so, explaining why on his “Happy Hour” podcast this week.

“We had the different package this weekend with the aerodynamics and the tire,” Harvick said. “And I think that with the way that they ran in the first few weeks with the other package, I think they have to be concerned. The 9 and the 24 ran — I guess the 24 ran fifth, six, but he was never that car that was like the Toyotas. It was never versatile and could move around and do all the things the Toyotas could do. You took the car and put it back in 15th and he just stayed there.

“9 car, same way. 5, I mean we’re talking Kyle Larson. He ran 16th or 17th all day and we thought he was going to drive right to the front and be a contender. Didn’t move, so I think they definitely need to have some concern.”