Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports

Kyle Larson reacts to his epic new tire run at Bristol: ‘Real life arcade game’

Originally posted on 5 GOATs | By Nick Geddes | Last updated 3/20/24

At one point during Sunday’s Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway, Kyle Larson looked like he was running on beginner mode in NASCAR Heat 5.

After going through a green flag pit stop, Larson had fresh tires. In this particular race — a tire management race — having fresh stickers meant a ton. It showed when Larson made his way back onto the track, as he spent nearly four minutes lapping the field with ease. Think Ricky Bobby strapping into a racecar for the first time since his devastating crash on Talladega Nights. Remember when he was inching across the track like a snail? That was every other car at Bristol, save Larson with his fresh set of tires.

An X user posted the inside the car footage while Larson was going round and round, which the 2021 Cup Series champion came across for the first time. Just like those watching, Larson couldn’t believe his eyes.

“Couldn’t believe what I was seeing out of my windshield. Real life arcade game,” Larson wrote.

Kyle Larson says Food City 500 at Bristol was ‘weird and interesting’

Larson was one the best drivers at acclimating to the conditions of the race, finishing P5. He was one of five cars to finish on the lead lap, leading 19 laps throughout the race. Speaking after the race, Larson said he’d like to never to see a race like the one which transpired at Bristol ever again.

“It was weird and interesting,” Larson said. “I thought some rubber was gonna be laid down, but after the second run, we realized that wasn’t going to be the case. I hope I never have to run a race like that again. To have to run a race like that every week would not be good, and it’s honestly probably a black eye to Goodyear just with all the rubber that couldn’t get laid down and just wearing through tires and all that.”

As race winner Denny Hamlin put it, drivers had to be at their absolute best to compete at Bristol.

“This is the first time the driver played a huge role in a long, long time,” Hamlin said. “It’s a different philosophy from what we’re used to. Which is everyone just kind of on the gas all the time running the bottom. Technique was a huge deal today.”

This article first appeared on 5 GOATs and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: