During his appearance on Julian Edelman’s podcast Games with Names, NASCAR Cup Series Champion Kyle Larson opened up about the infamous NASCAR Driver group chats, and how they can get “a little awkward sometimes.”
While NASCAR fans like to see their favorite drivers have it out on the track and even on pit road after the race, in a modern world, on-track drama can often carry itself away from the race track. Among the many methods of continuing on-track beef is the infamous NASCAR driver group chats.
While several drivers have opened up about these group chats in the past, this week, while hanging out with former Super Bowl MVP Julian Edelman, Hendrick Motorsports’ driver Kyle Larson spoke at length about what happens in those group chats.
Edelman was curious if NASCAR drivers had a way to have it out “getting off the track.” Larson responded by confirming there are, in fact, multiple group chats, including an all-drivers chat.
“There is a group chat with all the drivers, and most of the time, it’s all business,” Larson said. “Like, ‘Hey, you know, we got this big meeting coming up, you know, this time, this time, whatever.”
Though this seemed like a mild answer, the 32-year-old driver went on to say that, in the past few seasons, the tone of the group chat has seen a slight increase in off-track drama.
“There has been a few times, I’ve noticed over the last couple of years, somebody will say something a little shitty, and then like, somebody who maybe had a run-in with that person months before [will] call him out,” Larson said.
But, Larson pointed out that it’s still a rare occasion to see “shit talk” in the group chat. “I think most of the shit talking either happens in their own private texts or phone calls or in person,” Larson said. “But, it’s always funny when you see little drama starting on the group chat.”
Continuing the conversation, Larson also spoke about other group chats featuring the Cup Series drivers. This short list includes one with NBC Sports Analyst Jeff Burton, who he says is the driver’s “rep,” and “we talk about things that he goes to NASCAR.”
The most interesting group chat is perhaps the one featuring the drivers and NASCAR officials, which Larson says is no stranger to drama. Nonetheless, the one-time Cup Series champion stresses he prefers to stay out of those conversations.
“There is another text that’s got all the drivers, plus some executives from NASCAR, and that one gets a little awkward sometimes… Something happened in the race, and somebody like, ‘What the fuck was that?’ Like calling NASCAR out. So those ones are… I try not to get in the middle of those.” — Kyle Larson
When asked to name the group chat’s “most passive-aggressive person,” Larson was quick to answer, saying he feels like Bubba Wallace doesn’t hesitate to speak up in the group chat with NASCAR officials. “Bubba’s not scared to say some shit on the one with NASCAR, I feel like,” Larson said. “He’ll drop some stuff in there. Which, it’s deserving, but it’s maybe not the place to do it.”
But, even Larson said he’s not innocent of these “little jabs.” “I’m sure I’ve done it, too, but it’s normally short, quick, just little jabs, you know,” Larson said.
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