On the April 15 episode of the Dale Jr. Download, NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. supported Kyle Larson’s statement of wanting to embarrass the field and NASCAR. “He’s basically saying that these kids that are in there, think they’re better than they are,” Earnhardt Jr said. “I like to go in there and show him where the standard is, what they might be up against if they ever get to the cup level, and they need to know that now.”
The two-time Busch Series champion knows how Cup series drivers like pushing the lower levels to race harder. Earnhardt Jr. had to battle fellow NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin during his two championship seasons, who ranks second on the series’ all-time wins list. “Mark Martin was that guy for years,” Earnhardt Jr said. “He was the guy that would show up, and you’re like f***, nearly impossible to beat, he pushed us all.”
During the episode, Junior pointed out that Larson only ran Homestead and Bristol, two of Larson’s best tracks, and he commented about wanting to embarrass them despite only running two races. “He doesn’t have another race on the schedule,” Junior said. “I wish he would sign up for some more races now, because I know one race team and one owner and 160 employees that would love another shot.”
Since 2018, Larson has found victory lane in 8-of-16 starts in the Xfinity Series, including 13 top 5s and top 10s. In his most recent race at Bristol Motor Speedway on April 12, Larson led 276 of 300 laps en route to the victory. On March 22 at Homestead, Larson led a race-high 132 laps but finished in fourth place.
