No one likes a backseat driver.
Okay, I suppose that’s the spotter’s job: to be another set of eyes for their driver and inform them of what’s going on around them. The driver’s primary responsibility is to operate the vehicle. Kyle Larson clearly dislikes it when his spotter instructs him how to do his job.
Larson and Tyler Reddick were duelling for the lead in today’s NASCAR Cup Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway when Denny Hamlin passed them both and began racing Larson for second place.
Hamlin darted to the inside of Larson and raced him up the track, scraping against the side of the #5 car and leaning on Larson to seize the lead.
The move dropped Larson all the way down to fifth place, and after the red flag blew a few circuits later, his spotter Tyler Monn gave his driver some advise over the radio:
But Larson was not in the mood for any criticism from the spotter’s perch.
Yikes.
Of course, the #5 team’s frustration with Hamlin is probably not limited to today’s race. Last year at Pocono, Hamlin crashed Larson for the win; after the race, Larson stated that, despite being a friend, Hamlin raced him “like an asshole.”
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