Kyle Larson returned to Victory Lane in Iowa this week.
No, not that Iowa, as in Iowa Speedway, and not Sunday, but Monday night and about 45 minutes south of where he finished 33rd in NASCAR’s Iowa Corn 350.
While again moonlighting in a sprint car, Larson also delivered a lesson in ethnic studies. Ironically, some might say, considering an issue in Larson’s past.
It all went down at the Osky Challenge, Monday night at Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa, where Larson won the main event with a dive-bombing pass that didn’t sit well with the driver on the receiving end.
Or that driver’s team owner.
In a race that also included NASCAR racer Corey Day and former star Kasey Kahne, Larson went low and hard while passing Ryan Timms for the lead with a few laps remaining, then held for a win that paid $21,000.
What triggered the anger at Kyle Larson?
Entering Turns 3 and 4 on the half-mile dirt oval, Larson was about six car lengths back when he quickly darted to the inside lane, under Timms. But Larson’s car didn’t quite get all the grip it needed and he slid up into the nose of Timms’ car — Timms would end up third. And angry.
How angry?
“He’s a piece of (bleep),” Timms said of Larson after explaining the nuts and bolts of the not-so-clean pass.
The two drivers exchanged milder words as Timms walked past Larson after the race, and soon thereafter, Larson mentioned something Timms’ car owner — Shane Liebig — allegedly shouted his way after the dust-up.
“His car owner is upset at me, but at least get my race right. I’m not Chinese, I’m Japanese,” said Larson, whose Japanese ancestry comes from his mother.
Email Ken Willis at ken.willis@news-jrnl.com
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Kyle Larson finally wins a race and fires back at rival: ‘I’m not Chinese’
Reporting by Ken Willis, Daytona Beach News-Journal / The Daytona Beach News-Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Ken Willis, Daytona Beach News-Journal | USA TODAY Network
