Kyle Larson’s strong start at the Iowa Corn 350 quickly turned into another frustrating NASCAR race at Iowa Speedway. Larson qualified second behind Ryan Blaney and stayed near the front early, finishing Stage 1 in third. But a restart around Lap 149 changed everything for the Hendrick Motorsports driver. Contact involving John Hunter Nemechek forced Larson into a four-wide situation with Shane van Gisbergen and teammate Alex Bowman.
Larson then made contact with Bowman, sending both Chevrolet cars into the outside wall. Bowman’s race ended with heavy damage, while Larson returned after repairs several laps down. His frustration grew as Nemechek’s team explained over the radio what caused the incident.
Kyle Larson’s Iowa NASCAR Race Falls Apart
The restart created a difficult situation as Nemechek’s No. 42 Toyota became involved in a multi-car squeeze. Larson was pushed up the track and found himself four-wide alongside van Gisbergen and Bowman.
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The contact between Larson and Bowman sent both cars into the outside wall on the frontstretch. The crash brought out a caution and badly damaged both Hendrick Motorsports cars.
Bowman’s No. 48 Chevrolet suffered enough damage to end his race. Larson’s No. 5 Chevrolet suffered a broken right-rear toe link and additional front-end damage. Cliff Daniels’ crew repaired the car, but Larson returned several laps behind the leaders.
Larson eventually finished 33rd, about 17 to 18 laps behind race winner Ty Gibbs. Bowman finished 34th. The result added another difficult chapter to Larson’s Iowa NASCAR record.
Kyle Larson Radio Message Draws Attention
As his team worked on the damaged Chevrolet, Larson focused on what happened with Nemechek. Over the radio, he asked whether the Legacy Motor Club driver was “not able to hold a straight line like normal.”
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Larson’s spotter then passed along the explanation from Nemechek’s team. They said Nemechek had “downshifted and it got stuck in neutral.”
Larson fired back with a brief but sarcastic response. “Yeah. Yeah. Cool. Professional.”
The radio exchange was first reported by The Athletic’s Jeff Gluck and quickly drew attention among NASCAR observers. Other accounts of the same radio traffic quoted Larson asking whether “someone jam[med] it in on him” or whether Nemechek “could he not hold it down like normal.”
Nemechek’s team again gave the same explanation about the car getting stuck in neutral.
Kyle Larson Faces More Iowa NASCAR Frustration
The Iowa NASCAR race continued a difficult run for Larson at the 0.875-mile Iowa Speedway. In the track’s three Cup Series races, Larson has now finished 34th, 28th and 33rd.
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The latest result dropped Larson to 10th in the points standings after he had been as high as sixth only two races earlier. The defending champion also remains winless since May 2025.
Hendrick Motorsports left Iowa with two heavily damaged cars. William Byron remained the organization’s leading contender, while Chase Elliott also struggled during the race.
For Larson, the Iowa Corn 350 added another disappointing result to a season that has lacked consistency. His next races come at Richmond and New Hampshire, giving the No. 5 team two more short-track opportunities before the regular season reaches its final stretch.
The Iowa Corn 350 ended with Larson several laps down, but his radio exchange with Nemechek became one of the clearest signs of his frustration after a race that had started with genuine promise.
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