Larson Says "All My Fault" After Heavy Crash At End of Stage 2

Kyle Larson, the defending NASCAR Cup Series champion, is done for the day after a hard crash, which he admitted fault for, at the end of Stage 2 of Sunday's Autotrader 400 at EchoPark Speedway.

Kyle Larson saw a solid race come to an end due to a mental error at the end of Stage 2 in Sunday's Autotrader 400 at EchoPark Speedway. | Dirk Bizub | Racing America On SI

Defending NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson found himself inside of the top-five on the final lap of the second Stage of Sunday's Autotrader 400 at EchoPark Speedway. However, the driver of the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet will not have a chance to score the win at the 1.54-mile speedway after an unforced error coming to the finish line.

As William Byron, Larson's Hendrick Motorsports teammate, attempted to pass Bubba Wallace for the Stage win, Larson, who was running third, decided to knife his car from the top of the track to the inside lane. Only problem was that the bottom lane was already occupied by Shane van Gisbergen, the driver of the No. 97 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet.

Larson would collide with van Gisbergen, which would send him skidding back across the track, and the journey would end with a massive impact into the outside wall on the frontstretch.

A wild end to Stage 2. 👀 pic.twitter.com/0yrp6TJnMA

— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) February 22, 2026

After being evaluated and released from the infield care center, Larson correctly shouldered the blame for the incident that ended his race early.

"Yeah, just all my fault, obviously," Larson admitted in an interview on FOX. "In my brain, you know, I knew that [Tyler Reddick] had been inside of me. And then, I got clear of him, and I just wanted to cut distance, and I guess [van Gisbergen] was just out of my corner mirror. So, yeah, I hung a left, and yeah, I ran right into him."

Larson says that his spotter had informed him that he was three-wide, but he simply forgot that there was another car alongside Reddick, and he used his gut to make a move that he thought would pay off.

"All my fault, I hate it. Just, I need to listen more, I guess, and not just react to what I feel sometimes," Larson explained. "I had a lot of fun today. Our Valvoline Chevy was really strong and cool to be up in the front and in the mix. Yeah, just made a big error there. I hate it. I really hate it for my team."

In an instant, Larson saw his potential race-winning day get derailed, and he'll now be credited with a 32nd-place finish.

Prior to Larson's crash, Kyle Busch, B.J. McLeod, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Riley Herbst, Ty Gibbs, and Josh Berry had also exited the race due to extensive damage sustained in crashes.