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“RIP”- Kyle Larson Pays His Respects as the NASCAR World Loses Great Artistic Talent
“RIP”- Kyle Larson Pays His Respects as the NASCAR World Loses Great Artistic Talent
The new year isn’t off to a great start for the NASCAR community. What was supposed to be a terrific year for racing fans and drivers alike is quickly turning into what can be described as a nightmare for them. The year started with a bad omen, so to speak, with the passing of Cale Yarborough. In the following days, Mike Wallace lost his better half to cancer. And then, the music world lost a maestro with the sad demise of Toby Keith. Now, there’s another tragic story that has left Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson in pieces.
On February 9, famous helmet artist and owner of Indocil Art, Ryan Young, passed away. The artist, who was “an MTV kid” and renowned for his iconic helmet designs, died at the age of 50. Expressing his grief, Larson put out a brief yet touching statement, extending his condolences while sharing his good times with Young.
Kyle Larson bids one last goodbye to his helmet buddy
Ryan Young, who shot to fame after designing a rock and roll-inspired MTV helmet for Lizzy Musi, was also a well-known name in the NASCAR scene. While he worked in association with multiple drivers, he was Larson’s go-to helmet guy. The very talented designer created some of Larson’s most iconic headgear, including the HendrickCars.com piece for Phoenix.
“RIP”- Kyle Larson Pays His Respects as the NASCAR World Loses Great Artistic Talent
Mourning the loss of his friend, Kyle Larson took to Instagram and wrote, “Hated getting the news of @indocil Ryan Young passing away yesterday morning. Such an extremely passionate and talented artist that I’m going to greatly miss.” While drivers may not have much creative control over most parts of their racing gear, helmet designs are one thing that helps them showcase their identity and personality. For Larson, there was no one better than Young to design just what the driver wanted.
“I’m not sure people realize how involved I like to be on the design process of my helmets. I always loved talking to him and working through fun ideas for designs.”
“We would both come up with off-the-wall thoughts and probably confuse each other most times, but he ALWAYS knocked it out of the park and supplied me with the sickest helmets in the pits. Just a great guy and will be missed by so many! RIP,” the HMS sensation further added. With this touching tribute, Larson posted a picture of Ryan Young and a few of the many helmets the artist designed for him.
It was just 17 weeks ago that Ryan Young celebrated his 50th birthday. To thank everyone, he took to Indocil Art’s official Instagram account and wrote, “50 freaking Years!.. My customers and friends are absolutely the best.. here’s to the past 50 and to everything that comes next. Always pushing myself to be the best business owner, friend, artist, car enthusiast, fabricator, dad, son, brother, and boyfriend I can possibly be. Yours truly, Ryan Young.”
READ: Chase Elliott Snubs Rick Hendrick and Jeff Gordon’s Speculation About His Disastrous Things That Happened to Him
After hearing the news of Young’s passing, several names in the NASCAR community joined Kyle Larson to bid adieu to the artist who’s gone but won’t ever be forgotten.
As Ryan Young “will be missed,” a veteran Cup driver sent prayers to his family
The statement from the Hendrick Motorsports driver tells us how much Young meant to him. However, in NASCAR, Larson wasn’t the only pilot getting his lids designed by the owner of Indocil Art.
Front Row Motorsports ace driver Michael McDowell was also stunned to hear the sad news. In his X post, McDowell wrote, “Ryan Young has been a friend and my helmet painter for over a decade. Very saddened by his passing. Praying for all of his family and friends.”
Christopher Wheeler, strategist at Chip Ganassi Racing, also tweeted, “Godspeed to the mayor of Rock Hill. Ryan Young was unique in lots of ways, but you always knew where you stood with him. His passion is seen in everything he touched over the years growing Indocil Art, and he will be missed.”
Ryan Young has been a friend and my helmet painter for over a decade. Very saddened by his passing. Praying for all of his family and friends @IndocilArt pic.twitter.com/CfoC15THCC
— Michael McDowell (@Mc_Driver) February 10, 2024
While the cause of his sudden demise is still unknown, Ryan Young’s passing has left a void that certainly cannot be filled anytime soon. There’s no doubt his legacy will live on through the myriad of iconic helmets he created over the years. We extend our condolences to his family and friends.
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‘It won’t last forever’ – Max Verstappen warned about Red Bull downfall with Lewis Hamilton
Former Haas team principal Guenther Steiner has warned that, while Max Verstappen is the current dominant force in Formula 1, “all good things come to an end.”
Verstappen has won 21 of the last 23 races and has broken the record for number of victories in a calendar year in each of the last two seasons, with 15 in 2022 and 19 last season, and has already taken to the top step four times out of five in 2024.
Max Verstappen dominance warning: ‘It won’t last forever’
Formula 1 can often be characterised by eras of driver and team dominance in the sport, with the likes of McLaren and Williams holding the sport under their control in the 1980s and ’90s, before Ferrari and Michael Schumacher were the outright force in the early 2000s, and Red Bull and Sebastian Vettel won four title doubles in a row before Mercedes took charge in the turbo hybrid era.
The switch to ground effect aerodynamics has seen Red Bull surge to the top once again, particularly in Verstappen’s hands, which has left 2021 title rival and seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton without a race win in 50 rounds.
Steiner made this point in comparing Verstappen’s success to Hamilton’s current barren run by his standards, but is also wary of the fact that these eras have a habit of ending abruptly.
“Red Bull and Max Verstappen are obviously doing a fantastic job right now. They are dominating,” Steiner wrote in a pre-Miami column for Formula1.com.
“I really respect Sergio Perez, he’s a very good driver – but he can’t get near Max right now. Max is on a different planet.
“He is already one of the greatest ever in his era, like Lewis Hamilton was a few years ago.
“When you’re on a wave like this, you have the confidence, you’re happy with life and nothing goes wrong.
“But all good things come to an end. It won’t last forever – just look at Lewis right now.
“It’s no surprise Mercedes boss Toto Wolff is interested in signing Max. Will Max leave Red Bull? He is in a good place.”
The next regulation reset in Formula 1 is coming in 2026, with the proposed power units bringing about a change in power to make the cars a 50/50 split between combustion and electric power in the hybrid engines, along with a switch to sustainable fuel.
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Alex Bowman’s angry radio exchange that caused trouble with Kyle Larson at Dover decoded by Corey
Alex Bowman’s angry radio exchange that caused trouble with Kyle Larson at Dover decoded by Corey
Alex Bowman had a decent day in Dover with a top-10 finish. But it didn’t come without some drama as Bowman and his spotter, Kevin Hamlin, exchanged some fiery words at one point in the race. Talking about this exchange between Bowman and his spotter, as well as the preceding incident between Bowman and Kyle Larson, Corey LaJoie took a shot at decoding the whole situation.
Speaking on his podcast Stacking Pennies, LaJoie discussed what happened between the two Hendrick drivers and the subsequent radio exchange between Bowman and his spotter.
“There was a little bit of beef apparently between the #48 and the #5. The #48 was having a good run up there in top 5,” LaJoie said.
The exchange, in the eyes of Ryan ‘Skip’ Flores, the co-host of Stacking Pennies, was simply Bowman being honest with the whole situation.
“He was mad at the #5 car air blocking him. The #5 was running for the stage win I believe. He’s mad at the #5 air blocking and he’s ‘expletive’ about it and (Kevin) Hamlin says go up there and pass him, he’s not gonna give it to you. And then he tried to pep talk him and Alex told him shove it,” Flores said.
In the end, LaJoie wrapped it up by claiming that what happened between Bowman and Larson and Bowman and his spotter was simply part of racing.
“Hey, it’s a very high-pressure situation. You feel like you’re in there riding around. You’d think your teammate of all people would air block you less, but hey, it’s racing man,” LaJoie said.
Speaking after the race, Alex Bowman was asked about his radio exchange with spotter Kevin Hamlin. During the race, Bowman made a sly remark on Larson, after which he received an earful from his spotter.
“He’s not gonna pull over for you. You’ve gotta go ‘expletive’ earn it, let’s go. #5 elbows up, let’s go. Dudes are gonna give you ‘expletive’ all day, you’ve just taken, you’ve done awesome, drive like an
‘expletive’ the rest of the race, stay locked in, *expletive* them all let’s
go,” Kevin Hamlin told his driver. [00:12]
In response, Bowman asked his spotter to just let him focus on the race. After the race, when asked about his exchange with Kevin, Alex Bowman simply refused to elaborate on it.
“No. I don’t have any clickbait for you there, buddy,” he said (via Frontstretch).
As for his race result, Bowman opined that it wasn’t “the greatest” but they’ll move on to the next one.
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NASCAR Issues: Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson are at again
Though Hendrick Motorsports couldn’t figure out a way to win in Dover on Sunday, it had a remarkable race day. Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott both finished inside the top-5 after starting from outside the top-20. At the end of the 400 laps on the Monster Mile, Larson retained his lead at the top of the points table and Elliott sat third.
The race began for Larson from 21st place in the #5 Chevrolet Camaro. Refusing to idle around, he found his way into the top 10 as early as Lap 53. He broke into the top 5 on Lap 107 and finished Stage 1 in 5th place. Crew Chief Cliff Daniels made the call to bring Larson to the pit ahead of most others and kickstarted a play that worked out splendidly.
Larson ended up winning Stage 2. From there, a long cat and mouse game went down between him and Denny Hamlin. Courtesy of quicker pit stops, better restarts, and the aero-block advantage, Hamlin managed to pull ahead and stay there. “I was trying all sorts of different angles and speeds. Nothing could generate enough speed to get close enough to do anything,” Larson said after the race.
Ultimately, he finished as the runner-up, a mere 0.256 seconds behind Hamlin. The result was his second runner-up finish of the year. He led 39 laps throughout the race bringing his 2024 total to 570, highest in the grid. Putting up an almost equal caliber of performance from behind the #9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro was Chase Elliott.
The 2020 Cup Series champion started his campaign from further behind Larson, in 29th place. He cut open the top-10 on Lap 70 and finished Stage 1 in 9th place. Despite having an early scare when his car hit the wall, the run continued as he maintained a top-10 spot throughout Stage 2. He finished the stage in 5th place after passing Tyler Reddick and Kyle Busch, the same spot in which he finished his race.
How did William Byron and Alex Bowman fare in Dover?
Byron started his race in 3rd place. After leading for a brief while in Stage 1, he finished in 2nd place. Midway through Stage 2, he complained of feeling “a little too tight center of (turns) three and four.” Subsequently, he was pitted on Lap 183. Tragedy struck as his car fell off the jack before the stop was complete and he lost significant time on the road.
In the final stage, he got caught in a multi-car incident involving Bubba Wallace, Christopher Bell, and Zane Smith. The chaos ended his day and he finished in 33rd place. The result ended his five-race top-10 streak. Alex Bowman had a better day than Byron. He started the race from 9th position and finished 8th. He displayed strong speed midway through the race but the balance on his car began taking a hit towards race end.
“It was still a good points day and a step in the right direction,” he said after his fourth straight top-10 finish in Dover. “It’s a little more consistent than we’ve seen, so hopefully we can keep plugging away at it.” The next event on the schedule for Rick Hendrick’s men is at the Kansas Speedway. The 12th race of the ongoing season will go down on May 5.
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