“It's okay that they're pissed at each other”: Steve Letarte highlights HMS leadership amid Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott’s Iowa incident

Former Cup Series crew chief and current NASCAR analyst Steve Letarte embraced the recent turmoil between Hendrick Motorsports teammates Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson. The former HMS crew chief believes the leadership of car owner Rick Hendrick and vice chairman Jeff Gordon won't let the on-track feud get out of hand.

In Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series race at Iowa, Elliott and Larson tangled on two different restarts as their HMS teammates traded paint fighting for positions. While neither driver wrecked their respective teammate, it raised questions about their relationship moving forward in the season.

In a recent installment of "NASCAR Inside The Race", Letarte said it is moments like this that make car owner Rick Hendrick and Jeff Gordon great leaders of the organization. The two have been through it before, Letarte explained, they know enough to not let things get out of hand besides hard racing. In Letarte's opinion, there's nothing wrong with Elliott and Larson being "pissed" at each other for what transpired on Sunday.

"I think it's okay that they hit each other. It's okay that they're pissed at each other. In the near-term, it's not OK if it continues past the Monday or Tuesday or Wednesday meeting." (0:48 onwards)

Letarte described the Elliott/Larson restart entanglements as "bar fights", and added that this should excite NASCAR fans to see two of the best going at each other. While it might've been exciting on Sunday, Letarte doesn't foresee any further bad blood between the two former Cup Series champions.

"I will add that if the race teams start racing each other differently, the race fan should lose their mind. Because we don't want to see organizations race, we want to see drivers race. Now look, you can't wreck each other, but they didn't wreck each other. They definitely had some beating and banging, but I don't think it continues forward. Look, it's part of it." (1:13 onwards)

Chase Elliott went on to finish 14th in Sunday's Iowa Corn 350 Powered by Ethanol, while Kyle Larson posted a 28th-place finish. With three races left in the regular season, Elliott sits second in the points standings while Larson is third.

Chase Elliott eyeing regular season championship with three races until the NASCAR Cup playoffs

With three races left in the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, Chase Elliott has his sights set on clinching the regular season title. The driver of the #9 sits second in the points standings and trails Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron by 18 points.

Chase Elliott shared a post on X following the Cup race at Iowa and made his focus known for the next three weeks. The 2020 Cup Series champion is chasing the regular season championship, which would give him an additional 15 playoff points. Here's what Elliott wrote via X:

"Still got 3 races ‘til the playoffs. Eyes set on that regular season championship 👊🏼"

Chase Elliott currently has the best average finish in the Cup Series field in 2025 (10.3), along with one victory at EchoPark Speedway and seven top-five finishes. Perhaps most impressive, Elliott hasn't finished outside the top-20 through 23 races this season.

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Edited by Tushar Bahl