INDIANAPOLIS — Kyle Larson’s quest to run 1,100 miles in one day ended after 91 laps of the Indianapolis 500 when he wrecked just short of halfway through the race.
Larson finished 27th in the Indy 500 and left soon after the crash for Charlotte Motor Speedway to compete in the NASCAR Cup Series Coca-Cola 600, where things didn’t go too much better as he wrecked just past halfway.
At Charlotte, he led 34 laps until spinning on Lap 43, getting back on the lead lap with the free pass when the caution came out on Lap 200 and then got collected in a crash on Lap 246, ending his race. He finished 37th.
“A bummer of a day all around,” Larson said in Charlotte.
It was echoes of Indianapolis.
“I’m just bummed out,” Larson said. “I’m just very disappointed.”
Kyle Larson crashes along with Sting Ray Robb during the Indy 500. (Photo by Brandon Badraoui/Lumen via Getty Images)
The Hendrick Motorsports driver is the fifth to start both races in the same day, but only one driver – Tony Stewart — completed all 1,100 miles when he did it in 2001.
“The best therapy is to get back behind the wheel,” Larson said Sunday after his second-ever INDYCAR race. “So thankfully, I only have a few hours until I’ll be back behind the wheel. Once we crank the engines up there, I’ll forget about it.”
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Larson’s wreck happened when he was following Takuma Sato and he tried to duck to the left and ended up spinning. The wreck also took out Kyffin Simpson and Sting Ray Robb.
“We were just bunched up on the restart and I was really close to Takuma in front of me and got kind of aero-tight behind him and as I peeked left, the nose grabbed [toward the surface] and I spun,” Larson said.
“I hate that I caused that crash and hate that others got collected in it. I hate it for … everybody that put a lot into making this effort possible.”
Kyle Larson gets caught in a wreck during the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. (Photo by David Jensen/Getty Images)
The day had not gone great for Larson, who stalled the car earlier on pit road, which had put him in the middle of the pack.
Before the race started, things also weren’t going his way. Drizzle delayed the green flag by 48 minutes and there was a good chance Larson was going to have to leave retire from the race before it ended.
NASCAR rules require a driver to start every race to be eligible for the playoffs. If they miss a race, they must get a waiver from the rule. Last year, after more than a week of deliberation as Larson never competed in the Charlotte race following a rain-delayed Indy 500, NASCAR granted the waiver.
Larson, the Cup Series points leader, said he didn’t know if he was going to have to retire early Sunday.
“I don’t know, wasn’t too focused on that,” said Larson, who was driving an Arrow McLaren car at Indy. “When I was sitting there for 45 minutes [before the race], it was on my mind. But once we got racing, I wasn’t really worried about that.”
The bummed Larson indicated he isn’t sure he wants to attempt the double again.
“I don’t know,” Larson said. “It’s a large investment and to have it go not good two years in a row, I just don’t think it’s really worth it at this point.”
Kyle Larson sits in the pits prior to crashing out of the INdy 500. (Photo by Michael L. Levitt/Lumen via Getty Images)
Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR and IndyCar for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass.
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