CONCORD, N.C. — Kyle Larson’s day went from bad to worse Sunday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway, leaving the talented young driver unsure if he will attempt to run “The Double” again.
Larson was caught up in a wreck on the 246th of 400 laps of the Coca-Cola 600, a NASCAR Cup Series race, ending a disappointing day in which he also crashed out at the Indianapolis 500 on the 91st lap, less than halfway through the 200-lap event for the open-wheel series. Larson, the 2021 Cup Series champion whose day job is NASCAR, was bidding to become the second driver to finish both races and run the combined 1,100 miles in a single day.
It didn’t go well.
“I hate the way the day went,” Larson said. “I wish I could hit the reset button. I feel terrible for everybody, especially for (team owner) Rick Hendrick.”
Larson attempted the feat last year, but inclement weather caused problems.
This year this issue was wrecks.
“I guess it just wasn’t meant to be,” Larson said.
After getting checked out at the medical center at Charlotte, Larson said he hadn’t determined if he will make a third run at Double history next year, saying it’s too fresh.
Larson did admit even trying the feat “is a tough undertaking. The window of time is just too tight.”
Larson started well Sunday night after beginning on the front row at Charlotte. He led early in the race but hit the wall on the 38th lap, and his No. 5 Chevrolet was never the same. He spun out a few laps later, sending him across the front stretch and forcing him into the pits multiple times for adjustments.
He wound up near the back of the field, hoping for a top-10 finish.
Then came the wreck involving Ryan Blaney, Chase Briscoe and Daniel Suarez as they ran three wide ahead of Larson off turn four. They got tangled up. Suarez spun across the track and clipped the right rear of Larson. Larson drove his wrecked ride to the garage, ending his long day’s journey into night.
He finished 37th.
Larson arrived at Charlotte in plenty of the time for NASCAR’s annual longest race of the year — unlike in 2024, when he didn’t reach the track until 249 laps had been completed due to rain in Indianapolis that delayed the start of the Indy 500, which he finished. Larson never turned a lap at last year’s Coca-Cola 600 — a backup driver had taken over his Hendrick Chevy — before the race was called.
At Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Larson was mired deep in traffic throughout the first half of the race, which was delayed about 35 minutes because of a rain shower that passed over the speedway. He was going through the first two turns when his car wiggled on a downshift, sending him into a spin and into the outside wall.
“Just a bit crazy there on the restart,” he said. “I got like, tight behind Takuma (Sato). I was really close in. I got loose and kind of got all over the place, and yeah, so it spun. Just hate that I got a little too eager on the restarter. Hate it for everybody else.”
Kyffin Simpson and Sting Ray Robb also were caught up in the crash.
“When Kyle started losing it and checking up, I tried to go around the outside and there was just no grip out there,” Robb said.
If he had made it to the finish in Indianapolis, he would have faced a tight window to make the 550-mile trip because of the rain delay, which soaked up most of the 45-minute buffer that his teams projected for him.
It was a rough day for Larson even before the crash. He also stalled the car on pit lane, costing him valuable track positions.
Larson took his first shot on one of the toughest challenges in motorsports last season, when even more rain wreaked havoc with his finely laid plans. That Indy 500 was delayed by four hours because of heavy rain that saturated IMS and caused him to be late to Charlotte, where the Cup Series race was underway by the time he landed.
Then, more rain there caused the race to be called complete before he got behind the wheel.
John Andretti was the first driver to try the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600 double in 1994, and Robby Gordon, Tony Stewart and Kurt Busch also have given it a shot. Stewart is the only one to complete all 1,100 laps, finishing sixth in the 2001 Indy 500 before the helicopter-jet-helicopter jaunt to Charlotte, where he finished third in the Cup Series race.
“Just bummed out,” Larson said. “Try to get over this quickly and get on to Charlotte. Try to forget about it and win tonight.”
In two races in two states, it just wasn’t Larson’s day or night.