Editor’s Note: After initially finishing 27th, Larson has now been scored with a 24th-place finish in the 2025 Indianapolis 500 following post-race inspection.
CONCORD, N.C. — The logistics of a 1,100-mile day of racing for Kyle Larson have ultimately proven nearly impossible to accomplish.
The results of his Sunday crashes — in both the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600, six and a half hours apart — bear that out.
Larson‘s second straight attempt to accomplish the Memorial Day Weekend Double ended in bent car parts and disappointment as the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion fell out of both storied events prematurely.
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Weather delays in Indianapolis put his chances of completing the Double in jeopardy before he even rolled off pit road. After finally taking the green flag there at 1:35 p.m. ET — 50 minutes later than scheduled — his crash at Lap 92 ended the open-wheel portion of the endeavor before halfway, propelling him back to Charlotte Motor Speedway for the 600, where he arrived at 5:22 p.m.
Starting second in NASCAR‘s longest race of the year, Larson scooted to the lead by Lap 10, but early wall contact and a subsequent spin derailed the No. 5 team‘s day. While on the rebound, everything hit rock bottom when contact from a sliding Daniel Suárez destroyed the right-rear suspension of Larson‘s Chevrolet, putting an end to a tumultuous and trying day at 9:29 p.m.
“The Double is just a tough undertaking,” a dejected Larson said after he was checked and released from the infield care center at Charlotte. “I think the window of time is too tight. Even if I didn’t wreck (at Indy), I don’t think I would have made it here in time and probably would have had to end that race short anyway.”
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“I just don’t really think it’s worth it, but I would love to run the Indy 500 again. Just doing the Double, I think, is just logistically too tough.”
Twice in consecutive years, Mother Nature played a role in upending the best-laid plans by Larson, Hendrick Motorsports and IndyCar‘s Arrow McLaren. This year‘s effort was a step in the right direction: In 2024, rain in both Indianapolis and Charlotte wreaked havoc, with Larson completing the full, rain-delayed Indy 500, missing the start of the Coca-Cola 600 and ultimately arriving in Concord just as more rain curtailed the 600.
In 2025, Larson at least got to compete in both events in the same day. The residual emotions, though, aren‘t much different.
“What I’m feeling at the end of the night feels very similar,” Larson said. “Just very bummed and sad about how it all went. Just wasn’t meant to be, I guess.”
Larson looked exceptionally fast early in Sunday‘s stock-car feature, leading 34 of the opening 41 circuits at Charlotte. No. 5 slid loose at the top of Turns 3 and 4, however, contacting the wall first with the right rear, then the right front.
Crew chief Cliff Daniels spent the next 200 laps orchestrating a series of repairs while simultaneously keeping his driver‘s head in the game. After the first frame of initial fixes were implemented, the team discovered the front toe was “way off,” but wound up going too far on their adjustments; a result, in part, of a suspected offset steering rack.
The No. 5 team managed to stay on the lead lap until a cycle of green-flag pit stops in Stage 2 but fell one lap down to teammate William Byron. After earning the free pass to return to the lead lap at the start of Stage 3, Larson charged from 26th to 22nd, then launched to 17th after another round of pit stops under caution.
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With just four laps after the ensuing restart, though, Chase Briscoe bounced off Ryan Blaney and into Suárez, who spun first into Justin Haley and then directly into Larson‘s right wheel.
“I thought our team was doing a good job to get the car back in better shape there to just chip away at it and contend for a decent finish,” Larson said. “But yeah, just hate the way that the day went. I wish I could just hit reset and try again tomorrow, but the reality is that’s not gonna happen.”