'Easy mistake to make': Kyle Larson's Indy 500 run ends with a crash ahead of Coca-Cola 600
INDIANAPOLIS — Kyle Larson's effort to run the Indianapolis 500-NASCAR double got off to a bumpy start.
Larson spun out in Turn 2 on a Lap 86 restart, collecting Sting Ray Robb and Kyffin Simpson and knocking them out of the race.
Advertisement
'We were punched up on the restart and I was really pissed at Takuma (Sato) in front of me. I got tight behind him and as I peeked left, the nose crabbed and I spun,' Larson said. 'Made a mistake on pit road and it compounds from there. You feel like you need to catch up and that was probably the wrong thing to do and got a little too overzealous.'
While the pack checked up following a hectic restart, Larson downshifted as he entered Turn 2 behind Sato. The No. 17 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet lost control and spun, hitting Simpson on his way to the Turn 2 wall.
Simpson spun after his contact with Larson, sending the No. 8 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda to the wall. While Simpson's car spun, Robb ran out of race track and brushed the wall on the exit of Turn 2 as he tried to avoid the spinning Simpson.
'I hate that I caused that crash (and) that others got collected in it,' Larson said. 'I hate it for Arrow McLaren and Rick Hendrick.'
Advertisement
How to watch: NASCAR Coca-Cola 600 start time, where to watch, how to stream
That wall contact damaged Robb's suspension, causing the No. 77 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet to spin multiple times before hitting the tire barrier at the start of the backstretch on the inside of the track. Robb empathized with Larson.
'It's an easy mistake to make. Cold track, long running stints, marbles on the inside, cold tires on a restart and mixed conditions to make it tough,' Robb said. 'I think that with him getting loose, I thought he saved it there for a second but these cars are tricky. The added weight of the hybrid here seems like it's put some hindrance in some of the driving abilities.'
Larson was not a factor after starting 19th. He stalled the car on a Lap 25 pit stop. He finished 27th.
Advertisement
The 32-year-old Cup star was taking a second crack at the double — competing at Indy and in the NASCAR Cup Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte, North Carolina, on the same day.
He raced on the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval in 2024, finishing 18th after a pit-road speeding penalty dropped him from fifth place. However, a 4-hour rain delay in Indianapolis made him late for Charlotte. The Cup race had already begun and, when he got there, rain had stopped that race, so he never got in the car.
He qualified second for the Cup race on Saturday.
Larson had an eventful couple of weeks at Indianapolis, narrowly avoiding a spinning car, crashing in practice and qualifying for the 19th starting spot.
Advertisement
Larson hopes Charlotte offers him solace after his disappointment at the Speedway.
'We put a lot into making this effort possible so (I'm) bummed out but we'll try to mentally move on from here quickly and get to Charlotte,' Larson said. 'The best therapy is to just get back behind the wheel, so thankfully I only have a few hours until I'll be back behind the wheel. Once we crank the engines up there, hopefully I'll forget about it.'
Kyle Larson's Indy 500-NASCAR weekend schedule
Today, May 25: Indy 500 starts at 12:45 p.m. ET; NASCAR Cup Coca-Cola 600 starts at 6 p.m.
Now to watch NASCAR Coca-Cola 600
Watch the NASCAR Cup Coke 600 with a 30-day Amazon Prime trial
Who raced in both Indy 500 and NASCAR on same day?
Larson is the sixth driver to attempt the Double, though just four have driven in both on the same day:
Advertisement
John Andretti : 1994 , 10th at Indy, 36th in Cup.
Robby Gordon : ' 97 , Indy was postponed by rain; 2000 , 6th at Indy, 35th in Cup; '02 : 8th at Indy, 16 in Cup; '03 , 22nd at Indy, 17th in Cup; '04 , stepped out of Indy during a rain delay in favor of Jaques Lazier, finished 20th in Cup.
Tony Stewart : 1999 , 9th at Indy, 4th in Cup; 2001 , 6th at Indy, 3rd in Cup, becoming the first driver to complete 1,100 miles.
Kurt Busch : 2014 , 6th at Indy, 18th in Cup.
Davy Jones tried in 1995, but he failed to qualify for the Cup race.
This story was updated to add a video.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: 2025 Indy 500 results: Kyle Larson finishes 27th in Indy 500-porton of Double
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
34 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Winners, losers from NASCAR Cup race at Atlanta won by Chase Elliott
Here is look at the winners and losers from this past weekend at EchoPark Speedway in Hampton, Ga. WINNERS Chase Elliott — Won at his home track for the second time in his Cup career. Masterful race capped by last-lap pass that created an electric atmosphere when the checkered flag waved. Elliott snapped a 44-race winless drought and moved to second in the points after his third consecutive top-five finish. NASCAR Cup Series Quaker State 400 Available at Walmart Chase Elliott's Atlanta victory celebration was emphatic and enlightening Advertisement The Georgia driver ended a 44-race winless streak before frenzied fans at his home track. Brad Keselowski — While he still needs a win to make the playoffs, his runner-up finish is his fourth top 10 in the last six races — his best stretch of the season. NASCAR Cup Series Quaker State 400 Available at Walmart Chase Elliott's Atlanta win takes away chance to earn a playoff spot for some drivers Four of the top seven finishers entered the race outside a playoff spot and without a win this year. Alex Bowman — His third-place finish moved him off the playoff cutline. It is his second top-five finish in the last three races. Next up for the series is the Chicago Street Race, which Bowman won last year. Advertisement Tyler Reddick — His fourth-place finish was just his second top 10 in the last 10 races. Legacy Motor Club — Erik Jones' fifth-place finish gives Legacy MC a top-10 finish in three consecutive races. That is the team's longest streak of top-10 finishes this season. John Hunter Nemechek had finished sixth in each of the last two races. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. — His sixth-place result tied for his second-best finish of the year. Zane Smith — His seventh-place result ties for his best result of the season. He has placed seventh in two of the last four races. Ty Dillon — Finished a season-best eighth and provided the biggest upset of the In-Season Challenge. As the No. 32 seed, he eliminated No. 1 seed Denny Hamlin and said on TNT after the race: 'All you Denny fans out there, I just knocked your favorite driver out.' LOSERS Ryan Blaney — Collected in the big crash and finished last in the 40-car field. It is his sixth DNF of the season, tying him with Bubba Wallace for most in the season. Advertisement Bubba Wallace — Finished 22nd and fell in the standings. He holds the final playoff spot with eight races left in the regular season. He leads Ryan Preece by 23 points. Joey Logano — Pole-sitter was collected in the big crash and finished 36th. This marks his fourth consecutive finish outside the top 15, his longest streak of the season.
NBC Sports
an hour ago
- NBC Sports
Winners, losers from NASCAR Cup race at Atlanta won by Chase Elliott
Here is look at the winners and losers from this past weekend at EchoPark Speedway in Hampton, Ga. WINNERS Chase Elliott — Won at his home track for the second time in his Cup career. Masterful race capped by last-lap pass that created an electric atmosphere when the checkered flag waved. Elliott snapped a 44-race winless drought and moved to second in the points after his third consecutive top-five finish. Dustin Long, Brad Keselowski — While he still needs a win to make the playoffs, his runner-up finish is his fourth top 10 in the last six races — his best stretch of the season. Alex Bowman — His third-place finish moved him off the playoff cutline. It is his second top-five finish in the last three races. Next up for the series is the Chicago Street Race, which Bowman won last year. Tyler Reddick — His fourth-place finish was just his second top 10 in the last 10 races. Legacy Motor Club — Erik Jones' fifth-place finish gives Legacy MC a top-10 finish in three consecutive races. That is the team's longest streak of top-10 finishes this season. John Hunter Nemechek had finished sixth in each of the last two races. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. — His sixth-place result tied for his second-best finish of the year. Zane Smith — His seventh-place result ties for his best result of the season. He has placed seventh in two of the last four races. Ty Dillon — Finished a season-best eighth and provided the biggest upset of the In-Season Challenge. As the No. 32 seed, he eliminated No. 1 seed Denny Hamlin and said on TNT after the race: 'All you Denny fans out there, I just knocked your favorite driver out.' LOSERS Ryan Blaney — Collected in the big crash and finished last in the 40-car field. It is his sixth DNF of the season, tying him with Bubba Wallace for most in the season. Bubba Wallace — Finished 22nd and fell in the standings. He holds the final playoff spot with eight races left in the regular season. He leads Ryan Preece by 23 points. Joey Logano — Pole-sitter was collected in the big crash and finished 36th. This marks his fourth consecutive finish outside the top 15, his longest streak of the season.
New York Times
2 hours ago
- New York Times
Brad Keselowski, as playoff hopes fade, grapples with another difficult loss
HAMPTON, Ga. — Brad Keselowski has raced long enough to become well-versed in how to process tough losses. He knows how to quickly move past the hurt and turn his focus to what's next. It's a part of why he is so successful — a NASCAR Cup Series champion, a 36-time race winner, and likely an eventual first-ballot NASCAR Hall of Famer. Advertisement But considering the stakes Saturday night at Atlanta Motor Speedway, it's hard not to think the 41-year-old Keselowski's latest tough loss is going to take a little longer to process. And yet, there he stood on pit road after falling victim to a numbers game, not able to overcome the teamwork executed by the Hendrick Motorsports duo of Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman and trying not to dwell on what could've been. 'Every loss stings,' Keselowski said. It's been a trying season for Keselowski, one filled with missed opportunities, bad luck and miscues that have contributed to him being buried in the standings. Coming into Atlanta, he ranked 30th in points, so deep that his only pathway to the playoffs was by winning one of the remaining nine regular-season races. Atlanta represented a chance for reprieve, for Keselowski to push past what is statistically his worst season since 2010, his de facto rookie year. And in a race he needed to win to salvage his faint playoff hopes, he delivered a stirring performance that called back to a time when he ruled on drafting tracks like Atlanta, which shares similar characteristics to Daytona and Talladega — two tracks at which he owns a combined seven wins — since being reconfigured three years ago. Much of Saturday's final stage was vintage Keselowski. There he was, making sweeping passes going into the corners, pulling off impressive blocks when someone behind him got a big run, executing aggressive moves when called for, completing a smooth-looking crossover pass on Elliott off Turn 4 as they dueled in the closing laps, and deftly working with RFK Racing teammate Chris Buescher, who acted as his wingman. 'That's the Brad that is so good at these super speedways and this style of racing,' Buescher said. 'We had race cars that enabled us to make moves, and most specifically, Brad, to make some of those power moves that he's so good at. It's a big step for us just having better race cars and him showing what he's capable of when we get to that point.' Advertisement But as great as Keselowski was, he couldn't stave off Elliott on the final lap. The Hendrick driver got a run down the frontstretch, allowing him to complete the pass going through Turns 1 and 2. Any chance Keselowski had to counterattack went away when a charging Bowman opted not to work with Keselowski, instead protecting his teammate and ensuring a Hendrick win. THE SI-REEN SOUNDS AGAIN! @chaseelliott wins with a last-lap pass of @keselowski! — NASCAR (@NASCAR) June 29, 2025 '(Bowman) was a great teammate in that moment, for sure,' Elliott said. 'If (Bowman) takes me two-wide, we are all but saying, 'Here, Brad, you can win.' … It's our job as a company to try to get Hendrick Motorsports a win at that point in time, whether it was he or I or however that transpired, right? Naturally, it did just that.' It was a selfless decision by Bowman — who also needs a win as he too is fighting for a playoff spot — but one that proved costly to Keselowski. Without a push by Bowman, and without Bowman going after Elliott and slowing the Hendrick teammates, Keselowski was virtually helpless with Buescher having fallen back. Elliott snapped a 44-race winless streak; Keselowski's winless streak extended to 41 races. '(Elliott and Bowman) were able to work together really well and kind of doubled up on me at the end, and there was nothing I could do,' Keselowski said. Had Keselowski been able to close out, Saturday night's triumph would've been one for the highlight reel. It wasn't as memorable as when he won at Pocono in 2011, days after breaking his ankle in a crash while testing, or at Talladega in 2014, when he came through in a must-win situation in a playoff elimination race, but Atlanta would've certainly been another moment in a career defined by them. Maybe knowing there was nothing he could've done differently is why Keselowski was so pragmatic afterward. He's experienced this enough times to understand that the circumstances are sometimes just beyond your control. Still, the reality is that Keselowski's point situation is so dire that he must win a race in the next eight weeks or he'll fail to qualify for the playoffs. And with three of the eight remaining races held on road/street courses — he's never won on either track type — his path to the postseason feels even narrower. 'I don't think about that,' Keselowski said. 'I just want to win.' (Top photo of Brad Keselowski, left, leading the pack alongside Alex Bowman during Saturday's race: Sean Gardner / Getty Images)
