By NATE RYAN
Kyle Larson’s barnstorming begins this weekend when he undertakes a trying commute between three racetracks in two national motorsports series.
Larson is bidding to become the fifth driver to complete the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on the same day. To accomplish the feat, Larson will miss NASCAR All-Star Race preparations Friday and Saturday at North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, to focus on Indy 500 practice and qualifying at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
After attempting to qualify for the field of 33 for “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” on Sunday at more than 230 mph in an IndyCar, Larson will hustle to the Indianapolis airport for a flight to tiny North Wilkesboro Speedway in North Carolina, where he will race against the Cup Series’ best for $1 million in the NASCAR All-Star Race.
Larson will return to Indy for Monday practice, spend Tuesday in New York on a media tour and bounce between Indy and Charlotte Motor Speedway three times from Friday to Sunday ahead of the Coca-Cola 600.
It’s a daunting journey, but Larson is ready for the harried itinerary.
The Hendrick Motorsports star has squeezed in several dozen dirt races around his annual NASCAR schedule of 38 Cup Series weekends for the past decade.
Larson crashes for second time
By DAVE SKRETTA Updated 5:35 PM EDT, May 16, 2025
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — NASCAR star Kyle Larson crashed for the second time in the lead-up to the Indianapolis 500 on Friday when he lost control of his Arrow McLaren entry and hit the wall in the final practice session before this weekend’s qualifying runs.
The damage was relatively minor, though, and it only took Larson’s team about an hour to make repairs to the front and rear of the car. That allowed him to get in some precious laps with about 30 minutes left in the 6-hour session.
Larson, who also crashed on April 24 during an open test at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, is taking his second shot at trying to complete “the Double” by running the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on the same day. Larson finished 18th in the rain-delayed 500 last year, but he never ran a lap in the NASCAR race in Charlotte when rain there ended the race early.
“Obviously it’s tricky. I spun,” Larson said after leaving the care center. “I don’t know. Kind of caught off guard a little bit there, but I think we’ll be fine. I tend to get over things pretty quickly. I know I spun but my balance felt pretty close to being good.”
