Kyle Larson had big plans for Memorial Day weekend. He was going to do something only a handful of drivers have ever attempted: run the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 on the same day, aka “The Double”. But instead of a historic finish, the day turned into a back-to-back disaster.
The 2021 NASCAR Cup champion started the day at Indy in the №17 car for Arrow McLaren and Hendrick Motorsports. He started 19th and looked good early. But things went south fast. Near the halfway mark he spun after a restart and collected a few other cars in the process. That ended his day and he finished 27th.
After the race he said he may have gotten a little too aggressive. “I got tight behind Takuma Sato, got loose and just spun. Hate it for the other guys caught up in it,” he said. You could hear the disappointment in his voice.
From there Kyle Larson flew to Charlotte to get into his usual №5 Chevy for Hendrick Motorsports in the Coca-Cola 600. Unfortunately things didn’t get much better there. After a quick spin on Lap 42 he finally ended his day on Lap 245 when he got tangled up with Ryan Blaney, and Daniel Suarez in a multi-car crash.
Even though he didn’t hit the wall he had to go to the infield care center for a mandatory checkup. After getting cleared he said: “I saw smoke off Turn 4. Tried to go left but didn’t get far enough. Just a bummer way to end the day.”
This was Kyle Larson’s second attempt at The Double and for the second time, it didn’t go as planned. Last year rain at Indy delayed things so much he missed the start of the Coca-Cola 600. This year he made both races but didn’t finish either.
So the question now is, will he try again next year? The chances of trying again next year are uncertain. And for good reason: Hendrick Motorsports dropped a pretty substantial sum, around $3 million (reported 2024 numbers), on his Double attempt.
That’s more than double (no pun intended) the usual cost for an Indy 500 entry, which is around $1 million to $1.5 million. According to quick and easy match, it brings it to $6 million for the past two years and with a third try it could reach $9 million. Unless Hendrick and Arrow McLaren are willing to commit to another attempt, we shouldn’t see Kyle Larson tackle the Double anytime soon.
