No matter how it went down, Kyle Larson was always going to have a hectic Sunday in his Memorial Day Double attempt, racing in the Indianapolis 500 first before heading to Charlotte Motor Speedway for NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600.
With the 108th Indy 500 delayed about four hours because of inclement weather, Larson couldn’t make it to Charlotte in time for the start of the NASCAR race. So Justin Allgaier started behind the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, waiting for Larson to arrive.
After starting fifth following an impressive qualifying round last weekend, Larson finished 18th in his first Indy 500 behind the wheel of the No. 17 Arrow McLaren/Hendrick Chevrolet. His best lap speed was 223.584 miles per hour, and he led four laps.
Josef Newgarden became the sixth driver to win consecutive Indy 500s, edging out runner-up Pato O’Ward in a thrilling finish.
“I would definitely love to be back next year.”
Kyle Larson reflects on his performance in his first INDYCAR race. #Indy500 pic.twitter.com/hESHuxMIrl
— INDYCAR on NBC (@IndyCaronNBC) May 27, 2024
Larson told NBC after the Indy 500:
“I would definitely love to be back next year. I feel like I learned a lot throughout the race. I made a couple of mistakes early there with the restart. I’m not sure what I did wrong there, but I somehow got myself in a third, and then I felt like I did a really good job on the restarts and was able to learn a lot.
“And definitely feel good about knowing what I would need different for the balance, I think, coming back to help runs and stuff. And then, yeah, obviously I smoked a left-front [tire] or something into the green-flag stop and killed our opportunity. So proud to finish, but pretty upset myself. So I just could have executed a better race.”
After the interview, Larson took a helicopter to the airport and a jet to Charlotte. As Fox Sports’ Coca-Cola 600 broadcast noted, Larson landed in Charlotte at 9:19 p.m. ET and should be able to take over for Allgaier when he gets to the track, weather permitting.
He’s all yours, @NASCAR!@KyleLarsonRacin is en route to @CLTMotorSpdwy to partake in the second part of “The Double!”#Indy500 | #NASCAR | #INDYCAR pic.twitter.com/KtGiHE7Qzf
— Indianapolis Motor Speedway (@IMS) May 27, 2024
"I know Kyle is gonna get in the car and blitz through the field the car is that good."
Justin Allgaier
— Jordan Bianchi (@Jordan_Bianchi) May 27, 2024
UPDATE: Larson arrived at Charlotte Motor Speedway around 9:30 p.m. ET, but the race was paused for lightning.
Delivery confirmed. ✅ @IMS #CocaCola600 | @KyleLarsonRacin pic.twitter.com/bwFcZVT5gJ
— Charlotte Motor Speedway (@CLTMotorSpdwy) May 27, 2024
KYLE LARSON IS HERE. #HotPass pic.twitter.com/b55XUrMsuU
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) May 27, 2024
Larson will get in if the race resumes. He will have to drop to the rear for a driver change.
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) May 27, 2024
