SPEEDWAY, Ind. — Kyle Larson‘s second entry into the Indianapolis 500 will have very little in common with his 2024 effort. Following Saturday’s (May 17) qualifying session, which determined starting positions 13 through 30, Larson ranked 21st among the 34 cars attempting to make the race.
Larson’s first run on Saturday was underwhelming, and at one point he sat as low as 29th on the charts before he made a second run and improved to 16th. While Larson’s position dropped toward the end of the day as Marco Andretti, Rinus VeeKay and Marcus Armstrong traded blows in an attempt to lock themselves into the field and avoid Sunday’s shootout for the last row on the grid, his prior efforts ensured he would not risk being bumped from the field on Sunday.
Larson’s 2024 entrance saw him start fifth and finish 18th after he showed respectable pace throughout the chaotic, rain-delayed spectacle. This year, his path to completing — not to mention winning — the Memorial Day “Double” will be much less straightforward. Still, Larson’s experience in the weeks leading up to qualifying likely left him feeling good about a 21st-place start.
Speaking to Frontstretch after his first run of the day, Larson noted that he was down on pace and expected he’d need to make at least one more run on the day.
“We’re still pretty slow,” Larson said. “Good to finally get a qualifying run in. That’s our first of the month that we’ve gotten. It’s been a bit hectic in qualifying trim for us so far, [it’s] good to get that four laps in. Now we’ll try and maintain that balance and try and find some speed.”
Larson’s remarks about maintaining balance could not have been more appropriate.
Prior to Saturday’s qualifying session, the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion had crashed during Fast Friday’s practice session, dealing heavy damage to his No. 17 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet.
“I thought my balance felt OK,” he said, expressing a pinch of confusion after Friday’s crash.
“I don’t know if it’s the wind direction or the added speed by the time I got to [turn] 3. It kind of grabbed my front really hard and kind of just pulled me around. I don’t even want to say ‘caught off guard’ because I could feel it a little bit through [turns] 1 and 2. I just thought that it would build some understeer because I feel like that’s what our teammates are struggling with.”
Looking further back to the Indy 500 open test on April 24, Larson had likewise found the wall, though that time by running wide out of turn 1 and smacking the wall with the right side of his car.
He later explained that his April crash was the result of forgetting to shift his weight jack forward prior to entering turn 1, leaving his No. 17 car with insufficient downforce to make the corner.
If nothing else, Larson will have a stress-free Sunday as a result of his performance on the first day of qualifying. Prior to this week, he had made clear that he would not miss the NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro, even if he had qualified fast enough to contest the Firestone Fast Six that evening.
Alex is the IndyCar Content Director at Frontstretch, having initially joined as an entry-level contributor in 2021. He also serves as Managing Director of The Asia Cable, a publication focused on the international affairs and politics of the Asia-Pacific region which he co-founded in 2023. With previous experience in China, Japan and Poland, Alex is particularly passionate about the international realm of motorsport and the politics that make the wheels turn - literally - behind the scenes.