INDIANAPOLIS — NASCAR Cup Series driver Kyle Larson could only look at his mangled No. 17 Arrow McLaren IndyCar with disappointment on Sunday, May 25.
It was lap 93 of the 109th Indianapolis 500, and while the rest of the NTT IndyCar Series field paced by under caution, Larson climbed into the safety crew ambulance and headed to the infield care center. After a restart crash, his second attempt at the famed Indianapolis 500/Coca-Cola 600 Double was already over.
“Just bummed out,” Larson told FOX Sports. “I’m going to try and get out of [Indianapolis] quickly and go down to Charlotte [Motor Speedway] and try to forget about it and try to win the next one.”
For the first 92 laps of the 200-lap spectacle, Larson was mired in traffic after starting in 19th. However, upon one of the event’s many yellow-flag periods, the 32-year-old found himself in the top 16. Additionally, he had held the fastest lap of the race to that point. At a whopping 225.759 mph, his best lap cleared the rest of the field by nearly over 1 mph.
Alas, when taking the lap 92 restart, Larson was caught in traffic behind PREMA Racing driver Callum Ilott and dipped below the apron upon entering turn 2.
His car snapped loose and spun into the outside lane and collected series regulars Sting Ray Robb and Kyffin Simpson.
“It was a bit crazy there on the start,” Larson said. “I got tight behind Takuma [Sato]. I was really close to him, and I think … I got loose, so I spun. I got a little too eager there on the restart. Hate it for everybody that also got caught up in it.”
Larson is credited with a 27th-place finish in this year’s Indianapolis 500. He is slated to start second at Charlotte later on Sunday night.
Dalton Hopkins began writing for Frontstretch in April 2021. Currently, he is the lead writer for the weekly Thinkin' Out Loud column, co-host of the Frontstretch Happy Hour podcast, and one of our lead reporters. Beforehand, he wrote for IMSA shortly after graduating from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in 2019. Simultaneously, he also serves as a Captain in the US Army.
Follow Dalton on Twitter @PitLaneCPT