Kyle Larson admits 2025 Indy 500 win might be out of reach

Kyle Larson recently opened up about his goal for his second attempt at the "Double" i.e. attempting to complete the Indy 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 on the same day. While he was confident about potentially winning the 600-mile NASCAR race in Charlotte, a win at IndyCar's premier 500-mile event seemed far-fetched.

Larson's first attempt at the Double was foiled by torrential weather. Rain in Indianapolis delayed the start of the Indy 500 by four hours. The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champ stayed to complete the race. By the time he reached Charlotte for the Coca-Cola 600, the race was past the halfway point and red-flagged because of heavy rains. It ended without him getting to race for even one lap.

In a recent appearance on the Pit Pass Indy podcast, Kyle Larson spoke about his expectations for the double on Memorial Day, May 25 this year.

"I think for myself, completing the 1100 miles is the ultimate goal, or at least, the first goal in mind. Obviously, I want to run well in both of them. I think there's a legitimate shot to win the Cup race that weekend. Our car was extremely good last year, so that (rain washing out the race) was a bummer," Larson said. [20:08 onwards]

Elaborating on where he expects to finish in the 109th running of the Indy 500, the Hendrick Motorsports driver added:

"On the IndyCar side, the Indy 500, I could've finished (between) fourth to seventh or eighth if I didn't speed on pit road, so I think (I could finish) somewhere in that window. Obviously, I'd love to win the Indy 500, but I know how difficult that is. But the experience I had last year in living through it, I'll be better prepared this year."

Kyle Larson's attempt at the Double was aided by Hendrick Motorsports partnering with McLaren Racing's IndyCar team, Arrow McLaren. On Wednesday, April 2, the two teams unveiled this year's Indy 500 livery for his No. 17 Chevrolet.

Kyle Larson didn't find the Indy 500 'too different' than a NASCAR Cup Series race

Kyle Larson races at the 108th Running of the Indianapolis 500 - Source: Getty

Kyle Larson's pace was a revelation at his debut Indy 500. The NASCAR champ qualified fifth out of 33 drivers for the "Greatest Spectacle of Racing" and was set to finish around where he started. However, he engaged the wrong gear during the Lap 9 restart, falling down six positions.

He later landed a drive-through penalty for speeding on the pit road. He fell back to 22nd but recovered decently to finish in 18th. Speaking about his Indy 500 debut on the aforementioned podcast, Larson said:

"I felt like the race was pretty straightforward. I didn't think it was too different than a Cup race, especially in Indy. There is a lot that I learned throughout the couple of weeks there last year. Balance-wise, looking for this year to be better in the race. I think there's definitely an opportunity to do better than last year, and I think last year went great."

Kyle Larson was awarded Indy 500's Rookie of the Year for his efforts. He recently earned his 30th NASCAR Cup Series win by winning the Homestead-Miami race.