"I had a lot of weight and guilt" - Kyle Larson expresses disappointment after failed double duty attempt

Kyle Larson's historic double-duty attempt during the Memorial Day weekend was ruined by inclement weather conditions, forcing the #5 Hendrick Motorsports driver to miss out on starting the Coca-Cola 600.

Prior to the weekend, there was plenty of anticipation and excitement surrounding Larson's double-duty attempt. During the build-up for the Indy 500, his speed in the practice sessions stunned fans. His stellar efforts in qualifying resulted in a P5 starting position for the prestigious 108th running of the Indianapolis 500.

The Weather gods however had other plans on race day, as rain storms delayed the Indy 500 by four hours. The delay forced Kyle Larson to miss the start of the Coca-Cola 600, as the top bosses at Hendrick Motorsports prioritized the Indy 500 over the NASCAR crown jewel event.

The decision to miss out on the Coca-Cola 600 had been weighing on Larson's mind, as he conceded that he was not in the right mindset on race day and never enjoyed any part of his IndyCar debut.

"It was going perfect until race day. That is what kind of gets me down. Race day just sucked. Honestly, yesterday sucked. I didn’t really enjoy any of it." he told NBC Sports.

"I don’t know if I ever quite fully got in the correct mindset. I feel like I had a lot of weight on me and a lot of guilt of not being able to be in two places at one time. I just was never in the right mindset. I didn’t enjoy anything about yesterday."

Kyle Larson was running in the Top 10 for much of the 500-mile race until a pit road speeding penalty derailed his chances of a solid result. Nonetheless, he fought back to fetch a P18 result and flew back to Charlotte immediately.

Xfinity Series veteran Justin Allgaier started the Coca-Cola 600 in Larson's #5 Chevy and was about to hand over the car when the race was red-flagged due to weather conditions after 249 of 400 laps. NASCAR declared the race official, as Larson didn't get to turn a lap in the Coca-Cola 600, rendering his double-duty attempt in vain.

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Kyle Larson is keen on returning to the Indy 500

The 2021 NASCAR Cup champion had his first taste of the prestigious Indy 500 and is eager to return to the event next year, in an attempt to complete the missed double.

Larson in the Indianapolis 500

Kyle Larson had an eventful race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, as he lost positions on a restart, got a speeding penalty, was put a lap down, unlapped himself, led laps, and eventually fought back to a P18 finish.

"I would definitely love to be back next year. Feel like I learned a lot. Made a couple of mistakes early there with the restart -- not sure what I did there. Feel like I did a really good job after that and was able to learn a lot." he was quoted by ESPN.

Despite not fetching the desirable results, Kyle Larson's double-duty attempt created plenty of storylines and his speed behind the wheel of IndyCar machinery was truly impressive.