Arrow McLaren IndyCar driver Kyle Larson has expressed his desire to return to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for another Indy 500 dash. The #17 open-wheel car driver started his run from fifth place but multiple unfavorable odds pushed the Californian down in the track position.
Larson became the fifth driver to compete in the exhausting Memorial Day Double. He kicked off his 200-lap run from fifth place but stooped to P14 after spinning out during the early race restart. Nonetheless, he rallied back and put himself in sixth place.
Later, with less than 70 laps until the checkered flag dropped, Kyle Larson was slapped with a pit-road speeding penalty and was put a lap down, which saw his track position drop to 22nd. However, when the majority of the cars pitted during a late-race pitstop, Larson opted to stay out and led the field briefly with 21 laps remaining.
5 laps later, however, the #17 Arrow McLaren driver was left with no choice but to pit for service and finished his debut run in 18th place, while Josef Negarden bagged his second victory at the Indy 500.
After wrapping up his first Indy 500 run and before flying back to Charlotte to complete the doubleheader, the 2021 Cup Series champion hinted at his 2025 return to 'The Greatest Spectacle in Racing'.
"I would definitely love to be back next year. Feel like I learned a lot throughout the race," Larson said (via IndyCar on NBC). [0:10]
"Proud to finish but pretty upset at myself. If I could just execute a better race, you never know what could happen, bummed at myself," the Arrow McLaren driver added.
Kyle Larson's pursuit of a doubleheader left unfulfilled as NASCAR officials cut the race short
Larson qualified for the Coca-Cola 600 in tenth place, but because of his absence from the 400-lap dash, Xfinity Series driver for JR Motorsports, Justin Allgaier replaced the Larson. This meant that Allgaier started the run in the rear of the pack.
However, as the third stage was partially done with, heavy rains prompted the officials to issue a red flag and stop the race until the weather cleared and the asphalt became fit for racing again. In the meantime, Kyle Larson touched down in a chopper and prepped up to replace Allgaier for the remainder of the race.
The HMS driver managed to enter the Coca-Cola 600 race but couldn't run on the 1.5-mile asphalt as the deteriorating weather conditions left the officials with no choice but to eventually call off the dash on Lap 249. The frontrunner at the time Christopher Bell thus stood as the winner.
Per the latest rankings, Kyle Larson has dropped to third place from first and Denny Hamlin leads the Cup Series standings by a 6-point margin over the HMS driver.