Kyle Larson addresses Indy 500’s impact on losing NASCAR regular season championship

Following the conclusion of the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, Kyle Larson saw the regular season championship go to Tyler Reddick for the 2024 season. However, the Hendrick Motorsports driver is unwilling to blame his Indy 500 attempt in May for the loss.

Reddick, the 23XI driver, narrowly claimed the title from Larson by just one point. He amassed a total of 860 points after 26 races, while Larson had 859 points over 25 races. Larson missed the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte due to his IndyCar commitment.

When asked by Fox Sports' Bob Pokrass if the Indy 500 played a part in his regular championship loss, Larson said in the post-Darlington race interview:

"I mean it's not just that but I mean I could have finished at Michigan, finished at Iowa, Finished in Chicago and not even been close today. So I don't really look at Indy as being the reason why. So that's just a part of my season, so I wouldn't give up [on] Indy 500."

Larson missed the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte in May due to inclement weather that thwarted his 'double' attempt. Larson was due to take part in the Indianapolis 500, where he finished P18, and then travel to Charlotte for the crown jewel race, which he missed.

The #5 driver is the only driver with four victories in the NASCAR regular season. He won the Pennzoil 400 in Las Vegas, AdventHealth 400 in Kansas, Toyota Save Mart at Sonoma and Brickyard 400 in Indianapolis.

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Kyle Larson avoided being too aggressive for NASCAR regular season title

Kyle Larson (5) leads NASCAR Cup Series driver Chase Briscoe (14), NASCAR Cup Series driver Bubba Wallace (23) and NASCAR Cup Series driver Tyler Reddick (45). (Source: IMAGN)

Kyle Larson, in the post-race interview, revealed that he did not want to push aggressively for the NASCAR regular season title. The HMS driver finished the Darlington race in fourth place. Anything better than that could have handed him the title.

However, this was not in his mind as he kept his calm and avoided contact to keep himself in the race. Speaking about this, Larson said to NASCAR on NBC:

"I wish I would have executed the restart a little better over there. Maybe the rest of the race played out differently, but. You know I had the points in my mind and now how close we were with Reddick and the great day we had going and the kind of average day he had going, I just didn't wanna get overly aggressive and take myself out of it." (0:36-0:55)

Having already qualified for the NASCAR playoff, Kyle Larson is all set to take on Tyler Reddick and his fellow Hendrick Motorsports teammates at Atlanta Motor Speedway in the Quaker State 400 Available At Walmart on September 8, 2024.