Kyle Larson has found himself in the news plenty in recent weeks on and off the track.
The NASCAR driver entered last week’s Cup Series playoff opener in Atlanta in the top spot by the postseason standings, but an early crash ended his day in Stage 1 and dropped him to 10th.
He’s also been at the center of a debate about the best driver in auto racing – stoking the flames last month by saying that Larson is a better all-around driver than Max Verstappen, who has won three straight Formula 1 championships.
Larson tried to prove his open wheel supremacy in this year’s Indy 500, finishing 18th in his IndyCar debut. And he’ll once again take aim at one of motorsports’ greatest achievements.
Kyle Larson to run ‘The Double’ in 2025
Larson became just the fifth driver ever to attempt “The Double” – running the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600 in the same day – back in May, but weather issues on both ends foiled his chances.
That experience won’t stop him from trying once again.
Hendrick Motorsports and Arrow McLaren IndyCar announced Tuesday that they’ll team up with Larson for the Coca-Cola 600 and Indy 500 in 2025, citing “unfinished business” from this year’s failed attempt at one of racing’s greatest feats.
Larson had already teased a second attempt at “The Double” back in July, when he won the Brickyard 400 and kissed the famed bricks at Indianapolis Motor Speedway – a tradition most associated with winning the Indy 500.
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When asked after the race if he’d compete in the storied IndyCar race again next year, Larson said he’d “love to” and that he hoped to announce something soon.
If he can successfully run all 1,100 miles next year, he’d join Tony Stewart (2001) as the only drivers to do so all in one day.
Larson makes NASCAR priorities clear
While the Hendrick Motorsports star has his sight set on “The Double” – and a better showing in his second IndyCar race – he won’t jeopardize his chances of running NASCAR’s longest race this time around.
Because this year’s Indy 500 was delayed, Larson was too late to make it back to Charlotte for the Coca-Cola 600, which was ultimately called off due to weather minutes after he arrived by helicopter.
That won’t happen this year, according to HMS team owner Rick Hendrick, who said they’ll pull Larson out of the car in Indianapolis if it means making it to Charlotte on time.
“We will be here for the 600,” Hendrick said from the Charlotte Motor Speedway media center. “If that means having to cut the race short in Indy, we will.”
Larson’s absence in this year’s Coca-Cola 600 left him exactly one point short of the regular-season championship and the extra 15 playoff points that come with it.
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Because of that, the No. 5 car will need a better showing over the next two weeks compared to his flameout in Atlanta if he hopes to avoid a shocking early exit, as he sits just 15 points above the cut line with two races left in the Round of 16.
His next chance comes Sunday at Watkins Glen, where he’s won twice in three races with Hendrick Motorsports despite a 26th-place finish last year.