HAMPTON, Ga. — A month after becoming just the fifth driver to compete in the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on the same day, Kyle Larson says his mind hasn’t changed about doing the Double again.
“I feel like I’ve made it known that I wouldn’t do the Double again,” Larson said Friday at EchoPark Speedway.
“I get asked about it all the time. It’s just logistically too tough.”
This year’s Indianapolis 500 was scheduled to start at 12:45 p.m. ET but was delayed about 45 minutes by rain. Larson crashed in the race or he might have been pulled late in the event to make it to Charlotte Motor Speedway to start the 600, which began at 6:30 p.m. ET
He led 34 laps at Charlotte before crashing.
After exiting the infield care center, Larson said the “window of time” between both races “is too tight … So I don’t really think it’s worth it.”
This year was the last year of a two-year deal between Hendrick Motorsports and Arrow McLaren.
Larson admitted Friday that “I will have FOMO from running the Indy 500. Hopefully, someday I can run that again, but I don’t have any desire to do the Double again. It didn’t go well the last two years.”
Last year, Larson stayed in Indianapolis to compete in the 500 after a four-hour rain delay despite Hendrick Motorsports officials saying that the Coca-Cola 600 was their priority. He completed the Indy 500 and arrived well after the Coke 600 started. Larson was in his pit box ready to get into his car when rain ended that race early.
NASCAR announced before this season that if a driver misses a race for anything other than injury or age restriction, the only way they can get a playoff waiver is to lose all their playoff points accumulated to that point and any playoff points they earn before the end of the regular season.
