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Kyle Larson arrives to Charlotte for Coca-Cola 600 after competing in Indy 500

Nick Profile Picby: Nick Geddes05/25/25NickGeddesNews
Kyle Larson
Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Kyle Larson has arrived at Charlotte Motor Speedway. After competing in Sunday’s 109th Running of the Indianapolis 500, Larson took a jet from Indianapolis Motor Speedway and has made it in time to start the Coca-Cola 600.

Larson is attempting the Indy-Charlotte Double for the second consecutive year. He was hoping to become just the second driver to run the full 1,100 miles on Memorial Day weekend. Mother Nature thwarted last year’s attempt. She threatened to do so again this year, as rain began falling during the pre-race at Indianapolis. The race, scheduled for a 12:45 p.m. ET start time, did not get underway until 1:35.

Even that was a delayed start, as Scott McLaughlin crashed during the pace laps, ending his day before it truly began. Then, on Lap 1, Marco Andretti wrecked. If that wasn’t enough, it started drizzling around Lap 20, bringing out the caution.

Larson then crashed out on Lap 93, ending his race. The good news? Larson made it to Charlotte with plenty of time to spare. The disappointing news? Larson failed to finish the Indy 500.

“Was a bit crazy on the start and yeah, I got tight behind Takuma [Sato]. I was really close to him, and I got maybe shaded left to him — I haven’t seen a replay. Got loose and kind of got all over the place. So, I spun,” Larson told FOX Sports. “Just hate that I got a little too eager there on the restart and caused that crash. Hate it for everybody that also got caught up in it. Just bummed out. Try to get over this quickly and get onto Charlotte and forget about it.”

Kyle Larson turns attention to Coca-Cola 600

Even if he hadn’t crashed out of the race, it’s entirely possible Rick Hendrick would have had to pull him out of the race car. Larson had to leave by roughly 4:00 p.m. ET to make it to Charlotte. There were still 50 laps to go less than 10 minutes away from the top of the hour.

If Larson didn’t arrive to Charlotte in time to start the Coca-Cola 600, he would have forfeited all of his playoff points for the entire season. That would have ended his chances of competing for a Cup Series Championship.

Now, his attention turns to the Coca-Cola 600, the Crown Jewel race he won back in 2021. Larson will start second alongside polesitter Chase Briscoe.

This story is developing…