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Kyle Larson making surprise Xfinity start, double duty at Indianapolis Motor Speedway

JHby: Jonathan Howard07/21/25Jondean25
Kyle Larson
Mike Dinovo-USA TODAY Sports

The NASCAR Xfinity Series has been put on notice this weekend. Kyle Larson is making a start with Hendrick Motorsports. Larson is running the Brickyard Double. Could this be the week that he turns his rough summer around?

The last time Kyle Larson raced at Indianapolis Motor Speedway was for the Indy 500. His day ended in disappointment with a DNF after a wreck. He then went to Charlotte for the Coca-Cola 600 and was a DNF in that race as well.

Larson has won two of the last three Xfinity Series races he’s started, and three out of his last five. Earlier this season, he won at Bristol and Texas. He should have won at Homestead, but was hit on the final restart and fell to P4. Larson is back in the 17 car this weekend for Indy.

We know that Kyle Larson is going to be a factor in the Xfinity Series race. This is actually very exciting. He has not raced against Connor Zilisch since the young racer went on his incredible run the last two months. In fact, Larson’s last Xfinity start was to replace Zilisch while he was injured.

Since that race at Texas, Zilisch has eight straight top-five finishes, three wins, and an average finish of 2.25 while creeping up to Justin Allgaier in the point standings. At Sonoma, he took down Shane van Gisbergen. At Dover, he defeated Aric Almirola. Is Larson next on Zilisch’s list of heavy hitters?

Is Kyle Larson back to being himself?

This weekend should exercise a lot of demons for Kyle Larson. Indianapolis Motor Speedway has not been kind to him when it comes to the Memorial Day Double. However, he did win the Brickyard 400 last season. Can he repeat that success at IMS with his double duty weekend in NASCAR?

Whenever Larson or another Cup Series driver is in that Hendrick Xfinity car, it raises the bar. There is a lot of great talent in the series that can’t wait to give Larson their best shot. Meanwhile, Larson is going to try to embarrass the field. He said that was his mindset going into these races earlier in the season.

When it comes to the summer stretch, Larson has had better. In fact, he might be having the toughest stretch of his career at the moment. Last week he did shake some rust off with a win in the High Limit race at Eldora Speedway. He also participated in the World of Outlaws races at Eldora. Then, he finished a respectful P4 at Dover.

Kyle Larson in the Xfinity Series once again. Will he walk away with one win, two wins, or leave Indianapolis empty-handed once again?