Discouraged after double: Kyle Larson's attempt leaves doubt for future ones

Kyle Larson often has a stoic face. But his disappointment was easy to see in Indianapolis and then in Charlotte after another attempt at 1,100 miles in one day went sour.

Of the 1,100 miles, Larson only completed 595. He wrecked in Indy after lasting 227.5 instead of 500. In Charlotte, he was out after 367.5 instead of 600. Larson likely knew he had no chance to run the full distance of both races Sunday when drizzle delayed the Indy 500 start.

"It's just tough," Larson said Monday night at the Indy 500 awards celebration. "Logistics, everything, has got to go right. The last few years, it didn’t go right — at least on the weather.

"And then I ended up crashing also. I wish I wouldn't have crashed. I wish I'd have just not been able to make it [to the finish]. I would probably have felt better about everything."

Larson would love to run the Indy 500 again, but he can’t seem to stomach the fact that so much work and effort can be put into something only to have rain and other factors outside their control ruin it. 

In 2024, he ran the entire rain-delayed Indy 500 and then arrived at Charlotte just past the halfway point of the race. Then rain arrived there and the 600 was called as official.

While Larson became the fifth driver to start both races on the same day, only once did the driver complete all the miles. That was Tony Stewart in 2001. So the odds aren’t great.

"I just wish I could go back and redo them all, but that's not real life," Larson said. "Hopefully again someday, I can get the chance to run the Indy 500. I don't think the double is feasible.

"There's just too much that goes into it for it to just play out [with] weather and stuff. .... I really don't want it in my 500 on the hook, either. I'd love to