Wrecks derail Larson's bid to complete 'The Double'

CONCORD, N.C. -- Kyle Larson's time went from atrocious to worse Sunday nighttime astatine the Charlotte Motor Speedway, leaving the talented young operator unsure if helium volition effort to tally "The Double" again.

Larson was caught up successful a wreck connected Lap 246 of the Coca-Cola 600, ending a disappointing time successful which helium besides crashed retired astatine the Indianapolis 500 connected Lap 91. Larson was bidding to go the 2nd operator to decorativeness some races and tally the combined 1,100 miles.

It didn't spell well.

"I hatred the mode the time went," Larson said. "I privation I could deed the reset button. I consciousness unspeakable for everybody, particularly for [car owner] Rick Hendrick."

Larson tried to tally The Double past year, but upwind issues intervened.

This year, this contented was wrecks.

"I conjecture it conscionable wasn't meant to be, I guess," Larson said.

After getting checked retired astatine the aesculapian halfway astatine Charlotte Motor Speedway, Larson said helium hadn't determined if helium volition tally The Double again adjacent year, saying it's excessively fresh.

"The Double is simply a pugnacious undertaking," Larson said. "The model of clip is conscionable excessively tight."

Larson started good Sunday nighttime aft opening connected the beforehand row. He led aboriginal successful the contention but deed the partition connected Lap 38 and his car was ne'er the same. He spun retired a fewer laps later, sending him crossed the beforehand agelong and forcing him into the pits aggregate times for adjustments.

He coiled up adjacent the backmost of the field, hoping for a top-10 finish.

Then came the wreck involving Ryan Blaney, Chase Briscoe and Daniel Suarez arsenic they ran 3 wide up of Larson disconnected Turn 4. They got tangled up. Suarez spun crossed the way and clipped the close rear of Larson's car. Larson drove the wrecked No. 5 Chevrolet to the garage, ending his day.

He finished 37th. Ross Chastain became the archetypal operator to win the event aft starting astatine the backmost of the field.

Larson arrived astatine the Charlotte Motor Speedway successful plentifulness of clip for the contention -- dissimilar a twelvemonth agone erstwhile helium didn't scope the way until 249 laps had been completed due to the fact that of rainfall successful Indianapolis that delayed the commencement of the Indy 500. Larson ne'er turned a thigh astatine past year's Coca-Cola 600 arsenic the contention was called.

Rain again delayed the commencement of the Indy 500 connected Sunday, but Larson crashed retired adjacent the midway constituent Sunday, ending the NASCAR superstar's 2nd changeable astatine finishing some "The Greatest Spectacle successful Racing" and the Coca-Cola 600 successful Charlotte connected the aforesaid day.

In Indy, Larson had been mired heavy successful postulation passim the archetypal fractional of the race, which was delayed astir 35 minutes due to the fact that of a rainfall ablution that passed implicit the speedway. He was going done Turns 1 and 2 erstwhile his car wiggled connected a downshift, sending him into a rotation and into the extracurricular wall, ending his contention aft 91 laps.

"Just a spot brainsick determination connected the restart," helium said. "I got like, choky down Takuma [Sato]. I was truly adjacent in. I got escaped and benignant of got each implicit the place, and yeah, truthful it spun. Just hatred that I got a small excessively anxious connected the restarter. Hate it for everybody else."

Kyffin Simpson and Sting Ray Robb besides were caught up successful the crash.

"When Kyle started losing it and checking up, I tried to spell astir the extracurricular and determination was conscionable nary grip retired there," Robb said.

If helium had made it to the decorativeness successful Indianapolis, helium would person faced a choky model to marque the 550-mile travel due to the fact that of the rainfall delay, which soaked up astir of the 45-minute buffer that his NASCAR squad Hendrick Motorsports and IndyCar squad Arrow McLaren projected for him.

It was a unsmooth time for Larson adjacent earlier the crash. He besides stalled the car connected pit lane, costing him invaluable way positions.

"I hatred the mode the time went. I privation I could deed the reset button. I consciousness unspeakable for everybody, particularly for (car owner) Rick Hendrick."

Kyle Larson

Álex Palou won Sunday's Indianapolis 500 to go the archetypal operator from Spain to seizure the race.

Larson took his archetypal changeable connected 1 of the toughest challenges successful motorsports past season, erstwhile adjacent much rainfall wreaked havoc with his finely laid plans. That Indy 500 was delayed by 4 hours due to the fact that of dense rainfall that saturated Indianapolis Motor Speedway and caused him to beryllium precocious to Charlotte, wherever the Cup Series contention was underway by the clip helium landed.

Then, much rainfall determination caused the NASCAR contention to beryllium called implicit earlier Larson took a thigh successful his car.

John Andretti was the archetypal operator to effort the Indy 500-Coca-Cola 600 treble successful 1994, and Robby Gordon, Tony Stewart and Kurt Busch besides person fixed it a shot. Stewart is the lone 1 to implicit each 1,100 laps, finishing sixth successful the 2001 Indy 500 earlier the helicopter-jet-helicopter jaunt to Charlotte, wherever helium finished 3rd successful the Cup Series race.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.