Driving race cars for a living certainly can present challenges. That's no different if you're a local dirt racer, a short track racer, or a NASCAR driver at the sport's top level.
Kyle Larson dabbles in all forms. When he isn't at a Cup Series race track, you will find him somewhere across the country racing his sprint car. Larson time and time again proves that he isn't afraid to race any time, any place, and in any car.
Thus, for the last two years, he's attempted to pull the Indianapolis 500-Coca-Cola 600 Double between IndyCar and NASCAR. Despite high hopes, neither attempt resulted in the expectation of him competing at a high level.
Two Double attempts have had their consequences
After qualifying fifth for the 2024 Indy 500, Larson had to rush to North Wilkesboro Speedway for the NASCAR All-Star Race. Sure he made it there, but it begs the question as to whether or not he was fully in the right mindset. Flash forward to the big day, and weather struck an ugly hand, delaying the start of the Indy 500.
Larson stayed and raced. Despite starting high, and even leading some laps off-strategy, he had to settle for an 18th place finish. From there, he had to rush to Charlotte Motor Speedway, but he did not make it in time for the start of the 600-mile event.
When he did arrive, the rains from Indy had reached Charlotte. And right before Larson could jump into his No. 5 Chevrolet, the rain hit hard, and the race was eventually called. Thus, his Double attempt in 2024 was a wash.
Flash forward to this year, and he returned to try it again. However, this time, he didn't have the time to mess around and miss the start of the Coca-Cola 600, with NASCAR tightening its rules against missing races. So that was one distraction already, before he even went to qualify for the Indy 500.
Those distractions certainly came to a head on Sunday, May 25, 2025.
Despite his best efforts, Larson lost some mojo during that whole process. He crashed in turn two on lap 92, marking his third crash leading up to and including the race. Having likely ended his final Indy 500 attempt, he rushed to Charlotte, only for his day to not get any better. He crashed out of that race on lap 246.
The big black spot from that day seems to have festered into a bad run of Cup Series races over the course of the summer.
Time for Kyle Larson to panic?
Larson is never a driver to count out, but since his miserable end of May, he has struggled to stay near the top of the Cup Series standings. He won three races before his Double attempt, including the race at Kansas Speedway the week before Indy 500 qualifying and the All-Star Race. But since then, he has only finished in the top five in three of 11 races.
Sure, he just finished runner-up to Bubba Wallace in the Brickyard 400 two races ago. But something just feels like it is missing for Larson and his team. He has led just 22 laps since the Coca-Cola 600, which brings me to his horrible day at Iowa Speedway this past weekend.
From making contact with teammate Chase Elliott to being involved in run-ins with other drivers, Larson looked completely unlike himself on Sunday, not to mention the profanity-filled radio communication he provided during that race.
It wasn't a good weekend in Iowa to say the least. He finished in 28th place, his fourth finish of 28th or worse since running the Indy 500. It has to be a little concerning, especially in a sport where momentum is king. He needs some in a big way soon.
He's Kyle Larson for a reason
Despite the run of mixed results, this is Kyle Larson we are talking about. He can get things fixed in a heartbeat, which is why you can't count him out. Watkins Glen International and Richmond Raceway are set to host the next two races. He's won at both and could easily get things back on track either weekend.
What Larson needs most right now is to put himself at the front of the field and remember who he is. He's a NASCAR Cup Series champion who has the best crew chief and team behind him, and he can't be too hard on himself; we all know these cars are junk.
The sport can try to ignore him like they obviously have throughout the summer stretch. But the killer instinct is still in there. Come playoff time, Kyle Larson should be alright.