For Kyle Larson, the rising star of Hendrick Motorsports, it was both the best and the worst of times.
Few motorsports can match the stellar resume of the Cup Series star. What he lacked till today was a chance to participate in the Indianapolis 500, the Greatest Spectacle in Racing.
In the next several hours, he altered that story.
At Indianapolis, Larson looked good for the most of the day, breaking into the top six before receiving a speeding fine on pit road that dropped him to 18th place.
But he was unable to pull off the renowned “Double.” Larson witnessed the premature conclusion of his day in Charlotte. No one was at fault in and of themselves. Instead, Mother Nature abandoned both with her miserable fingertips.
For one of the universal stars of racing, Larson, things were about as unpredictable as they could get. He made a mistake on the first restart of the race and dropped from sixth to fourteenth.
Nevertheless, Larson maintained his cool. And Larson managed to navigate his way through the muck following a slew of mishaps and ensuing warnings. In the end, it didn’t last. On wheels, though, he left quite the impression. Fortunately for race fans, he appears keen to do it again at this time next year.
Sporting News followed live updates from Larson’s effort to complete the Coca-Cola 600 and the Indianapolis 500 double. See Larson’s entire arsenal as he tried to overcome two of the biggest obstacles in motorsports by scrolling below.
Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden won the Indy 500 for the second time in his career after passing Pato O’Ward on the final lap. He became the sixth driver to win back-to-back editions of the race.
