Kyle Larson crashed during Thursday’s IndyCar test session at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, attempting to become the first driver to compete in both the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 on the same day since 2014. He was not hurt. Larson was participating in an Indianapolis Motor Speedway IndyCar test in advance of the 2.5-mile track’s practice the following month. Larson’s car went wide off of Turn 1 and slammed into the wall with its right side during the morning practice, when teams were allowed more push to simulate qualifying circumstances. His car slammed the wall with its right side once more after sliding down the track to Turn 2 and then heading back up the track.
After leaving the infield care facility, Larson gave an explanation of what transpired on the IndyCar YouTube stream. “I started my qualifying laps there and it got really tight. I just understeered a lot through Turn 1 and ran out of space,” Larson remarked. “I battled the understeer feeling on Wednesday, and it persisted on Thursday.” To be honest, though, I’m glad I survived my first Indianapolis race. We’ll simply work on it and attempt to achieve a more comfortable balance. I simply didn’t feel like I had the necessary emotion on Wednesday, and it was evident on Thursday as well. It really popped out, in my opinion, when you were moving more quickly. It’s just unfortunate. It wasn’t a huge hit, I know that but it didn’t feel different than what I was expecting.”
It is not anticipated that Larson will return to the track for the remainder of Thursday’s session. As of Sunday’s Talladega Superspeedway event, Larson has won two of the previous four Cup races. Last year, Larson tried to run the Coke 600 and the Indianapolis 500. He arrived at Charlotte Motor Speedway well after the Coca-Cola 600 started, and he finished 18th in the rain-delayed Indianapolis 500 the previous year. Rain caused the race to conclude early, so he never got a chance to get into his Cup vehicle.
