Kyle Larson opens up on impact of Indy 500 'choke off'

2021 Cup Series champion Kyle Larson has admitted it's hard to argue that his disastrous attempt at the double in 2025 did not have a detrimental impact on his NASCAR season.

Having failed at the feat in 2024 after bad weather got in the way, Larson attempted the double again this year, aiming to complete all of the laps in both the Indy 500 in Indianapolis and the Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte on the same day.

Unfortunately, it couldn't have gone much worse for the Hendrick Motorsports star. On lap 92 in Indianapolis, Larson wrecked his McLaren car of his own accord, and later that day in Charlotte, he also failed to finish the race after being caught up in a wreck, that time on lap 246.

At the time, Larson expressed great disappointment, but at the same time accepted "it just wasn't meant to be".

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Larson on losing confidence after Indy 500 double

Larson headed into that Sunday in fine form in the Cup Series, with three 2025 victories under his belt and eight finishes inside the top five in the opening 12 races.

However, following his failed attempt, his form in the Cup Series took a dive, with the No. 5 team having struggled for consistency ever since.

18 races have followed, for example, with Larson having more finishes 30th or below (five) than he has inside the top five (three) since then.

Now, in a recent appearance on the Stacking Pennies podcast, Larson was quizzed on whether the double attempt had a detrimental impact on his confidence.

“I think looking at the results since then, it'd be hard to argue that it didn't,” Larson conceded. “Even though I wouldn't necessarily say I felt any lack of confidence.

“I don't know if it was circumstantial, but like, my NASCAR stuff took a dip, my sprint car racing took a dip, so yeah, I don't…it's hard to argue against it.”

Larson went on to add: “Both were going so good right before that. I was winning more than half the sprint car races I was running, we led 900 laps, and crushing it in NASCAR to that point.

“And then I choke off that Sunday, and it’s been crappy ever since.”

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Larson's playoff standing

Despite his inconsistency, Larson's early success gave him a healthy amount of playoff points heading into the postseason, and the No. 5 driver is in a strong position to progress to the Round of 8 as he returns to Charlotte once again this weekend.

Sunday's race on the Roval will see four drivers eliminated, but the Hendrick Motorsports star finds himself third in the playoff standings, highest of the drivers not yet advanced to the next round, and 54 points above the cutoff line.

In other words, barring a disaster, the No. 5 will advance. However, Larson will have to rediscover some of that early-season form if he is to have any shot at winning this year's championship and adding to his 2021 title.

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