“It’s hard to argue against it”: Kyle Larson admits Indy 500 'choke up' led to noticeable slump in subsequent NASCAR Cup Series performances

Kyle Larson had entered this year’s Indy 500 in a bid to recreate history. The Hendrick Motorsports ace could have become the second driver in NASCAR history (behind Tony Stewart) to finish both the Indy and the Coca-Cola 600 on the same day.

However, things didn’t go as planned as Larson wrecked out at the Indy 500 on lap 91, finishing 27th. He wrecked again that day, this time during Lap 246 of the Coca-Cola 600, finishing 37th despite leading 34 laps. Notably, it was his second attempt at the famed Double Duty.

Could Larson have suffered the pangs of self-doubt and lack of confidence after the dual setback? Is that why Larson has been going winless since then? Former NASCAR driver Corey LaJoie asked him the same question in the latest episode of his Stacking Pennies podcast.

"Was there any Indy 500 hangover?" asked LaJoie. "Like, was there any dent in the confidence over that? Did the confidence take a shot?"

Kyle Larson replied (58:40).

“You know, looking at the results since then, it'd be hard to argue that it didn't, even though I wouldn't necessarily say I felt any lack of confidence. I don't know if it was circumstantial, but like, I mean, my NASCAR stuff took a dip, my sprint car racing took a dip. So it's hard to argue against it.”

Both were like going so good, like, right before that. I mean, I was winning more than half the sprint car races that I was running, we had led 900 laps and crushing it in NASCAR to that point, and then I choke up that Sunday," he added.

Kyle Larson has a shot at bagging his second NASCAR Cup Series championship. He is currently ranked third in the playoff picture with a 54-point cushion on the cutoff line. 31 races into the season, the Chevy icon has amassed three wins, 11 top-fives, 18 top-10s, and 3124 points to his name.

Next up for the 2021 Cup Series champ is the Bank of America ROVAL 400 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Scheduled for this coming Sunday, October 5, the 109-lap event will be televised on USA (3 pm ET) with live radio updates on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Channel 90.

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Kyle Larson fears having a “massive FOMO” if he misses next year’s Indianapolis 500

To this day, several drivers like John Andretti, Robby Gordon, Kurt Busch, and now Kyle Larson, have attempted to conquer the Double, which includes running all 1,100 miles of the Indy 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 combined on a single day. But none of them were able to complete the task.

For Larson, it was a back-to-back failed attempt. It’s not confirmed whether the Cup Series regular will be back at it next year. But he sure hopes to do it again.

“I'm sure if I don't get to do it again next year, then I'm gonna have massive FOMO watching it on TV," Kyle Larson said in a release back in May. "Hopefully, someday I'll love to run the Indy 500 again and solely focus on that.”

“Hopefully, it's in my cards again someday in the future,” he added.

Kyle Larson now has an opportunity to end Team Penske’s championship-winning streak and bring the championship trophy to the Hendrick Motorsports camp. That being said, only five races remain until NASCAR crowns its 2025 Cup Series champion.