“It wasn’t like he was a victim”: NASCAR insider reacts to Kyle Larson’s Indy 500, Coca-Cola 600 saga

NASCAR driver Kyle Larson was set to tackle the grueling 1,100 miles of the Memorial Day Double on Sunday, aiming to complete both the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600. Unfortunately, Larson failed to finish either race, ending his bid to conquer the endurance challenge. Following his attempt, NASCAR insiders Jordan Bianchi and Jeff Gluck shared their perspectives on his effort.

Kyle Larson’s day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway ended abruptly when he crashed on Lap 91 of the Indy 500, triggering a multi-car wreck that took several others out with him. The disappointment continued at Charlotte Motor Speedway, where Larson was caught in another wreck during Stage 2 of the Coca-Cola 600, forcing the Hendrick Motorsports driver to retire from the race.

On the most recent episode of The Teardown podcast, insiders Jeff Gluck and Jordan Bianchi broke down the interesting events that took place at Charlotte. Using Larson as a bridge from NASCAR to IndyCar, Bianchi said:

"I feel bad for him, I really do. Like, there was all of this buildup and all this attention, it was like last year because of Mother Nature you ruined it, and it's like 'Okay, here you go. You get a second crack at this,' and it just went bad. And it went bad because he made mistakes. It wasn't like he was a victim of circumstance or anything like that, he had a bad day at the office across the board," [46:27 onwards]

Jeff Gluck followed suit and echoed his counterpart's sentiments on Kyle Larson's misfortune on Sunday. He also further explained the series of events that led to Larson's crash in the 109th running of the historic Indy 500.

Despite going through a weekend to forget, Kyle Larson has had an impressive start to his 2025 Cup Series season. In 13 races, the former Cup Series champion has secured three race wins and 8 top-five finishes. He is currently P2 in the overall driver standings, second to his HMS teammate, William Byron.

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Kyle Larson breaks silence on the crushing end to his Indy-Charlotte Double dream

Kyle Larson, widely regarded as one of the most versatile drivers in NASCAR, has proven his talent across dirt tracks, midget cars, and all three of NASCAR’s national series. The 32-year-old Californian faced weather issues during last year’s double attempt, but this year, it was missteps on the track.

Larson admitted he got too eager in the Indy 500, leading to a crash that ended his race early. Later that night, his Coca-Cola 600 effort at Charlotte also came to a halt after he was caught in a multi-car wreck.

After being released from the infield care center at CMS, Larson expressed his thoughts on having had a 'rough day' in his career.

"I just saw smoke off of 4 and I tried to get left and didn't get far enough left and I think the 99 clipped me," he told reporter Alan Cavanna. "Just a bummer way to end the day but it was a rough day all around for me."

Meanwhile, the next race is scheduled on June 1 at Nashville Superspeedway. Catch the action live at 7 PM Eastern on Prime Video, PRN, and SiriusXM.