Concord, North Carolina - The day started with a promise from Kyle Larson, ended with a roar. and explosion.
With it, maybe it's a double ending.
Larson became the fifth driver to compete in the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600 races, but his race ended early after the crash. He suggested that doing so might not be worth trying again, as there are narrow windows of time between events.
Admittedly, Larson's comments were made a moment after the end of a frustrating day, but his point is clear that executives in Nascar and Indycar should consider that any drivers have taken the biggest race in American motorsport again on the same day.
Larson said answering a question from NBC Sports is whether his day exacerbated his desire to double again, or whether he fulfilled that wish, Larson said:
"I don't know. It's so new now, I really don't have a good answer. Doubles are just a tough task. The window of time is too tight. Even if I didn't spoil, I don't think I'll do it here on time and probably have to end the game.
"So, I really don't think it's worth it. But I'd love to run the Indy 500 again. I think it's a logically too hard double."
The driver of Hendrick Motorsports will not be able to complete the 1100 miles, but will head to the Charlotte Motor Speedway early for coke 600.
The Indianapolis 500 was scheduled to start Sunday at 12:45 pm ET, but the rains were delayed by 44 minutes to 1:29 pm ET. The game took 2 hours, 57 minutes and 38 seconds, ending at 4:26 pm ET.
Coca-Cola 600 is scheduled to start at 6:27 pm ET (the green flag is actually waving at 6:30 pm)
Larson crashed before the Indy 500’s midway mark. His helicopter arrived at Charlotte Motor Speedway at 5:16 pm ET - the driver's introduction nine minutes before. Hendrick Motorsports vice chairman Jeff Gordon said on Saturday that Larson “will be giving a 5:25 driver introduction in Charlotte. That’s the phone.”
This year marks the second year of Hendrick Motorsports’ two-year contract with Arrow McLaren as Larson drives in the Indy 500. No deal was concluded next year.
He is trying to be the fifth driver to participate in the Indy 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 on the same day.
Larson's comment raises the question of whether anyone is worth trying double if the start time remains the same.
This effort requires a lot of money from sponsors, and even with all the publicity, the weather can cancel the effort. As NASCAR's new rules this year state that if drivers miss anything other than injury or age limit, the only way they can get a playoff waiver is to lose all playoff points, as well as any playoff points won before the regular season.
Hendrick Motorsports said this will allow Larson to draw Charlotte from this year’s Indy 500 to the Charlotte 600.
Once in Charlotte, Larson's situation was not good.
He hit the wall early on as he leads and then spins in the first stage.
"My mistake tonight left me behind. I was dropped by LOIKE very early and hit the wall.
Larson struggled to get into the middle of the pack, but caused a collection of multiple car crashes on lap 247 of the 400 lap event.
He couldn't avoid Daniel Suarez's car and the damaged finish line Larson. Larson ranked 37th in the Coca-Cola 600 after finishing 27th in the Indianapolis 500.
"Hate a day's life," Larson said. "I wish I could reset the reset and try again tomorrow, but the reality is that it won't happen. It's going to feel bad for everyone, especially Rick Hendrick."