Special to Sports News Highlights

(SNH) — Thirteen days from attempting the “The H1100,” motorsports chameleon Kyle Larson endured a reality check Monday as his Sprint car barrel rolled down the backstretch at Kokomo (Ind.) Speedway.

He took the crash hard

“I suck,” Larson told FloRacing.

The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion battled Cale Thomas for the final transfer spot with five laps remaining. Larson drifted high on the dirt track and without clearing Thomas, his racer went on an out-of-control spin, ending his High Limit Racing outing.

“I put myself in a hole ... ran ourselves out of space,” said Larson, a High Limit co-owner. “Probably my fault.”

The small-track collision was Larson’s second in two days. About 24 hours earlier, the circuit points leader at the halfway point of the campaign spun out, crashed and settled for a P34 during the Cup event at Darlington Raceway.

Planning to become the fifth driver to compete in both the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on May 26, Larson remains focused on simply staying on the road for the finish.

“Yeah, I’m good,” Larson said Monday at the quarter-mile dirt track that has staged events since 1947.

Is he, really?

“Hate that my mistake ... cost us a race,” Larson said, as reported by NASCAR.com. “Just a little bit frustrated with myself right now.”

Is he ready for his big week?

Larson channeling Shane van Gisbergen

A few days after his back-to-back crashes, Larson attempted to regroup and channel his inner-Shane van Gisbergen.

Prepping for his first IndyCar event, Larson aims to accomplish during the 108th Indy 500 what the New Zealand three-time Supercars titleholder did last summer during the Cup Series’ Chicago Street Race: visit Victory Lane during his circuit debut.

Interest in Larson driving the No. 17 Chevrolet IndyCar conceived through a joint venture between Hendrick Motorsports and Arrow McLaren appears to be spiking ticket sales for the Indy 500, a Memorial Day weekend tradition.

Indianapolis Motor Speedway officials announced Wednesday fewer than 10,000 tickets remained available at the 257,000-seat venue. A potential sell-out would be IMS’ first since its 100th anniversary edition in 2016.

Larson is attempting to become the fifth driver to take a pair of green flags in the “The Double,” or “H1100,” as HendrickCars.com dubbed the effort.

Driving in “The Double”

Here is a list of drivers who have qualified for the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on the same day:

  • 1994: John Andretti
  • 1997: Robby Gordon
  • 1999: Tony Stewart
  • 2000: Robby Gordon
  • 2001: Tony Stewart*
  • 2002: Robby Gordon
  • 2003: Robby Gordon
  • 2004: Robby Gordon
  • 2014: Kurt Busch

*-Completed all 1,100 miles

Larson’s attempt to compile extra laps in the IndyCar ended up getting washed away Tuesday. After completing two rotations around the 2.5-mile track, rain forced the practice session to be canceled. IMS officials added two hours to Wednesday’s practice schedule.

Larson, 31, didn’t appear to be fazed by the delays. It’s happened to him twice at IMS. 

"Obviously, I would like to get a full day in today, but I know there's plenty of opportunity these next handful of days to get a lot of laps,” Larson said, as reported by ESPN. “I'll take rain every day except for qualifying day and the Indy 500, so I don't really care."

Larson: ‘I look forward to it’

Larson won the May 5 Cup event at Kansas Speedway by claiming the closest race in series history, beating Chris Buescher by 0.001 seconds. After 13 races, Larson compiled six top-five finishes and has more than doubled the number of stage wins of any other series peers. He also has collected a series-best 649 laps led.

But is Larson ready to be competitive in an IndyCar?

He passed his rookie evaluation in Phoenix on Feb. 6 during his second stint piloting an IndyCar. Larson logged nearly 200 miles, and nearly wrecked, but recorded the second-fastest speed during the practice run. Registering a hot-lap speed of 226.384 mph, Larson placed only behind defending race champion Josef Newgarden (228.811 mph).

Larson immediately tempered trending social-media expectations.

"I got like a magic draft and laid a lap down," he said, via NBC Sports. "I saw Twitter was going crazy because, 'Oh, Kyle Larson was second in his first IndyCar practice with people,' but there's a lot of people that weren't drafting out there or didn't have the draft that I had. I take the credit, but it's really not a big deal, either.

"I think I still have a lot of time to learn, so I'm excited about that."

Over the next several days, Larson will be pulled between North Wilkesboro, N.C., Indianapolis and Charlotte. At North Wilkesboro Speedway, Larson will get All-Star Race assistance from Kevin Harvick. The recently retired NASCAR driver was scheduled to drive the No. 5 Chevrolet during Friday’s practice and qualifying sessions. Harvick will also be on standby for one of Saturday’s heat races.

On Sunday, Larson opens with Indy 500 qualifying at noon and closes with an 8 p.m. NASCAR All-Star Race start. He’s slated to return to IMS on Monday for a two-hour afternoon practice session.

While Larson remained sour Monday night, his near-term schedule will not allow him to stay down for long.

“I know I've got a lot of support on the fan side of things,” Larson said, per Autoweek.com. “I'm sure the whole NASCAR garage will be paying attention to how my couple of weeks is going there. That's all fun. 

“Yeah, I look forward to it.”

If he joins Tony Stewart (2001) as the lone pilots to complete all 1,100 miles of “The Double,” perhaps Larson can be reassured that the 25-time Cup titleholder doesn’t “suck.”

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