Another Indy 500 race not likely until Kyle Larson's NASCAR career ends
LEBANON, Tenn. (AP) — Kyle Larson hasn't spent much time thinking about his latest failed attempt at becoming only the second driver to run all 1,100 miles of the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 on the same day.
Racing at Indianapolis Motor Speedway again may just have to wait until Larson's NASCAR career ends.
'That's not me shutting down the 500 again,' Larson said. 'Someday, maybe when I'm done with Cup racing, I would definitely love to do the 500 again, and devote all of my time to it. It's such an awesome event, like it is the greatest event in the world. So I don't want to miss out on that too much.'
Larson said Saturday the attempt just doesn't make sense logistically with any small delay, weather or crash throwing off
the entire schedule.
He's been dealing with a bit of a 'Double' hangover since last weekend's attempt. He also made a quick trip to Mexico to check out the altitude and area for NASCAR's race at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on June 15. He slept much of Friday after getting sick.
Larson made his first try at one of the toughest challenges in motorsports in 2024 when four hours of rain delays at
the Indianapolis 500
wrecked his plans at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, then made him late to Charlotte with the NASCAR race called
before he ever took a lap
.
Last week, Larson crashed on Lap 91 of the Indianapolis 500, flew to Charlotte and then had his NASCAR race end on Lap 246 when caught up in a wreck
ending his bid
to join Tony Stewart who finished sixth in the 2001 Indy 500 before flying to Charlotte where he finished third in the Cup Series race.
John Andretti was the first driver to try the double in 1994, and Robby Gordon and Kurt Busch also have given it a shot.
Asked what changes could help make competing in both races and finishing the Double possible, Larson said moving the start time up for the Indy 500 wouldn't work. That race already starts at 9:45 a.m. on the West Coast with people there unlikely to wake up earlier.
Larson said the Coca-Cola 600 can't start much later. Even with not many cautions, that race still ends after 11 p.m. Eastern.
'I don't know how those guys did in the past, like that must have been perfect, weather and cautions and all that,' Larson said.
___
AP auto racing:
https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Fox Sports
9 minutes ago
- Fox Sports
French Open: No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka ends Swiatek's reign and meets No. 2 Coco Gauff for the trophy
Associated Press PARIS (AP) — Flecks of rust-colored clay dotted Aryna Sabalenka's back and caked her white shoes as she ripped big shot after big shot against Iga Swiatek on Thursday, the thud of racket-on-string reverberating off the closed roof at the main stadium at Roland Garros. So used to hearing — and believing — she was a fast-court specialist who couldn't succeed on the slower red clay used at Roland-Garros, the No. 1-ranked Sabalenka showed just how good she can be on the surface by ending Swiatek's 26-match unbeaten streak at the French Open and bid for a record fourth consecutive trophy with a 7-6 (1), 4-6, 6-0 win in Thursday's semifinals. Now Sabalenka will try to win her fourth Grand Slam title — and first not on a hard court — when she takes on No. 2 Coco Gauff in Saturday's final. It will be the first title match in Paris between the Nos. 1 and 2 women since 2013 and just the second in the past 30 years. 'It's going to mean everything to me and my team, because I have to say that almost (my) whole life, I've been told (clay) is not my thing, and then I didn't have any confidence,' Sabalenka said. 'In the past — I don't know how many years — we've been able to develop my game so much, so I feel really comfortable on this surface and actually enjoy playing on clay.' Gauff, a 21-year-old American who was the runner-up in 2022 to Swiatek, reached her second French Open final by beating 361st-ranked French wild-card entry Lois Boisson 6-1, 6-2 in a far-less-interesting, far-less-competitive semifinal. 'My first final here, I was super nervous, and I kind of wrote myself off before the match even happened,' said Gauff, who is 5-5 against Sabalenka and beat her for the 2023 U.S. Open title at age 19. 'Obviously, here, I have a lot more confidence just from playing a Grand Slam final before and doing well in one.' Much to the chagrin of the 15,000 or so locals pulling for their countrywoman at Court Philippe-Chatrier, Gauff vs. Boisson wasn't much of a contest, as might be expected from their rankings and relative experience. Then again, that didn't stop Boisson from eliminating both No. 3 Jessica Pegula and No. 6 Mirra Andreeva en route to becoming the first woman since 1989 to get to the semifinals in her Grand Slam debut. Loud as the crowd was, repeatedly singing Boisson's first name, Gauff's play spoke volumes, too, as she took 20 of the first 30 points for a 4-0 lead. That pattern held, and by the end, Gauff had claimed 34 of the 51 points that lasted at least five strokes. Most remarkable about Sabalenka's win was the way she dominated in crunch time, racing through the last set. 'I mean, 6-love,' she said. 'What can I say? Couldn't be more perfect than that.' Swiatek's explanation? 'I lost my intensity a bit,' she said. 'Just couldn't push back.' This stat says it all: The third set included 12 unforced errors off Swiatek's racket, and zero off Sabalenka's. This continues a rough stretch for Swiatek, a 24-year-old from Poland, who hasn't reached a final at any tournament since walking away with her third trophy in a row — and fifth Grand Slam title overall — from Paris 12 months ago. She recently slid to No. 5 in the rankings. Her rut includes a loss in the semifinals at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Later last season, she was suspended for a month after testing positive for a banned substance; her explanation was accepted that the result was caused by a contaminated medicine. Sabelanka is, unquestionably, as good as it gets in women's tennis right now. 'She didn't doubt,' Swiatek said. 'She just went for it.' Even though Sabalenka broke in the first game and soon led 4-1 — at which point Swiatek was glancing up at her coach, Wim Fissette, in the stands, hoping for some sort of insight that could change things — this was not one-way traffic. Swiatek ended up leading 5-4 in that set, but when they got to the tiebreaker, Sabalenka asserted herself. Did the same in the last set. 'It was a big match, and it felt like a final," said Sabalenka, who won the Australian Open twice and the U.S. Open once. 'But I know that the job is not done yet.' ___ AP tennis:
Yahoo
12 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Aaron Rodgers ends months-long dance with Steelers, informs team he plans to sign, AP source says
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Aaron Rodgers and Mike Tomlin are taking their bromance to the next level. The four-time NFL MVP ended months of 'will he or won't he' speculation by informing Tomlin and the Pittsburgh Steelers he plans to join the team for the 2025 season, a person with knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press on Thursday. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because Rodgers has not yet signed a contract. Advertisement The Steelers and the 41-year-old Rodgers had been circling each other for months. Rodgers even visited the team's facility in late March, driving in undercover in a nondescript sedan wearing a hat and sunglasses. While there were plenty of nice words from both sides in the aftermath, Rodgers didn't rush to put pen to paper, telling 'The Pat McAfee Show' in April that his attention was focused on helping people in his inner circle who were 'battling some difficult stuff' and that he didn't want to decide until he knew he could fully commit. With mandatory minicamp coming next week, Rodgers apparently finds himself in a place where he can give the Steelers his full attention. ___ AP Pro Football Writer Rob Maaddi contributed to this report. ___ AP NFL: Will Graves, The Associated Press
Associated Press
19 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Aaron Rodgers ends months-long dance with Steelers, informs team he plans to sign, AP source says
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Aaron Rodgers and Mike Tomlin are taking their bromance to the next level. The four-time NFL MVP ended months of 'will he or won't he' speculation by informing Tomlin and the Pittsburgh Steelers he plans to join the team for the 2025 season, a person with knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press on Thursday. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because Rodgers has not yet signed a contract. The Steelers and the 41-year-old Rodgers had been circling each other for months. Rodgers even visited the team's facility in late March, driving in undercover in a nondescript sedan wearing a hat and sunglasses. While there were plenty of nice words from both sides in the aftermath, Rodgers didn't rush to put pen to paper, telling 'The Pat McAfee Show' in April that his attention was focused on helping people in his inner circle who were 'battling some difficult stuff' and that he didn't want to decide until he knew he could fully commit. With mandatory minicamp coming next week, Rodgers apparently finds himself in a place where he can give the Steelers his full attention. ___ AP Pro Football Writer Rob Maaddi contributed to this report. ___ AP NFL:
