Kyle Larson laments the mistake at Indy that cost him a podium finish

Kyle Larson salvaged a top-10 finish at Indy on Sunday.

Kyle Larson laments the mistake at Indy that cost him a podium finish

Kyle Larson (Credits: NASCAR.com)

Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson had a day to remember at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He and his team unveiled the paint schemes for his 2024 Indy 500 debut with Arrow McLaren, and he gets closer to making his IndyCar dream a reality. He also won his second Knoxville Nationals on Saturday night.  

But all the joy around the day was slightly disturbed by his P8 finish on Sunday. Larson, who is one of the most competitive drivers in the Cup garage, was convinced that he missed out on a podium and salvaging the top 10 wasn’t what his No:5 Chevy Camaro ZL1 deserved. He was the third-highest-finishing HMS driver of the day, behind Chase Elliott at P2 and Alex Bowman on P5.

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After the race, Larson pointed out that if not for the mistake on turn 12, where he lost multiple positions, was his race decider. He said that he regret making that mistake, and if not for it, he could have secured a finish inside the top 10.

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“I just made that mistake into turn 12. Flat-spotted my left front, which I felt like it could have affected my right-hander, but thankfully, it didn’t. There were more right-handers than lefts, but all the left-handers I had no grip,” Larson said, as reported by NBC.

“So, I was really tight. I just kind of had to get through that run. I gave up a few positions right before green flag stops. We cycled ahead of the 20 and the 91. It was a tough race. I wish I wouldn’t have made that mistake; maybe I would’ve ended up third or fourth,” Larson added.  

In case you missed it: WATCH: Kyle Larson has a heartfelt father-son moment in the victory lane following his dominant Knoxville Nationals victory

Kyle Larson said he needs to have a clean race

Kyle Larson and Denny Hamlin
Kyle Larson and Denny Hamlin (Credits: Getty)

The 2021 Cup champion will have another shot at making his total number of wins on road courses to five at Watkins Glen next week.  He will have the momentum from the run to salvage a top-10 finish this Sunday.

But he is still a bit bummed by the costly mistake. He said, “Glad we were able to salvage a top-10 out of it. Bummed that I made a mistake like that, and we didn’t have any cautions to make up for it. It is what it is, just got to clean it up a bit.”

Larson hopes to secure solid finishes in the coming two races at Glen and Daytona. He will be hoping to secure his maiden win at the iconic Superspeedway. Larson will be hoping to secure a deep run in the playoff and put him in a position to fight for the title in the finale at Phoenix.  

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