Kyle Larson explains biggest takeaways from first Indy 500: 'I would be much more cautious and less aggressive next time'

Kyle Larson opens up about the mistakes he made while competing in the 2024 Indy 500 this past weekend. During the Indy 500 Victory Celebration, Larson was asked about the biggest takeaways from competing in the race.

“I felt like I was in a decent mindset before the race and felt like I knew what to expect from the race,” Larson said. “Probably have the most oval experience out of anybody in the field, which is crazy. I made the mistakes on the restarts and then at the end with the speeding penalty. “I would be much more cautious and less aggressive next time.

“Working through the balance of the race car and traffic I was too focused on having a comfortable balance so I wouldn’t scare myself” Larson continued. “I think that came to bite me because I was a little bit too tight, or understeer as you guys say, throughout the race.”

Larson was at the Indy 500 Victory Celebration to receive his Rookie of The Year award. He finished the race in 18th place and started the race at P5. Larson was looking to compete in the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on the same day. However, weather delays forced the Indy 500 to start later in the afternoon, and NASCAR called the Coca-Cola 600 as Larson arrived in Charlotte due to rain and lightning.

Kyle Larson ‘sad’ about not completing Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600 double

“I don’t know. I’m very very thankful for the experience, obviously,” Larson said to Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports after leaving Charlotte Motor Speedway on Sunday night. “Everything about the two weeks and all that was great until today, so just uh, sad. … Yeah it’s just sad. Everything that could have went wrong today, went wrong. So, hopefully, hopefully get to do it again in the future and hopefully weather is better next time.”

Not competing in the Coca-Cola 600 was a blow to Larson in terms of the Cup Series standings. Heading into the weekend, Larson was in first place and had a 30-point lead over Martin Truex Jr. Now, Larson is in third as Truex and Denny Hamlin have passed him.

And to make things worse Larson is not listed among the top-16 drivers in the playoff standings since he did not start the Coca-Cola 600. To qualify for the playoffs, Larson will need to receive a waiver, which is expected to be granted.

On3’s Jonathan Howard contributed to this story.