INDIANAPOLIS -- Kyle Larson experienced his first crash at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Thursday, the second day that Indianapolis 500 drivers participated in open testing on the 2.5-mile oval.
The 2021 NASCAR champion spun coming out of the first turn, hit the wall and bounced down to the warmup lane before tapping the wall a second time and eventually rolling to a stop.
Larson blamed himself, saying he forgot to hit the weight jacker going into the turn. But he also tried to find some positives from the incident.
"I'm happy to crash my first Indy car and live through it," Larson said.
IN THE WALL 😬@KyleLarsonRacin makes contact with the wall exiting Turn 1 and in Turn 2.
— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) April 24, 2025
📺: INDYCAR YouTube pic.twitter.com/5TE5c1BXDs
An Arrow McLaren official told The Indianapolis Star that Larson will not take part in the Thursday afternoon practice session due to the crash damage. The team decided not to rush the repairs, which would have left minimal practice time at best, the official said.
Larson is attempting to complete "the double" by racing in both the Indianapolis 500 and NASCAR's Coca-Cola 600 on May 25. His first attempt was thwarted by a rain delay in the 2024 Indy 500 that saw him arrive to the NASCAR race just as that race was called off for weather.
He wasn't the only familiar name to crash Thursday. Two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Takuma Sato crashed shortly after Larson, losing the back end of his car in the first turn and smacking the wall hard in the short chute before rolling to a stop.
"Lost it," Sato said. "I simply lost it."
Both drivers were checked at the infield hospital and released.
Graham Rahal also tapped the wall late in Wednesday's practice.
Series officials added horsepower to the cars for the Thursday morning session as they test the IndyCar hybrid, which makes its IMS debut next month. An afternoon session without the boost closes out the two-day test.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.