Where Will Kyle Larson Finish in Indy 500, Coca-Cola 600?

Where will Kyle Larson finish in the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600?

Tom Blackburn: Kyle Larson‘s finish in the Indy 500 will come down to his comfort level in maneuvering through traffic. Dallara’s UAK18 IndyCar aero kit with the aeroscreen has been a challenge to handle further in the pack because of the turbulent air it creates. When Jimmie Johnson ran in 2022, he learned how difficult that was and never gained the necessary skills to overtake after the start of the race. Fernando Alonso suffered similarly when he made his second start in 2020 after easily running well in 2017 (and hasn’t returned because of it). So if Larson can learn quickly how to close his car to get runs on the long straightaways, he will be in a decent spot. Arrow McLaren has been massively consistent since 2019 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, so Larson has the right horse under him to be competitive. It will truly come down to how great and well-rounded he is as a driver. Expect his finish at the Indy 500 to be very good if he figures it out.

As for the Coca-Cola 600, he will run exceptionally well because everything will slow down for him and he will feel like the race is taking forever after getting out of a 220 mph racecar. Top-five finish at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

James Krause: Larson has a chance to not just eclipse Tony Stewart’s 2001 double performance — a sixth at Indianapolis and a third at Charlotte — he has a legitimate chance to be the first driver to win one of those two events. Winning the Indy 500 in his first NTT IndyCar Series race sounds like a longshot, but the odds don’t seem so steep when he records one of the fastest laps on Fast Friday and qualifies fifth. While a win there might shock the world, I can’t say a top 10 at the Brickyard would be all too surprising having seen what he’s done this month. As for Charlotte, he’s only gone out and led 379 laps in the last three runnings of the 600-miler with a win in 2021. I could see Larson ending Sunday night with a trophy, and maybe even two.

Mark Kristl: Even though Larson has been fast, competing in a race is a different animal. So I’ll pick him to finish sixth, the same spot as his qualifying time. While he will have a racecar capable of winning at Charlotte, and he won there three years ago, his exhaustion from the day will cost him on the last restart and he’ll wind up third.

Mike Neff: Assuming he completes the 500, he’ll end up eighth. At Charlotte,…