Downloaded from YTS.BZ
Official YIFY movies site: YTS.BZ
[Janet] Okay, this is Kyle and his speech for school tomorrow.
Kyle Larson.
[Mike] You're on.
As most of you know, my favorite activity is go-kart racing.
I began practicing at the age of four at a friend's house.
My other goal for this year is to be the champion at Chico.
After that, I hope to continue racing for many years to come.
[man] You better be a NASCAR driver 'cause you're made for NASCAR.
[light orchestral music]
[Janet] Sprint cars, Kyle.
Are you like your daddy?
Mm-hmm.
I can feel it.
[Kyle] Well, racing's literally like everything I've ever known.
[Janet] Kyle, are we at the races?
Yes, Mommy.
[Kyle] We would travel along the West coast
going to 50 to 60 sprint car races a year.
This is my race track.
Thousands of laps probably turned on that rug.
[Kyle indistinct]
Whoa!
[thunks]
[Janet] Uh-oh!
[Mike] Well, he was definitely born into it,
or he couldn't get away from it.
Just because I was such a big fan.
[Mike over mic]
[Mike] I was kinda like his hype-guy, almost.
From California, Kyle Larson.
He's like an overnight sensation.
Everybody is all of a sudden saying, "Who in the heck,
and where did this kid come from?"
[Mike] And even when he started racing,
it was like turning him loose on the freeway.
I never saw what was to come.
[engine revving]
[crowd cheering]
[engines revving]
[announcer] Kyle Larson's gonna win
in the Sprint Cup Series!
[cheering]
[announcer] The California Kid, Kyle Larson going to Victory Lane.
Kyle Larson wins a million dollars!
Kyle Larson dominates.
Kyle Larson is a natural.
He can go from a high limit sprint car on dirt
to Blade models, to NASCAR Cup Series.
He's willing to take risks to go fast and to push the limits
knowing that there could be a bad outcome on the other side.
[announcer] Oh, hitting into the wall, Larson and Hamlin--
[announcer 2] And-- oh! Larson into the wall in turn two!
Upside down-- Oh! He's hit hard!
[announcer] Oh! My good gosh!
[announcer 2] Look at that. He is flyin' when he comes in there.
[man] Kyle was always looking to find the next lane
outside of the normal racing group.
[announcer 2] That's where all the speed is.
How hard can you swing and not make contact?
[announcer 3] So good.
[announcer] We're running out of superlatives for this young man.
One of the most dominant seasons that we have seen in recent history.
[exciting music]
He may be the best to ever drive a race car.
[announcer] Some more big news.
Kyle Larson is gonna become the fifth driver to attempt the Double.
[newscaster] That means he would race in the Indy 500
and then NASCAR Coca-Cola 600. That's 1,100 miles.
It's been a dream of mine to compete in that event.
I feel like I'm in my prime. I understand how tough it's gonna be.
Now, wouldn't this be a piece of history if Kyle Larson goes out,
wins the Indy 500, turns around, flies to Charlotte and wins the 600?
That's Hall of Fame, right there. You might as well induct him this year.
[Kyle] It's an insane idea to be able to say,
I'm gonna go drive in this new discipline, in their biggest race.
But maybe that's just what makes me different, is that...
I don't know, I'm not scared of anything.
[exciting music continues]
[race car engines revving]
Where he is now, you can get two wheels over that white line,
but you can't have all four over that first one.
Okay.
[car whizzes by]
[Jeff Gordon] The Double is somethin' that doesn't happen every year.
It's maybe only happened a handful of times through history.
But Memorial Day weekend is a huge race weekend,
probably the biggest race weekend of the year,
where the Indy 500 kicks off
around noon that day here on the East coast.
And then, that evening, by 6:00, the Coca-Cola 600 takes the green flag.
But the Double is when somebody attempts to do 500 miles in Indianapolis,
hop on a helicopter, hop on an airplane, fly to Charlotte,
600 miles of Charlotte Motor Speedway.
That's, that's quite a day.
And the thing about Indy is, there's a lot of pageantry.
More than 100 years this race has been happening.
So, there's gonna be a lot of things that are gonna consume his day and time.
All the cameras are gonna be following.
The fans are gonna be following, and the hype of it.
[photographer] Excited expressions.
Just smiles. Smile with your eyes.
I want to attempt it, because not many people have.
There's only been four other drivers to do the Double before.
Tony Stewart finished top ten in both.
He's been the only one to complete all the laps.
I want to experience the challenge,
what it takes mentally and physically, and learning a new discipline.
[man 2] Good? Yeah? Feel good?
- Yeah, my head's like naturally... - [man 2 chuckles]
from turning left my whole life.
It's just completely different. What NASCAR has,
is it looks like your every day Camaro, maybe on steroids a little bit.
But it's big, it's heavy, it's loud. It's very analog.
Flip to an Indy car, this is just pure out,
how do we make the fastest race car possible?
This car's low to the ground,
big, wide tires for maximum grip
to slip stream down the straightaways at 230, 240 miles per hour.
[cars whizzing by]
We'd probably have, you know, a nurse already stationed on the plane.
And I would assume on Sunday, he'd be flying in the Gulf Stream?
The Gulf Stream's the fastest airplane out there.
- So, it'll save you a couple minutes. - Okay.
It's here.
[laughs]
[Jeff] So, this is an opportunity where Kyle is gonna be able
to get into one of the best teams with Arrow McLaren
in the Indy car series, as well as
being one of the top stock cars with Hendrick Motor Sports.
All right, whatcha got?
[man 3] So, on the wheel, you're gonna see a display.
Hit this button, click it.
- [Kyle] This button's tighter? - [man 3] Correct.
[Kyle] This is...
[man 3] Goes to eight.
Yeah, that's fast.
- [Tony] No. - Or that's lean?
- [Tony] One is fast. - Okay.
[Jeff] We've put together a team.
So, in every form of racing, if you don't have much experience,
you always want to try to get that experience from a driver
that has raced in that particular event.
Well, we get a chance to have Tony Kanaan, who won the Indy 500
and drove for Arrow McLaren in 2023.
How often are you messin' with the bar?
during like, the qualifying lap?
[Tony] Probably every lap.
No, that's what I'm telling you.
- You're doing 400 things. - [Kyle] Yeah.
It's the longest lap of your life.
[men laugh]
[Kyle] Are you guys ready for me to get in?
[man 4] Yes, we are. Whenever you're ready.
[Kyle] I'm ready.
[orchestral music]
[man 4] Let's give a couple laps.
We'll swap over to Indy road course
and see if you can feel the balance shift.
See you got loose there?
And now look how much understeer he's gonna have out of four.
[man 4] Too fast.
[clicking]
It's making him have to work a little bit.
As soon as he said it's easy, I'm like, okay.
- [men laugh] - It's not gonna be easy.
[Kyle] What was that last lap?
Seventy point six-oh-one.
[Kyle] I'll run a few more.
That was a 70.2.
[man 4] Seventy point zero-nine-nine.
[orchestral music]
Sixty-nine, eight-seven.
[man 5] Now he's having fun.
[man 4] You know what we did...
You're such a... Yeah.
[man 4] we told him the lap time and he hasn't come in...
- Yeah, you guys are the type. C'mon, shit. - [men laugh]
[all laugh]
[Jeff] Do you feel like you're close to the wall?
- [Kyle] Yeah. - You look close to the wall.
[Kyle] Yeah, I'm like touching it sometimes.
You might want to build in some more margin.
- [laughs] - [Kyle] Yeah.
If I had to pick one guy who was my favorite growing up,
it was Jeff Gordon.
[Janet] Where's Jeff Gordon?
[young Kyle] Right here.
There's my Jeff Gordon outfit, pumped.
[chuckles]
Got it for my birthday.
Went fishing with my Jeff Gordon outfit on.
First day of school.
Jeff Gordon.
[woman laughs]
[man on TV] ...31-year-old...
[young Kyle] I want to watch the stock cars.
- You want to watch stock cars? - Yeah.
[Mike] Me too.
[Kyle] My mom videotaped my whole life.
Kyle Larson.
[Kyle] I am half-Japanese. My mom's 100% Japanese.
My middle name is Miyata.
My mom's maiden name. I was the last boy in the family,
So, to continue the name Miyata, they gave me the middle name.
That was a lot of pressure.
[Janet] Grandpa comfort you.
[Kyle] I don't know much of my grandparents' story.
I know that they were in the Internment camps.
You know, that was obviously a hard time.
I always loved going over to my grandparents' house
and playing with my Grandpa Manjo.
He would smoke, like, two packs of cigarettes a day,
drink like a 12-pack of Budweiser,
(laughing) like every day,
and lived till he was like, 90. Yeah, he was cool.
[Janet] Are you gonna work on the car with Daddy?
[Kyle] My parents are definitely my biggest race fans.
They saw something special in me and did everything in their power
to try and have me have a successful career.
[Janet] Start your bicycle!
No, it's not a bicycle!
[Janet] What is it?
It's a Indy car!
[Kyle] Like, I've understood how big the Indy 500 is.
And especially how big it is to my dad.
I remember my dad always saying,
like, he wants to see me race in the Indy 500 some day.
[zips]
[Kyle muffled] Remind me, like, if I'm too tight.
Which way would you go with the weight jacker?
[Tony] So, this will take understeer away.
[Kyle muffled] And understeer is like, left hand?
[Tony] Yeah, tight.
Trying to prepare him for things that he's not used to.
A stock car gets a wheel that is this big.
There's one button with a radio to talk to his crew chief,
and that's it. And then here, he has 18 buttons.
Right? And the gear shifts are here.
And you actually can make adjustments inside the car.
And that's the kind of stuff that's different for him.
How does it feel?
[Kyle muffled] I like how, where my head is at,
but I just need a little bit shorter straps.
I'm just thinking about hard impact, you know.
- For the impact? - [Kyle] Yeah.
You're not crashing so I don't know why you worry.
[Kyle laughs muffled] I'm just saying, if I crash.
Well, if you crash, if you remember,
- if you're spinning, put your head back. - [Kyle muffled] Yeah.
[orchestral music]
[Kyle] I don't think any of us race car drivers think about the danger of it.
I know how dangerous the Indy car stuff on the oval can be.
'Cause they're open wheel cars, launching off somebody's tire,
and gettin' in the wall.
Or getting airborne and flipping.
The cars kind of explode when they touch.
So, you can't think about that stuff.
[interviewer] So, why?
[chuckles]
Because he wants to be the best race car driver...
period.
Yeah, I know, I'm competitive.
I want him to kick their asses.
So, yeah.
[engine revs]
[Kyle] I don't really know, like, what to expect.
You know, you leave the pit lane, and then, yeah,
I mean, gosh, once you hit the race track,
I mean, you're literally going from like 60 miles an hour
to 220 in a matter of seconds.
I mean, you have to commit.
[crew chief over radio] Kyle, go Gray 1. You've been in Yellow map. Gray 1.
[car whizzes by]
[Kyle over radio] Started to get a little bit of understeer...
like, I don't want to think I can power through it, then it get loose.
[crew chief over radio] Try left on a weight jacker.
Remember, he's going to be worrying about four laps.
On the weight jacker, he wants four there.
He needs to go to four. Or he wants zero, he needs to go...
- So, it's like... - Yeah, it's a lot.
If it confuses him, we'll lose.
[crew chief over radio] One more left on the jacker.
Look, here he comes again.
Wow.
Go see Dada.
- Oof! - How cool is it?
Cool!
[Rick Hendrick on phone] Tell me about your test in Phoenix.
It's definitely sketchy going that fast, but it was fun.
Yeah, I'm... I feel like qualifying will feel crazy.
- [baby babbles] - [Kyle] Mm-hmm.
[Katelyn] I mean, he's doing a lot,
but when he's home, he's very attentive,
and shows me that he's trying to balance it.
And that's really important to me.
[interviewer] When you met Kyle, what was he like?
He was shy.
I was shy. [laughs]
We've both come a long way, I'd say.
How did we meet?
In racing. At a race track.
'Cause my brother races.
I started going to our local track in Chico,
and just spending some time there on the weekends
and at the big race Gold Cup.
And it was 2011, we met.
Your two-time Gold Cup champion, Kyle Larson!
[cheering]
[Katelyn] I was 18 or 19 when we first met.
It was like typical dirt racer, but bachelor,
sleep till noon, house a mess,
eats out every day.
When I was pregnant with Owen,
he was a bit of a surprise early in our relationship,
and I was a nervous wreck for what people would think.
And you know what? He just was like, excited.
And he was like, it's fine. Who cares?
It'll be fine.
It's definitely been a journey, that's for sure.
[cheering]
[Kyle] Had I not married somebody with a racing background,
there's no way they would be okay with it.
She's the perfect fit for me.
- It's fun. We have fun. - [zips]
Kyle keeps me grounded, 'cause I get a little stressed out.
[interviewer] Where do you get your stamina from?
- Me? - [interviewer] How do you keep going?
I don't know.
- He's addicted. It's like... - It's a drug.
Well, like, Chili Bowl, for example.
- We were gonna be home... - Might as well race.
- No we weren't. - for a whole week.
No, we were not.
And he decided two nights before he wanted to race the Chili Bowl.
You're making stuff up. You got it so spun out.
And you know what happened? You flipped twice.
[announcer] First car he's passed--
[announcer 2] Oh, oh!
[announcer] That's not gonna be good for either of them.
Larson upside down out of turn number two.
[interviewer] Were you watching when he flipped?
- Yeah. - [interviewer] Mm-hmm.
I was.
Yeah, they don't see what my brain has to go through.
[Kyle] Oh, here he comes, here he comes.
Ooh.
Get out of my way.
- Say, ooh! - [Katelyn] You're stressing him out.
Oh, last lap? Last lap? White flag fever!
[all] Oh!
[Katelyn] He's upside down.
Say, "Yay, good job, Owen!"
Yay!
[engines roaring]
[announcer] Larson up top, all the way up top, pushing.
[announcer 2] He's on the outside. He's in position, he's got it.
Here comes Truex, they're gonna close. Right to the two leaders.
Coming to the line, clenched together!
It's that close!
It's Larson! [laughs]
Just like a horse race, by a nose.
- I saw it. - Zero point zero-zero.
[engine revs]
Yeah!
The month of May is gonna be great for us.
So, hopefully this just starts some momentum.
[reporter] Kyle Larson wins in Kansas.
[Jackson] Your points leader, Kyle Larson,
who is now ahead in the championship entering the month of May
where he is ready to do the Double, Indy 500 and the Coke 600.
He's got a fast McLaren, and he knows he can win almost any race.
[tool whirring]
Obviously, try to hit your mark every time.
Mm-hmm.
And the biggest thing for you is not to leave when they drop.
So, they'll drop...
- And the fuel's still gonna be in. - Okay.
[upbeat music]
[engine revs]
[tools whirring]
[compressor whooshes]
About six inches short.
The whole month of May, I don't know that we'll see you.
You'll be very busy.
I basically be living in Indiana for a couple weeks.
I'll probably have my motor home there.
With three kids and a wife?
I know. I already tried talking her out of like...
We'll have the kids there the whole time.
[all laugh]
We are helicopter... It's me, you, Katelyn...
Assuming Katelyn is good with the kids, with the parents.
- You just have to run this by her. - [Jon] Okay.
She's the boss.
[engine revs]
[tools whirring]
Try to come in deeper, and then, slam.
- [Jon] Sunday... - [Kyle] Race day?
Race day. Our biggest thing is, right now,
we've got a 4:15 out.
We're lookin' at if they would allow you to miss the Charlotte start,
which I don't think they will, because it's not a medical waiver.
And that, you have to start every one to get to the playoffs.
- So... - You just tell me where to be.
I'll be there.
His goal is to win NASCAR races and win the NASCAR championship.
That's his day job. He can't forget that.
By the way, can you remind him of that constantly?
[engine revs]
[tools whirring]
[Tony] That was a good one, Kyle.
If you ask any Indy car driver
what would they do to win this race, I don't think it is all about that.
The biggest race in the world, the fastest.
And if you win, it changes your life.
[helicopter whirring]
[Cliff] Every moment, we need to do our job.
You're thinking 10 steps ahead, you're too far ahead.
Make good decisions when it happens.
Losing four seconds under green is way better
than having a big mistake that'll just compound on itself.
Let's keep ourselves in the game.
Yes, the Double can be an element of distraction.
But that's inspiring that someone is gonna take those risks
and the challenge and the sacrifice and everything that comes along with that,
to aspire for greatness.
[engine revs]
[crew chief over radio] Still tight, #22 your push, here's your push,
still there, clear.
Go, go, go, go!
[announcer 2] For Kyle, this also marks a huge three weeks for him
as he gets ready to go to Indianapolis.
Cliff Daniels told me this afternoon, they're trying not to look ahead.
Because if they do that, and focus on all the external activity
surrounding Kyle's trip to Indianapolis, then that opens the door for mistakes.
[announcer] This'll be Larson's seventh stage win of the season.
He is on great pace.
[announcer 2] Here he comes.
[into radio] Your pace really isn't bad right now.
So, whatever you're doin' to make it work, keep doin' it.
[into radio] How many laps to go?
[announcer 3] Oh, he's around.
[announcer] Larson in the wall.
[announcer 2] Left rear flat tire.
[announcer] That will bring out a caution that left two...
[man over radio] ...struck in front, right back in here...
[announcer 2] You see that left rear tire.
[Cliff] Give me a fuckin' screwdriver, here.
You're not gonna be able to fix that.
[man] I think we're done, right?
[blades whirring]
[man 5] If you haven't seen it yet.
- [man 6] How many points? - I'm still up 30?
Wow.
Well, the 19 had trouble and...
If I'd have just fuckin' finished, I'd be up like 50-somethin'.
[mellow instrumental music]
...qualifying. You could use as many tires as you want.
However you want. So, that's...
[inaudible]
[distant cheering]
[Kyle] I was winning a lot from nine to fourteen.
It's Kyle Larson, the leader...
[Kyle] I just wanted to race for a living.
So, I knew that I needed to get out of California,
because Jeff Gordon kind of paved that way.
You know, he moved from Northern California to Indiana.
So, that was kind of the path.
[fans cheering]
[Kyle] Second year away from home, living in Indianapolis.
I raced like 120 times that year.
But I will say, when I was not racing, we were having a great time.
Surprised, but not surprised
that I got in trouble for underage drinking.
Yeah, this is my prison band. [laughs]
My face definitely looks like my career's over, right there.
Eldora, 2011. If I had to pick one night
that really paved the path of my career, it'd be this one.
That is when I started meeting with different NASCAR teams.
and ultimately signed with Chip Ganassi a couple months later.
[announcer 2] Smoke goes away on the Larson car.
Now he's racing Jeff Gordon for second.
[on radio] Pushin' over.
[announcer 2] Yeah, that was quite a move.
Jeff Gordon thought that he had that spot.
I go back to our relationship now, you know, and how we laugh about it.
How, you know, here's a guy that you grow up admiring,
and yet, all he wanted to do is kick my butt on the race track.
[engines rev]
[announcer 3] Kyle Larson is just not gonna give up.
[announcer 2] Look at Gordon.
[Jeff] That means a lot, right there.
[Kyle] I feel like you're so young you don't really know,
like, how big of a moment it actually is.
As you gain more experience and you realize,
like, how big and important some wins are.
That's when I think the emotion gets even higher.
[announcer] From the age of five,
Kyle Larson has only wanted to be a race car driver.
And now, as he comes to the checkered flag,
Kyle Larson's gonna win in the Sprint Cup Series!
[Kyle] I remember being in Victory Lane, like,
'cause I had, you know, been screaming
'cause I was so excited, that like, finally once I stood up
and got out of the car, I was like, extremely light-headed.
[announcer] Kyle Larson in Victory Lane.
[Kyle] Yeah, I mean, there's no real thing that compares to your first win.
[plane rumbling]
[Brian] There's something about Indianapolis that's just different.
We're gonna practice from noon to six,
you know, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.
Compared to the other drivers there, as far as experience,
he is limited on the amount of laps he has there.
You know, if we have rain a couple days, that can certainly set us behind.
That's what concerns me the most.
- [thunder rumbles] - [rain pouring]
[lightning cracks]
[reporter 2] If the Indy 500 were tomorrow, would you run it?
I don't know-- Yeah, I would--
But no, I don't think that I would do very good at this point, so.
If it'd hurry up and just stop fuckin' raining and I could get out there.
[man laughs]
[thunder rumbles]
[Kyle] Hey, big boy. You don't feel good?
[Katelyn] Yeah.
I'm gonna take Cooper to the nurse.
[Kyle] Yeah, I gotta go get in the car here soon.
Come on, Cooper. You want to go see your ears?
Check 'em?
See you in a bit.
It's been a fun Indy 500 experience so far.
A lot of nothing.
Lot of waiting.
Yeah, I don't know. I just thought we'd get more laps.
[orchestral music]
As soon as the car gets here, you can get ready.
How's the weather?
Where are we? Oh, blue dot.
What time you think it's gonna get here?
'Bout an hour, hour and 15 minutes.
[horn honking lightly]
[announcer] Oh, no, a big crash!
That's Linus Lundqvist, into the wall. The rookie.
Yellow flag.
- [Kyle] Uh-oh. - [Cliff] Turn two.
- [Kyle] Who's out? - [Cliff] That's Linus.
You joined the club now.
The ones that haven't hit the wall.
Mike, you good? Is the car good?
Comin' to you spotters. Install out.
[engine revs]
[announcer] This is Kyle Larson.
[announcer 2] Everybody's keen to get out there.
Everyone's lookin' at the same radar that we are.
They know that it's coming.
[crew chief] Fifth gear out of turn three.
Oh, shit, he missed one.
[Tony] Need to talk to him about the brakes.
As much as he's hitting the brakes,
we cannot heat up all the uprights and shit,
he's gonna lose speed in the race.
He looks quite nervous, but I'm not sure if it's the driver or the car.
Yeah, copy.
See how much he's struggling to understand
where do I shift, why do I lift here?
That's the price of a rookie.
A fast rookie. A guy that is really smart, he's a champion.
It's hard for him to cope that it's not really what you want it to do
until he understands the process.
[man over radio] We are yellow flag, everyone.
[announcer 2] Very light moisture in turn four.
[crew chief] We'll get this time trial.
Just to give you an update, Kyle, there's a couple more cells comin',
so we're a little nervous. That's what it shows.
[Kyle] Okay.
[crew chief] On the mark's good. Car to the wall by an inch.
[Kyle] I should've had you guys remind me what gears and stuff you want me to be in.
It was clash and boil,
like I should be in sixth, and my bad there.
[crew chief] All right, we're done here, Kyle.
[overlapping chatter]
[Kyle] I feel like my brake pedal travels, like super far,
- obviously, before it engages. - Yeah.
[Kyle] Your brake pedal, like on the oval,
it's got a shit-ton of travel, or--
- A lot. - [Kyle] Yeah.
- Like, inches before it... - Like...
- Yeah, okay. - And then, it just works here.
Okay.
- It sucks. - [Kyle] Yeah, it feels...
Horrible.
- Qualifying, it does not work. - [Kyle] Yeah.
Which is fine. I mean,
if you're going for the brake, you're probably crashing anyways.
[Pato chuckles]
[overlapping chatter]
- [mutters] - [children chatter]
I have a dress picked out for Audrey today.
They do like family pictures after qualifying next to the car.
So, I said to pick out something nice.
You have to wear a dress. We gotta take a good picture today.
I'm not taking a picture!
You have to.
Well, guess what? I'm not.
- [laughs] - I'm not wearing something cute.
Why?
I don't like being cute.
But you're so cute.
No, I'm not! Ah!
[instrumental music]
[Katelyn] We'll play in a second. Can you just...
[announcer 4] There is nothing on Earth like qualifying
for the Indy 500.
[announcer 2] Four laps, your average speed will set the order.
[announcer 4] Thirty-four cars going for 33 spots.
Qualifying day for me at this place is the worst day of your life.
You can't have a mishap, otherwise you're not even starting the race
and your day is over. You're not coming back.
- Good luck. - Thanks.
[announcer 4] Look at this. Look at the throng around 31-year-old American
NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson,
as his turn for qualifying will be coming up shortly.
Two cars after this man, Rinus VeeKay.
Oh, no! Rinus VeeKay!
[man over PA] ...on the track, hit the barrier...
[Kyle] Who was that?
[crew chief] That was Veekay. Got into the wall out of turn three.
[announcer 4] So, it's worth reminding, when you see these crashes,
these are in excess of 200 miles an hour.
[crew chief] Chris, we'll go ahead and fire up.
Fire up, please.
All right, Kyle, still the same plan.
[engine revs]
[announcer 4] NASCAR Cup Series champion and superstar Kyle Lawson.
Let's go for a ride.
Oh, and by the way, did we mention
that he's gonna do the All-Star race?
[announcer 2] He's gotta hop on a chopper, to the plane, to the chopper,
to the track to get into his Cup car.
Green flag, Gray 3.
[announcer 2] Lap one is the fastest for Kyle Larson.
That is the fastest single lap speed of the day, so far.
[announcer 4] As the legend Jeff Gordon watches on.
[announcer 2] And lap three...
[announcers] Whoa!
[announcer] He's out of it.
[announcer 2] Is that a drive train engine problem?
Oh, we got an issue.
Lift it off.
[Kyle] Something happened.
[Cliff] Finish the lap, man, finish the lap.
[crew chief] Finish the lap.
[man] Oh, shit.
Oh, you're fuckin' jokin' me!
[crew chief] We need him to cross the finish.
He didn't, he came into the warm up lane.
[announcer 2] Just going back to the call from the stand to finish that lap.
Right now, there's no time registered for Kyle Larson.
That was his one and only guaranteed attempt.
[Cliff] I'm a little bummed he didn't cross the line.
[announcer 2] Had he even just coasted across the line, it would count.
So, I think we may have to just diagnose the issue.
[tools whirring]
[announcer 2] Some good news and sort of some bad news
on the 17 car of Kyle Larson.
There doesn't appear to be anything wrong.
What sounds like happened was sort of an electronic miss.
And he felt the miss in the engine, and he shut the car down.
And that's something where the team maybe feels like if he had continued,
it may not have caused a bigger problem.
But Larson doesn't have a time, so he's gonna have to go back out again.
[power tools whirring]
Hey, you got about two minutes. He's gonna put a lap down. We'll watch it.
Hey, two minutes away.
[announcer on TV] ...this drive just happens to be...
Young money gots to make a lap.
All right, here we go.
[announcer on TV] ...Kyle Larson.
All right. Go ahead and fire him up, Chris.
Can send him straight on track.
[engine revs]
[man 6] Now come on. Really need a solid run.
[announcer 2] So, what an eventful day for Kyle Larson.
This is his second attempt.
Let's go! Take two.
[announcer] 240 miles an hour, Jeff, into turn three.
[announcer 4] All right, now we're talking.
[announcer] He's got all the pace.
Still pretty decent into three.
That's pretty decent into three.
- [man 7] Okay. - [all chuckle]
He's so close to the fucking concrete, man.
[announcer 4] Lap one, 232.95 for Kyle Larson.
That was a damn good first lap.
[announcer 4] He's now at the halfway mark.
Tony Kanaan, Indy 500 winner himself looking on.
[man 8] Come on, boys. Good luck.
Come on, now.
[announcer 2] Solid run, and 240 again into turn three.
As fast as we've seen anyone.
White flag.
[announcer 4] It's real. He's about to complete
his first ever full qualifying run for the Indy 500.
Kyle Larson comes in sixth place!
How 'bout that? 232.5 for Kyle Larson!
[crew chief] Good job, Kyle.
Oh, yes.
[man 7] Wow.
[man 9] Awesome.
Man, you have a fucking fast race car.
- Yeah. - All right?
Yes, we have a fast race car.
Great job, man. I'm proud of you guys.
Good job.
[Jeff] Hey, thank you so much. I'm proud of you.
[laughing] Dude, this is not what I signed up for.
Audrey, Audrey. Come on, this way.
Listen, I looked like Tom Cruise when he was qualifying.
- I was jumpin' on my couch. - [all laugh]
I was up in the air, baby. I was pumped up, man.
You know what I mean? Because he represents
what is NASCAR. He represents this sport.
To go to Indy, to do this at Indy, on their big stage.
That is a huge moment.
[solemn orchestral music]
[newscaster 2] The 108th running of the Indianapolis 500.
They're expecting a crowd of 330,000 people.
But Indianapolis also in the zone for storms
that could bring tornadoes, possibly some lightning.
The speedway, by the way, does not have a place
to shelter all those people if the weather turns dangerous.
[Katelyn] What's the forecast look like now?
[Kyle] It still looks very bad.
Looks like rain all day Sunday here.
Which, that could be good
if they don't get any track time on Sunday.
So, I would prefer to race both on the same day.
Not really. I would prefer to just race both.
But if it was on the same day, it would be way cooler.
I just hope it doesn't come down to where I don't get to finish both races.
You know?
Yeah, that would suck.
[newscaster] The NASCAR rule book states
unless otherwise authorized by NASCAR, drivers and team owners
must start all championship events of the current season
to be eligible for the playoffs.
You miss a race for injury, or any other reason,
then NASCAR has what they call this waiver system.
If they give you the waiver, you're still competing for a championship.
But there always is that chance in the way that rule is written
where we don't give you the waiver.
I think we need to have the conversation of worst case scenario.
- [man 9] Yep. - To me, worst case scenario is
it's delayed, and it goes green.
and you guys are having a phenomenal day.
[Brian] Yeah.
Do you give up the Indy 500 top five, whatever it may be,
or do we have a drop dead and get to Charlotte?
I think for the Indy 500, in order to win the race,
I think you have to be in the top 10 after the last pit stop.
But I think, if you're outside the top 10,
I wouldn't have a problem saying, yeah,
we should probably send him to the Coke 600,
knowing that the regular season championship
and the Coke 600 and playoff points,
to give that up to just finish eighth in the Indy 500 seems foolish.
I do think that, Cliff, you've got to find a way
in that situation of going, all right,
Kyle Larson's running fifth in the Indy 500
- and is going to miss starting my car. - Yeah.
But he can still get in our car at halfway.
- [Jeff] Yeah. - We could still win the race.
And no, we don't get the driver points but it's not over.
My opinion would be err toward the side of keeping him in the Indy car.
I mean, this guy just pulled a win out of Kansas, out of the hat,
when we had not a shot with 10 to go. And had an amazing restart.
[scoffs] He's gonna have a shot.
And I hope we do not have to make that decision.
[Cliff] Yeah, of course.
Nobody wants to have to make that decision.
All righty.
- All right, thank you. - Yep.
[distant chatter]
- [Kyle] Whoa! - [giggles]
[children] Whoa!
[Kyle] Hey, what's goin' on?
[Rick] Yeah, I think it went well. I mean, what came out of it was
everything we can possibly do
to make sure you're startin' that race and finishin' that race.
Especially if it's goin' well.
We're not gonna jeopardize that.
Well, that's good. That's really good to hear.
I'm happy, obviously, but still just hope the weather,
you know, goes, gets better for both places.
Or, it just continues to get worse here in Indy,
and then, we can get the 600 in as scheduled on Sunday night.
And then, come back here for Monday.
[children chatter]
Whoa! [laughs]
[squeals]
Go get it.
[Katelyn] Owen, do you race cars?
Yeah. I race go-karts at Millbridge
in North Carolina.
[Katelyn] What does your dad say to you when you have a race?
He's not really at my races anymore.
How 'bout... Can you say "bubble"?
Ah!
[Kyle] Ooh, that's a good one.
Whoa!
[mellow instrumental music]
[Kyle] I have lots of dreams and goals and things that I want to accomplish.
I've told Katelyn that, too.
I think it took her a minute to buy into it,
you know, me racing as often as I do.
It's definitely a challenge being gone as much as I am.
I mean, I wish I could be at everything.
I wish I could be at all of Owen's races and Audrey's races.
I don't know. You know, it's hard, like...
It's hard.
[fireworks exploding]
[fireworks continue in distance]
[overlapping chatter]
Oh, good morning.
Oh, hi. Good morning.
[announcer] Wish Kyle Larson the best.
Hope he gets the chance to pull off the Double.
- Good luck, today. - Thanks.
- All 1,100 miles, hopefully. - Yeah.
Don't know if it's gonna be all 1,100 today.
[man 10] So, when this band hits, this is gonna be violent.
Then, there'll just be a bunch of rain after.
You'll have a little bit of a clearing,
then the more violent stuff could continue to head our way.
The interesting thing is, around 8:00,
the bottom part of that will graze Charlotte.
Eight or nine.
The start of the Indianapolis 500 will be delayed.
This storm, I just looked and it's two hours.
It's until 2:00. So.
Yeah.
That's bad. Then I need to rain until three.
- Yes. - [laughs]
[man over PA] Please, exit the grandstands and seek shelter.
Again, there's a thunderstorm inbound toward the speedway.
It's a severe thunderstorm warning for this area...
[door rattles]
[children babble]
Have you talked to your crew chief today?
- [Kyle] Cliff? Is he stressin'? - Whoo!
Yeah.
We don't need to be writing that he is or isn't getting a waiver
- until he misses the race. - He's supposed to be here.
Kyle could still be here in an hour and a half.
If they call it right now, he'll be here in an hour and a half.
Cliff doesn't know right now, either, 'cause none of us do.
- None of us do. Right. - None of us know.
[cheering]
[announcer] The weather advisory has been cleared.
The fans have cheered. They're starting to return to their spots
as the track drying is happening at a very rapid pace.
I feel like, we're going racing here
depending on how long it takes 'em to dry.
I think another hour and a half.
If that happens, we're missin' our start at Charlotte.
What are you tryin' to decide on?
I think if they start the race by like 4:00,
we, uh, or 4:30, we gotta be here to start it.
And then, I don't think we pull him unless there's something
wrong, or you know,
you know, he's two laps down, or a lap down...
What we want to respect is the waiver.
Right? We've gotta get him in that car.
As soon as possible.
If we get there, 100 laps to go, we bust our ass to get there...
Mm.
You gotta hug the cute ones first.
- How ya been? - [Jeff] A little stressed out right now.
So, what's the implication if he doesn't run the Cup car?
[Jeff] He loses his points.
- Altogether for that race? - [Jeff] For that race, yeah.
But he's leading the points right now.
If he wins regular season points,
that's a bonus of 50 points you take to the playoffs.
He's gonna get there and drive that car at some point today.
Just, he's not gonna start it.
This coulda... I don't know if I should say this,
but this may have been the worst case scenario.
'Cause I don't think we're going to Charlotte.
I think everyone's stir crazy in there.
[announcer on TV] Kyle Larson, what's gonna happen with Larson?
Is Larson still here as of seven minutes ago?
We'll figure it out, it'll be fine.
They're dryin' the track.
So, we're gonna race here...
miss the start of the 600.
[chuckles]
We're just wingin' it.
[Audrey] Yeah, we're wingin' it.
It sucks.
[Owen] Uh-oh.
[Cliff] Yes, sir.
So, what I need is a driver for the car at some point.
Justin. And I will tell you now,
that if Justin starts the race,
and if Kyle can make it back, we will swap out.
We understand that Kyle doesn't get the points,
that Justin would.
But we would still get Kyle back in the car
- and let Kyle do his thing. - Yeah.
[mellow instrumental music]
[cheering]
[fan] So fucking cute.
Thank you.
- Look what you got me into, boy. - I know.
Well, we'll get you home quick as we can.
If we run 10 laps before the end, that'd be good.
Yeah.
[instrumental music]
[Kyle] You know, when I'm standing by the car,
like, I wasn't that happy, even though I was tryin' to fake it.
You know, and smile and carry on conversations, and this and that.
I was thinkin' about my team in Charlotte and what they must be thinking.
I'm imagining they're upset.
So, that made me feel upset about myself, too.
[crowd cheering]
[man over PA] To honor America, award winning recording artist
Jordan Sparks performs our national anthem.
[Jordan] ♪Oh, say can you see ♪
♪By the dawn's early light ♪
♪What so proudly we hailed ♪
-♪At the twilight's last gleaming ♪ - ♪At the twilight... last streaming ♪
♪Who's broad stripes and bright stars ♪
[Jordan] ♪Through the perilous fight ♪
♪In the land of the free ♪
[Jordan] ♪Free ♪
♪And the home ♪
♪Of the brave!♪
[crowd cheers]
Gentlemen, start your engines.
[engines rev]
[announcer] The biggest unknown for Kyle Larson
he told me his number one concern, starts and restarts.
As he said, there's just no way I can simulate that anywhere
until I do it myself. I have a lot to learn
through the 500 miles today, Kevin Lee.
[man over radio] Turn one, single file as they get up to speed here.
[announcer] The greatest spectacle in racing!
This is the Indianapolis 500!
Get ready. Flag is green.
[announcer 2] Scott McLaughlin in the Yellow Submarine
leads the field. Will Power on the outside.
[announcer] Ferrucci's on the hunt with the three Penskes leading.
We've got a crash at the back.
That's Marcus Ericsson!
Around goes Pietro Fittipaldi!
[man on radio] Brian, remind him to warm brakes restart.
Copy. Warming brakes for restart.
[Kyle] Is there like a line or a mark where the restart zone starts and ends?
[crew chief] No, sir, there's not. It's the short shoot through turn four.
Tyler, he's yours for the restart.
[Tyler] Coming into the green here.
All right, be ready here.
Get ready...
Ready...
Pickin' up here.
[engine revs]
[announcer] Oh, wheels spin. He was in first gear, James.
[announcer 4] There's moves happening, there's passes being made!
It's Kyle Larson and there's contact with Ryan Hunter-Reay!
Hunter-Reay with the hip check to Larson. Something went horribly wrong
for Kyle Larson on the restart.
Was he in the wrong gear?
[Kyle] Can you talk to me and tell me what I did wrong on that startup?
Yes, sir. You were in first, you clicked it twice and went to third.
[cheers]
[man over PA] I want to say welcome to the 66th running of the Coca-Cola 600
at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Have a good time today.
Anybody know how he's runnin' in the 500?
- He was running ninth, last I looked. - Ninth?
Fucked up on the first restart and fell way back.
Missed a shift, so.
[Tyler] Still you and VeeKay. Still just you and him.
[man 11] We're clear behind him. One back to Dixon now.
You're clear.
[announcer] Larson is now back in the top ten.
He is sitting eighth.
[man 12] Power open, are open. We will check...
[announcer] Kevin, other than one restart today,
Kyle Larson has been so impressive hanging in the top ten.
He's been dealing with a bit of an issue on entry to the corner.
They're gonna make a wing adjustment here.
[man] Go, go, go, go! You're clear!
[crew chief] Doin' a good job.
You've clawed back all those positions from that restart.
[announcer 4] Let's not lose sight of the fact that Kyle Larson,
the NASCAR Cup Series superstar is in the top six.
Incredible performance.
[announcer] Kyle Larson again, is at Indy, not here at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
He led the points by 30 going into this race.
He will get zero from this event.
[announcer 3] The Coca-Cola 600 is under way.
[announcer] We're 13 laps from havin' this past the halfway point,
making it official race.
[announcer 2] How 'bout Larson in sixth.
[announcer] Josef Newgarden from Nashville, Tennessee pits for the lead.
[crew chief] Hit this time, hit this time.
Remind him about the brakes on the back stretch.
Brakes on the back.
Thank you, Tony.
[announcer] Big lock up from Kyle Larson way past the cone there.
We've seen this before, guys, a good 500 come unglued in the pit lane.
[crew chief] You are five, four, three, two, one.
We are making a front wing adjustment.
[announcer] No word yet if Kyle Larson did speed on Pit Road.
[crew chief] Go, go, go. Clear out.
[announcer] Kyle Larson does indeed get a penalty here.
He will have to come down Pit Road.
He's gonna have to drive through for speeding, Kevin.
We have a drive through.
That just fuck our race?
[announcer] Meanwhile, Kyle Larson will serve that drive through
penalty coming this time.
[announcer 2] He's 21st at the moment. One lap off the lead lap.
Give me your last thoughts here as we're 3/4 of the way...
[mellow instrumental music]
Tyler, let him know that Rossi and O'Ward have a shot to win here,
so we just need to hold our position.
Rossi and O'Ward have a shot to win here.
So, hold your position.
[Kyle] You're in the back. You can't pass back there.
I was not gonna try and force the issue on the guy in front of me
and cause a crash and hurt a teammate's chance of winning.
So, I'll just settle in here and try to be a spectator.
I was trying to watch the big screen and stuff.
You know, I'm back there fiddlin' around in 18th.
I could tell Pato was battling. I was hoping he could win.
[man over PA] White flag!
[cheers]
[announcer] Pato goes to the lane!
Pato O'Ward to the front off of turn two!
Come on!
[announcer] Josef Newgarden around the outside of Pato O'Ward!
Oh, my goodness!
[Kyle] And then, I saw on the big screen
that Josef was celebrating. I was bummed for Pato.
[crew chief] Hey, good job today, Kyle.
I know it's not the result we wanted but you did a really good job.
You completed all the laps. Super proud of you, of the effort.
[Kyle] Yeah, I'm sorry, guys.
Thanks for all the effort.
[crew chief] Good job, buddy. Way to go.
Good luck with the rest of your day.
[instrumental music]
Sorry, guys.
[Jeff] Man, you were crushin' it.
- It was going well till then. Sorry. - I know.
Great run, man.
Yeah, it sucks.
I found out Kyle Larson's human after all.
Yeah. [chuckles]
Yeah, I fucked that up.
[Rick] There's a big storm comin'.
Wind gusts of 60 miles an hour and penny-sized hail.
That's not good.
[announcer] Justin Allgaier has done exactly what this team needed him to do.
Keep that car on the lead lap, keep us in the game
till Kyle Larson gets here. And he's not far away.
[Justin] You know Kyle's gonna get in this thing
and he's just gonna blizz right through the field.
I'm tellin' ya, the car's that good.
[tool whirs]
Larson comes out, you get ready to pit the car.
[helicopter blades whipping]
[announcer] I see a helicopter coming. There's Larson.
Larson's landing at the track, just so you know.
[crew chief] Four tires goin' on the deck.
[announcer 2] We believe that is Kyle Larson's golf cart.
I recognize that driver's seat.
[cheering]
[man] We just had lightning. I assume it's gonna stop raining.
[announcer] There he is.
Boy, you couldn't have timed this any better with weather, a caution...
[announcer 2] Kyle's in the pit stall. He's not suited up yet.
We did just have lighting.
They haven't delayed anything yet.
[announcer] I think I just heard a lightning strike call.
That means these cars will come down to Pit Road.
[Cliff] This will be a lightning call, right?
[man] Yes.
[Cliff] What's up? Good. How's it goin'?
- I've been better. - Yeah.
For sure.
[rain pounding]
[announcer 2] Right now, we are under a lightning delay.
Well, lightning in the area,
and 249 laps complete in the Coca-Cola 600.
[thunder crashing]
[woman] I'm assuming that they're drying it.
Yeah, just whenever the track's dry, we'll get back on.
Hundred and fifty laps, so...
More laps than I thought I'd get.
Just wanted to run both races.
[newscaster 2] Jet dryers are out in full force,
and they're working to get this track dry,
even as we still see lightning in the distance.
So folks, we're not done yet.
[Kyle] Yeah, I'm not feeling too great about the weather.
And then, the weather hits, and then, I'm like, dang.
Like, that sucks.
And like, oh, they're trying to dry it. I didn't think they'd do that.
Then, I'm like super excited. Like, super happy.
It's like, all right, now I have a chance to go, like, redeem myself.
And I don't know, we sat there for like an hour.
Looking out, the track looked like it was 30 minutes from being ready.
And then, they called it.
So, that's it?
Jesse, we're done.
They just called it. We're done.
[solemn instrumental music]
Same storm that fucked me in Indy, fucked me in Charlotte, so.
Guys, I'm bummed.
I'm very, very thankful for the experience.
Obviously, like, I mean, it's everything about the two weeks.
All that was great until today. So, just, uh...
- it's sad. Hey, congrats. - [driver] Thank you.
Uh, yeah, it's just sad. You know, like...
Just mad at myself, mad at the situation.
Just, uh... [chuckles]
I don't know, man. It's sad.
[Katelyn] Yeah, after they canceled the race,
I woke up to a tweet, which I didn't know he was on his phone.
Do you want me to read it? He just said,
"What I thought could be one of the best days of my life
quickly turned into one of the most disappointing ones I've ever experienced.
I hate it for Rick Hendrick, Jeff Gordon, the Five Team,
everyone on the 17 Indy car, my family, my friends, my fans.
So much time, money, and effort went into this experience,
and it just kills me to have it all end the way it did.
I feel like I let so many people down.
I hope it's not the last opportunity I have to try the Double,
but if it is, I guess it was a memorable one.
KL."
With a sad face.
Yeah, that was tough.
I don't think anything could really help him at that moment.
Yeah.
[solemn orchestral music]
[Kyle] I think I've been dwelling on it more than like, the rest of the world has.
I just didn't feel like I could make everybody happy in that moment,
and I like making people happy.
So, it had me not feeling great.
[newscaster 3] As we sit here, NASCAR still has yet to make a decision
on whether they're going to grant Kyle Larson a waiver.
[sportscaster] Should Kyle Larson be given a waiver
for missing one of the biggest NASCAR races of the year,
when he was the points leader going into this race?
Absolutely not.
Sorry. Larson chose,
he chose to not show up to work on Sunday.
A little bit of a breathing exercise here.
See if we can reduce some of that tension in the neck.
- Does that feel comfortable? - Yeah.
[therpist] Just close your eyes and try to relax.
[Jeff] Kyle doesn't change, right. He's just always level.
He doesn't celebrate the moment for long,
and he doesn't dwell on the past or the difficult times much.
But that was the first time I've ever seen Kyle truly upset.
and feeling the weight of, through his eyes,
how he let down his team and NASCAR.
That was, you know, that was a tough moment.
[distant race cars running]
[announcer] ...Kyle Larson. Larson, here comes a slider
for the race lead. Kyle Larson to the top spot...
...got together on turn four...
...laps to go...
Kyle Larson at the Indy 500 last week
and a week later, he's gonna come off of turn number four
and win a Kubota High Level sprint car event at Lawrenceburg Speedway.
[Katelyn] He always tries to find the blame in himself first.
But I think that's also what helps him get over it quickly.
'Cause he's always got the next race and distraction.
But yeah, his schedule definitely is really hard
to get him to always be around for the kids.
But I also think there's a lot of people out there that...
don't know us, that in, like, 2020, when, um...
he made his mistake.
That was a big turning point in our...
I think, in our lives, mature-wise,
marriage-wise, family-wise.
[whirring]
[newscaster 4] Kyle Larson, the 28-year-old six-time NASCAR winner
is one of the sport's rising stars.
But Larson was heard using the N-word
while speaking on headset during a virtual racing event.
[Kyle] You can't hear me?
Hey, N*****...
[racer] Kyle, you're talkin' to everyone, bud.
[interviewer] Are you okay talking about what happened?
- Sure. - [interviewer] Okay, so,
tell us what happened in 2020.
Uh, so, yeah, early in 2020, um, COVID happened.
And um, yeah, so we, like, the sport was kind of,
the world was in a weird stage, but our sport, too.
And we were doin' lots of virtual racing.
Just said something really immature and stupid,
um, on there, uh, on the chat
that I didn't know was public at the time.
Um, which doesn't matter.
[newscaster 5] An iRacing comment of Kyle Larson's
has led to his being dropped by Chip Ganassi Racing.
You know, last night, I made a mistake
and said the word that should never, ever be said.
And um, you know, there's no excuse for that.
You know, I wasn't raised that way.
I was disappointed in Kyle.
because, you know, I'm not racist.
And he's not, either.
If racing with NASCAR were to not be in your future,
would that be too steep a price to pay for you?
I don't think it'd be too steep of a price to pay.
You know, what I said was extremely hurtful.
And I would fully understand if I was never allowed
to race another NASCAR race again.
That was hard. Yeah.
It was hard. I usually see him, uh, cry happy tears.
But to see that...
in like, a different aspect, and like, the disappointment,
and the instant how sorry he felt.
Yeah, it was hard.
Everything that happened, you know, with me losing my job,
or sponsors, or my name, at the time, being tainted, like...
yeah, I thought it was, it was all justified.
[newscaster 6] Only a few years ago,
people thought Kyle Larson would be the next Jeff Gordon.
Now, he's facing the toughest moment of his career.
It was just a whirlwind. Yeah, I mean, you're...
making...
great money, at the time, for you know, however old I was,
27, or so.
to like, making no money. So, it was like, "oh, shit."
And so, we had to sell a lot of stuff.
You had to quickly, you know, figure out what I was gonna do.
Um, went and started racing,
uh, every day, basically, in sprint cars.
Three months on the road.
Yo.
[gentle guitar music]
[Kyle] We had Owen, who was six, and Audrey was two-and-a-half, or so,
plus the two kittens, you know,
driving down the road in our motor home.
[Katelyn] A man and his family.
We learned a lot that year.
We learned how to unhook the truck and hook the truck up every time.
We learned how to...
dump the shitter.
[Kyle] I don't know. I went from racin' on Sundays
to now, I'm sleepin' in Walmart parking lots.
We just have like, a nice routine, you know.
We're just spending nice quality time together.
Katelyn was selling the merchandise at the race tracks,
and I was winning at least half the races I ran.
[small crowd cheers]
I still wish it wouldn't have happened.
Like, I wish I would've been more mature,
for it to not, you know, happen.
But, you know, you can't ever take things back.
Just that whole six month period, probably,
you know, I grew up a ton in that, that window.
[whirring]
[woman 2] Again, one of the hottest topics of the week,
for the past two weeks, is the fact that Larson still has not received a waiver.
I don't understand how we haven't already just given this guy a waiver.
Uh, it's Kyle Larson.
[reporter chuckles]
The guy's doin' more for motor sports than anybody else.
Probably some industry angst over, you know,
when things got tough what got prioritized.
As of now, it seems as though,
uh, you know, he's gonna have to sweat it for a little bit.
[engines rev]
[Katelyn] I think we're currently going through it.
He's annoyed, but is he gonna go get fired up about it? No.
That is just not Kyle.
I think the fact that Kyle has that zen personality,
you don't see it.
Hey. There's Owen.
[announcer 7] The Owen Larson, the son of Kyle Larson, that orange 01,
same thing his dad raced when he first started racing these,
all a few years back over in California.
Feels like one of those nights.
Hey, why are you gettin' all this attitude?
- You just gotta-- - He's fine.
- He can be frustrated. - Yeah, I know.
You can be frustrated, but you gotta know that--
- You can't give up. - You can't give up.
Like, I've seen Dad start in the back of races,
spin out, like 20 laps to go...
And he comes through the field. I'm not like that.
[Katelyn] But how do you know if you don't try?
[Kyle] You can do it. I'm frustrated like you, but I don't quit.
You know what he does? He wants to race more,
so that he gets better.
Right?
I've been expressing to Kyle that Owen really needs his dad
just like he needed his dad growing up.
And watching his dad, you know, work in the garage.
Knowing that his dad would always be there for him
and the whole family. And I said that it's really important,
Kyle, you to be there for him.
So, Kyle is definitely trying to take more time.
All right, don't waste any time.
Tear this thing up if you have to, okay?
[engine rumbling]
[Kim] I'm Kim Coon with breaking news from the NASCAR Cup Series.
NASCAR has announced it has granted a waiver to Kyle Larson
for missing the Coca-Cola 600 after the driver failed to start the event
while running the weather delayed Indianapolis 500.
Yeah, I'm appreciative of it, for sure.
And I look forward to getting through this week
and hopefully, just after this press conference,
I don't have to talk about waivers again.
[cheering]
[man over PA] ...Kyle Larson!
[announcer 2] As we are getting ready for the start
of the Brickyard 400 from Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
[engines revving]
[announcer] Kyle Larson certainly happy to be back on the oval here in Indianpolis.
It almost just felt meant to be in the way that the race played out.
I was just like, man. It was just like something,
somebody from above was like, it is his day.
For everything he went through in May,
he deserves to win this right here. This team deserves to win this race.
[announcer] Kyle Larson on lap 123, and he has been passing several cars.
[Kyle] I found this move, I definitely say I probably learned from Indy car stuff,
So, I was able to start snickering people and tricking people,
really getting my way to the front.
[announcer] Up to third for Larson.
[Kyle] But we got some late cautions...
[announcer 2] Oh, we've got a caution to come out to the aid of Kyle Busch.
[announcer] Now, with the caution coming out,
there's gonna be overtime.
The opportunity to win one of the crown jewels of NASCAR.
[Kyle] We lined up for the double file restart
I knew Brad Keselowski was gonna be really close on fuel
'cause he'd been leading and burning the most fuel.
I kind of felt like my only hope of winning
was to choose whatever lane he did
and hope he ran out of fuel under caution.
Like, we're coming into turn four, I'm like, damn, he's not gonna run out.
So now, I'm in trouble. All of a sudden, he pulls left.
And I'm like, what the heck? Okay.
[announcer 2] And he's out, he's out.
So, the five move forward into the front row. It's overtime.
Blaney on the outside, Larson on the inside.
Green flag back in the air.
Great launch for Larson.
Larson easily by Blaney.
[announcer] Now, can Larson hold off Reddick?
[announcers] Oh!
[announcer 2] Spinner on the back stretch. They stay green.
Larson in front. Reddick running second.
Larson's gonna do it.
Larson is gonna win the Brickyard 400!
[crew chief] Brickyard 400, baby! Hell, yeah!
[instrumental music]
[cheering]
[reporter] Did this make up for the month of May that you had this year, Kyle,
when you left very disappointed?
[laughs] It does.
You know, I think everything just comes full circle,
and everything's meant to be. And it's just surreal to win here.
And I can't wait to kiss these bricks with my team,
my family, my friends, everybody. My parents are here.
[crowd cheering]
I would've liked to have done it in May, but this is a nice substitute.
Little redemption.
Get it back.
Just gotta keep our fingers crossed that he gets to do the 500 one more time.
- Hey, man. How ya doin'? - [Kyle] What's up, boss?
- Good to see ya. - Nice to see you.
Good to see you, man. Lookin' good.
[Jeff] We're not in trouble, are we?
Anytime you call a meeting, we're not sure.
No, I had a couple of things I wanted to talk to you about.
Listen, I've been thinkin' about it, and, uh,
we didn't finish the job at Indy.
But I want to do it again.
But there's some conditions.
- All right. - [Rick] Okay?
No matter what, NASCAR is first.
- Mm-hmm. - [Rick] So...
if you're leading the race,
and we have a designated time we have to leave,
then you gotta stop.
- Yep. - [Rick] Can you do that?
I can definitely do that.
[Rick] Yeah, I think it's fair to Cliff and the team, too.
It's just hard. It was hard to, uh,
yeah, see it all kinda crumble.
It was such a great opportunity,
and we just didn't get a chance to finish it.
- Yeah. - [Rick] It's a shame
not to finish the deal.
[Kyle] I don't know where my life would be, you know, without Rick.
He was really the only one, you know, in 2020,
that was willing and able to take a chance on me.
[whirring]
[announcer] Kyle Larson, the 29 year old from Elk Grove, California, on pole.
He could be the favorite to claim his first Cup Series championship.
A year and a half ago, it would have been hard to imagine
Kyle Larson being in this position.
He was reinstated by NASCAR for 2021,
and given a second chance by Rick Hendrick.
I had to be careful. You know, I wouldn't do something
that would hurt our company, our name, our brand.
But after seeing what he was doing, and, uh, how much...
I mean, he just laid his heart out for everybody.
When I looked at that, I thought, you know, hey,
you know, this... Everybody deserves a second chance.
I think he came in wanting to prove himself in multiple ways.
You know, kind of rectifying his mistake,
and wanting to showcase his true character.
I don't think any of us expected the year to turn out the way that it did.
[announcer] Kyle Larson wins the Coca-Cola 600.
Kyle Larson wins Las Vegas.
Kyle Larson wins in Sonoma.
Three wins in a row.
Larson's gonna win in Bristol!
[Katelyn] Every race I went to, I feel like he won.
And like, it was the amount of distance he put between him and the competition.
It was like domination. That was the best for me.
[crowd cheers]
[Kyle] Little over a year prior, I didn't think I would even be back in NASCAR.
And then, to have the season that we did. Then, it come down to one race.
Like, it's just, I don't know, it was really special.
[Cliff] Phoenix championship. This must be the pit stop.
So, we actually came down Pit Road fourth.
And man, our pit crew nailed it.
[announcer] Lawson's spot on the last stop.
They have been the best throughout the playoffs.
Let's see if they can deliver here. And they do!
Kyle Larson lead on a close drag race.
Gained three spots for Larson there. Incredible.
[announcer 2] That's it. The move of the race so far. It was a lucky break.
Amazing pit stop, and then, we just had that track position advantage,
I think for the final 30 laps.
[announcer] Down the back stretch for the final time.
Kyle Larson, a year ago, watched the race from North Carolina.
Today, he's a Cup Series champion!
[Kyle] Oh, my God, guys!
Yes!
Pit crew, this is all on you guys.
Unbelievable. You guys are the best.
Thank you! Thanks, Cliff! Thanks, everybody!
Every piece of our team was important that day.
And we won. And I couldn't believe,
like where we had come as a family,
and yeah, I just remember being overcome with emotion.
[crew chief] I see you.
You better be crying, boy.
[mellow instrumental music]
[overlapping chatter]
[reporter 2] Kyle, he mentioned the phrase "unfinished business."
You're going to do this again. What are your goals and expectations now,
knowing what you learned this last time?
I would say my goal's to complete 1,100 miles.
[chuckles] Um, it was really cool
to do the Indy 500. But yeah,
to me, it's all about getting that 1,100 miles.
[mellow instrumental music]
Is there anything else different besides these lights compared to last year?
No.
How's that feel?
I think everything feels normal.
I like it. A lot nicer than last year.
Yeah, no, it looks good.
[shutter clicking]
Really, the easiest part of the decision was the story's not finished.
[instrumental music continues]
[announcer] Kyle Larson about to become the third winningest driver
for Hendrick Motor Sports
behind Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson.
For his 30th career win,
Kyle Larson wins in Homestead.
- [Kyle] Hey, guys. - [man] How are you?
Good.
One of the big questions we want to answer, button layout,
is deploy and manual re-jump.
Sure, whatever. [chuckles] Just more going on now.
Yep.
[announcer] Kyle Larson dominates and wins Bristol.
I'll tell you what. That five car is a rocket ship.
[announcer 2] Live at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway
for today's Indianapolis 500 open test.
- Hey, how are ya? - I'm Jeremy.
Jeremy? Kyle.
- So, you're on my team this year? - Yep.
[Kyle] Okay, cool.
[engine revs]
[crew chief] Aw, we crashed.
- [Tony] Welcome to the club. - [laughs]
Again, it happens.
I feel like shit that I fucked up.
Hey, better today.
Yes, it is the best thing to do.
Yeah, yeah.
[plane whooshes]
[commentator 2] See the rubber comin' off that right front?
Here he comes off turn four. He's gonna make it to the line.
Kyle Larson. He beat Christopher Bell.
[Kyle] I could do this all day, all day.
[announcer] Kansas; check.
[cheering]
[announcer 4] Practice here at IMS for the 109th Indy 500 begins.
Oh, that was better.
Well, so far, the weather forecast looks better than it did last year.
So, uh, I would say, you know, chances are definitely better.
But still they're two tough races...
[airplane whooshes]
[crowd cheering]
[announcer 4] Welcome to the racing capital of the world.
There is nothing on Earth like qualifying for the Indy 500.
Kyle Larson leading NASCAR Cup Series in points
attempting to do the Double.
Over the line! It is a 231.326 narrowly outside.
It does at least get him out of the danger zone.
I gotta go to this debrief.
Okay. We're gonna eat dinner.
[fan 2] You're a legend, sir.
- I hope you win Sunday, Kyle. - Thanks.
[Katelyn] Audrey, you comin'?
I think there's a lot of pressure on all of us.
We've been doing quite well.
The expectations of everybody here is to win,
but don't forget about this place
can really take a big toll on anyone.
[crowd cheering]
[helicopter whirring]
[Kyle] As I'm taking off, you know, in the helicopter...
looking down at the track just, you know, really disappointed.
Can't believe that it's going the way that it is.
[crowd cheering]
[announcer 2] Kyle Larson, he's got to head to Charlotte really soon,
but we've had some rain drops.
He has about a 40 minute window if the race is delayed.
Beyond that, he's going to have to abort.
Ah, damn, man, we just cannot catch a break.
So you know, worst case scenario is we can be out of here at 4:30.
Four-thirty is the deadline.
We don't want to tell people that.
No, no, of course.
[crew chief] So, just for your information right now, we're about 20 minutes behind.
I don't know if it's the right thing to do, Mike, but tell him.
- I think it completely is. - Yeah.
'Cause you know he's thinkin' about it, so, might as well help him.
[Kyle] The weather is just pissin' enough
that it's like, you know, we can't start the race.
Now it's delayed at 45 minutes.
So, I'm frustrated and checkin' my watch. 'Cause I knew all along,
you're only gonna have like 45 minutes tops of delay.
I knew we were right to the edge of it.
I mean, he's gonna start no matter what,
it's just whether or not we have to pull him out.
You know? So...
we just gotta get the green and go and see what happens.
[whirring]
'Kay, Kyle, they just gave us an update.
It should be five minutes till we're starting engines.
Let's go.
- He's getting a little anxious. - Yes, he is.
Just have to go.
Drivers, start your engines!
- [crowd cheers] - [engines rev]
[crew chief] 'Kay, Kyle, it's gonna be green next time by.
Green, green, green. We are green.
Still there?
Clear.
[Kyle] Just, damn. Like, [scoffs] you idiot.
The first opportunity in the race, you just fuck it up.
[crew chief] 'Kay, Kyle, this is yellow for conditions.
Pits are open. Three, two, one.
[tools whirring]
[indistinct chatter]
Fire it up with the... with the hybrid.
P2 and then the switch above... the switch above the brake bias.
[Kyle] This thing is in neutral.
[announcer 4] There's problems for Larson as well in the 17, the McLaren.
Tryin' to get that car restarted.
Rock the car.
Rock the car?
Kyle can you do a divert?
[engine revs]
[crew chief] Hey, Kyle, there on that it looked like
we didn't hold the throttle long enough.
[Kyle] Yeah, I think I ended up in second gear, too,
'cause I heard the tone and I shifted, but I wasn't sure it went into first.
And I hit it again and went into second.
Yep, copy that. No worries, still a long race.
We're only on lap 25.
[airplane whooshes]
[Kyle] You know, when you make a mistake,
big or small, like, it's not good to live in that too long.
You just get refocused.
[crew chief] Outside... clear.
[distant] Brake three, brake three.
Outside, still there. Clear.
[announcer] He's gone to minus 8 on the jacker.
[crew chief] Green, we are green.
Outside, outside, out--
[announcer] We got a spinner.
Kyle Larson!
[announcer 4] Larson hits Gibson.
[announcer] I think Sting Ray Robb was caught up in that, as well.
[announcer 4] It is game over for Larson.
And that is the Double, done and dusted.
[Kyle] I was just too close to the guy in front of me.
Where if I had just given three more feet of space,
you know, it probably would've been fine.
I had moved on enough that I was in a fresh headspace for the 600.
And happy for a new opportunity to kinda make up
for what was so bad at Indy.
Here to introduce number five, Kyle Larson. Whoo!
[man over PA] And starting on the pole tonight...
Good luck, Kyle.
[overlapping chatter]
Seriously, like, way to be a warrior.
- Thank you. - It's frickin' awesome.
Yeah. You know how many people try to do it?
- So, like, seriously, a lot of respect. - [Kyle] Thanks.
[man 2 over PA] Gentlemen...
[group of men] Start your engines!
[crowd cheers]
[engines rev]
He's locked in.
Roll up along here.
Don't push it, don't push.
[announcer] It's go time.
Look at Larson. Straight out of that Indy car
right into the stock car here at NASCAR.
On the throttle. Gonna lead lap one.
[crew chief] Puts you in 19th, on the three.
You're now on the three.
Still on the three.
[announcer] It amazes me how quickly
Larson gets acclimated to this stock car.
You know, battle for the lead on lap one.
He's trying to take the lead from his teammate.
[announcer 2] I've never seen any athlete with a shorter memory
than Kyle Larson. He can forget adversity like that.
And here he is, once again,
pulling with a little bit of wiggle in front of Byron.
Kyle Larson continues to lead.
Doin' good, nice and smooth. Coming to lap 30 at the line.
Just hit the wall.
[Kyle] I feel like something's messed up but I'm not sure.
We don't see anything obvious.
[announcer] There goes Kyle Larson sliding off the corner.
First caution of the night.
[crew chief] Keep it straight.
[announcer 5] Kyle Larson, he spun out there on his own on lap 43
with a four second lead.
[announcer 2] Kinda broke my heart, you know.
[Kyle] I obviously didn't hit anything there, but...
I did hit the wall pretty hard. Sorry.
[Cliff] Nothing to be sorry about, man.
This time, we're gonna pit, and then may not pit again,
and work on the car itself.
[Kyle] Okay.
Get out of the fuckin' way!
Lookin' left, watch this guy.
Keep comin' along. Good.
We're gonna change tires and you're gonna stay in your stall.
All right, swap over. Pit crew, swap over.
Road crew, go. Raise the hood if you're going to.
Kyle, be ready to turn the wheels.
- Everything from the right rear. - Okay.
Nothin'? You good? Back away.
Should've given a tough job.
All right, you're good, Kyle. Go.
[engine revs]
Is there anything you want to do right now?
I have no idea what to do.
- Honestly. - Yeah.
[Kyle] Feels like it's kinda floaty down the straightaway.
When we pit, we're probably gonna make three pit stops under this caution.
You're gonna stay in the stall. We're gonna work on it.
Check the rear, check the rear.
[man] Pace car entry to Pit Road.
You don't have time, you gotta go. Pull away, pull away.
One outside, one outside.
We don't know about the rear, right?
We're pitting again.
Keep coming, keep coming.
[announcer 2] They're workin' on this five car.
Every time they come down Pit Road, they'll do this.
Tryin' to get this car where they have a shot to win this race.
[Cliff] We're gonna pit again.
Don't slide 'em. Right here on the side.
Workin' on front tow.
[announcer 5] They came down with the entire field,
worked on it, did not get it where it needed to be.
So, the third time Kyle Larson on Pit Road to fix that toe.
[Cliff] Clear, go, go.
Lights all the way here.
All in. Where are you? Two rounds?
Round and a half, probably.
That is so much.
[Cliff] We think we're right.
And we know this car is tough. We just gotta battle our way back.
Outside. Bottom three. Still bottom three. Still bottom three.
[announcer 3] Before the spin, the laptimes are there.
They'll settle in. Long race. He wants to make it a show for us tonight.
[Cliff] I see what you're fighting. I see it.
[announcer] Larson just got back on the lead lap.
Still out there, quarter. All clear, all clear.
[instrumental music]
[announcer] Restart here with 57 to go. Stage three.
[crew chief] You're about halfway through.
About half. You're good.
[indistinct radio chatter]
[announcer] Oh, big wreck!
[crew chief] Watch it, watch it.
Whoa, whoa.
[announcer] More cars getting contact there.
[announcer 2] Huge crash. The five, the seven.
[announcer] Wow.
[Kyle] I don't know if I've got a broken suspension or a flat.
I think we're just gonna go to the garage. Let's just DVP area.
Let's go get it rebuilt.
Pull to the garage straight through.
[crew chief] In our garage stall.
[turns off engine]
[Cliff] Officially done. We're done, guys. We're done.
[solemn music]
[distant chatter]
[Kyle] I can't believe that it's real.
You're just hopeful that you're gonna wake up from some dream,
and you get to start the day all over.
I've been thinking about this for a long time,
and preparing for it,
and I just completely choked away the day.
I wouldn't say it's the worst, you know, experience that I've had,
or feeling.
You know, I would say...
2020, you know, uh, when I got in trouble,
that was by far the worst I ever felt about myself.
I just wanted to be perfect, you know, for everybody.
Um...
And when I say perfect, I don't mean, like, winning, either.
I just, you know, some solid finishes
to, you know, you know, make everybody at Hendrick happy.
I wanted this, you know, documentary to go great
and have a happy ending,
and paint this beautiful picture and stuff.
So, I think, like, after not, you know, doing a good job, it's just like, ugh.
You know?
It's just, I don't know, just the weight and the pressure, I guess.
[engine revving in distance]
[Kyle] I'll try out on the bottom.
And like, you can run the top behind me.
So, you know how the clutch feels when you take off?
Like, when you take off from here and [imitates engine revving]
and it goes.
It's the same thing, you're just going a little bit faster.
- Just let it go. - Yeah.
We'll just keep doing starts.
Okay?
I don't mind it being a sad...
documentary. I think it's good.
I think it's good to show
that it's tough. Like, what I do is tough.
And is not always... It's not always perfect.
[instrumental music]
[Kyle] I wouldn't call the whole experience a failure,
I get that question often.
Like, why would I go risk my reputation in doing the Double
and failing, if you want to call it that.
I mean, how many race car drivers are there in the world?
And how many have had the courage to try and do both?
I mean, I regret making the mistakes that I made on the track,
but I don't regret anything.
You know, that's just kinda how I think racers are.
It's like we're drug addicts, honestly.
You know, I think, like, why do I race you know, as much as I do?
My kids are gettin' to a great age where I don't want to miss out on everything.
It's hard. It's really hard.
But win one race, and then,
you just become addicted again. It's fuckin' pumpin' in my veins.
[chuckles]
[instrumental music]
[announcer 4] Incredible day, incredible scenes.
[announcer] And the 33-year-old from Elk Grove, California
Kyle Larson comes to the line and is a two-time champion.
[Kyle] Yeah! Let's go, team! Let's go!
I can't believe it!
Way to go, champ!
[cheering]
[reporter 3] You guys have been very vocal about all the adversity this year.
Does that make championship number two a little bit sweeter?
Oh, no doubt, 100%.
I can't believe it. I feel like I'm in some sort of dream right now,
and I'm gonna wake up and I'm gonna be upset.
It's okay, you can pinch yourself because you are indeed
a two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion.
[instrumental music]