“I would love to be kissing the bricks” again

In the Brickyard 400, only three drivers have ever on back-to-back Cup races at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Kyle Larson was hoping to become the fourth on Sunday, ending a rough summer stretch for the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.

At one point, it looked like he might as he was slashing away at Bubba Wallace’s advantage in the closing laps of a race, and many thought a late-race caution for rain was going to be beneficial to Larson.

He lined up to the outside of Wallace for two overtime restarts, but he was never able to hold it there as Wallace cleared him before reaching the backstretch every time. After that, Larson could only stay in his draft and hope the No. 23 ran out of fuel. But Wallace managed to save enough, capturing the checkered flag in an emotional victory.

“Nothing you can do”

Watch: Bubba at The Brickyard: Wallace claims Indy thriller, playoff spot

“There’s nothing you can do here (at Indianapolis Motor Speedway) to pass, so no, I don’t really think there was anything I could do differently,” said Larson after his runner-up finish. “I was in second gear on the first restart, and honestly, that one worked out a little bit better, but he almost got clear of me down the front stretch. And then on the second restart, he brought the pace down a little bit slower, so I needed to be in first gear. It was kind of the same thing with me last year – he had the preferred lane on the inside and it’s really hard to beat that.”

Despite the loss, Larson praised his team for putting together a great race from start-to-finish, saying: “I’m proud of my team today. We just executed. I don’t think we passed many cars on track, but our pit crew did a great job and our team did a good job with strategy.”

This result is Larson’s best since winning at Kansas in May, and it’s also his second consecutive top five finish, as the No. 5 team finally turns things around. “I would love to be kissing the bricks for the second year in a row, but it’s been a rough stretch for us lately so to get two top fives in a row is something I’m proud about.”

He also offered his congratulations to Wallace, who snapped a 100-race winless streak with Sunday’s dramatic victory in the Brickyard 400.