After entering Sunday’s race as one of the favorites, Kyle Larson of Hendricks Racing had a quick exit after sustaining a blown tire going into Turn 3 on lap 45. This marks Larson’s lowest finish at the Brickyard 400 in his NASCAR career.
Larson entered the race in 6th place of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series standings with 616 points and eight top-5 finishes. With that being said, Larson’s Hendricks Racing team has seen similar issues lately with crashes in three of the last four races.
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Here’s how he’s finished in races this month:
7/5 – NASCAR Cup Series, Chicagoland Speedway – 34th
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Larson was in the race’s top three, until he spun into the infield. Poor weather conditions trapped Larson in the mud, losing several laps and requiring a tow.
7/12 – NASCAR Cup Series, EchoPark Speedway, Atlanta (Hampton) – 34th
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Attempting to surge towards the front, Larson slammed into the Turn 2 wall as he attempted to clear Denny Hamlin.
7/19 – NASCAR Cup Series, North Wilkesboro Speedway – 15th
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Larson’s vehicle suffered damaged on the 40th lap, but he climbed back into the mix to finish in the top half of the field.
7/26 – NASCAR Cup Series, Indianapolis Motor Speedway – 39th
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Under unfortunate circumstances at IMS, Larson finished last in the field after racing just 43 laps due to a tire malfunction.
After the accident, Larson took some time to address what went down with the media.
“It’s obviously disappointing,” said Larson. “To go from 10th, to the lead on a good start and race strategy; yeah, set ourselves up well to gain a lot of points there, and also set ourselves up well to maintain that track position the rest of the race. It’s a bummer, but that’s just part of racing.”
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The rest of the Hendricks Racing team didn’t have a whole lot of success either, with zero top-15 finishes. Here’s how Larson’s teammates did:
Chase Elliott – 38th
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Elliott was part of a collision on lap 61, before returning to the race and finishing 119/160 laps
William Byron – 21st
Alex Bowman – 19th
Larson and his team will have an opportunity to bounce back at the Iowa Speedway August 9th, as part of the 23rd race of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series.
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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Kyle Larson exits Brickyard 400 in early crash; 3rd finish of 30th or worse in last 4 races
