Kyle Larson made amends after receiving a speeding penalty on pit road at the 2024 Indianapolis 500 in May. Larson battled through the field on Sunday afternoon to win the Brickyard 400 for the first time in his career, marking the third crown jewel victory in NASCAR for the Hendrick Motorsports driver.
But Ryan Blaney wasn’t happy with Larson’s time in victory lane. After Brad Keselowski ran out of gas in NASCAR’s first overtime race, Larson was able to get onto the front row and secure the lead coming out of Turn 1. Blaney was furious when he said on the radio that Larson was the “golden boy” of NASCAR. After Larson’s win, he thanked NASCAR, citing posts on social media calling Blaney the “golden boy.”
NASCAR assumed Larson hadn’t missed the restart, so everything was within the rules. Blaney was in a very unlucky situation, and Larson made fun of his comments after the race. All Larson has to do is win the Daytona 500 and win all the crown jewel events in the NASCAR Cup Series.
Kyle Larson discusses winning his first Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis
A pit road mistake cost Kyle Larson a chance to reach the finish line at the 2024 Indianapolis 500 in late May. But in July, he made amends. Larson won the Brickyard 400 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway after a fierce battle late in the race. The driver of the No. 5 car had extra gas, which allowed him to push the car to its limits. After the race, Larson, exiting after his third crown jewel win in NASCAR, was asked where his Brickyard 400 win ranks on his career win list.
It was a great moment for Larson, and he felt that his efforts in the NTT IndyCar Series at the end of May had paid off. “Definitely on top,” Larson said. “You’re right, this is a prestigious place, a hallowed place. It’s just awesome to have the opportunity to race here again on the oval. Great credit to our team, I mean, we never gave up. We had some issues with our pit stops early on. I just fought and dug and it worked. ”
“I can’t thank them enough. Hendrickcars.com, Valvoline, Chevrolet, JINYA Ramen Bar, and the fans at Prime. To the fans in Indiana, I love you, and I know you love me too.”
Larson will enter the Olympic break atop the regular season points standings with four wins. The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion will be the top driver in 2024 and that impression will remain the same. Although Larson did not finish first at the Indianapolis 500, he still had time to train at the Brickyard 400 before the 2025 racing season.
