NASCAR crew chief says Kyle Larson "ready for tonight" despite Indy 500 disappointment

Larson will become the fifth driver to run the 'Double,' but it certainly hasn't gone the way he hoped it would

Kyle Larson wrecked out of the Indianapolis 500 on Lap 92 of the 200-lap race, spinning out on a restart and collecting two other cars. He finished 27th, leaving the track visibly dejected after a difficult month.

But he has to move past that quickly with NASCAR's longest race directly ahead of him, starting on the outside of the front row for the Coca-Cola 600. During the plane ride, he said in a video message that "more than anything, (just need to) mentally get reset at this point and try to forget about the last hour."

His Hendrick Motorsports crew chief, Cliff Daniels, met with NASCAR on Prime on how Larson deals with the disappointment from Indy while focusing on what he has to do at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

"Luckily, we've had quite a while together in our relationship and just our competitive career," said Daniels. "What makes him so good and so special is just that he races so often and he's able to kind of turn the page. When he has races that end on a high note, he turns the page for the next race (and) likewise if things don't go well like they didn't go well today."

Kyle Larson, Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

Photo by: David Jensen / Getty Images

He spoke with Larson as he made the trip from Indianapolis to Charlotte, saying he poked fun at the driver of the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet and even managed to make him smile.

"I think he's ready for tonight. Obviously, he was disappointed in the way today went but he's still very appreciative of the opportunity, as all are to have the support of Mr. Hendrick and everyone at Hendrick Motorsports."

He went on to say that Larson is no stranger of putting bad races behind him with how often he is driving something, whether it be a World of Outlaws sprint car or an Arrow McLaren Chevrolet in the Indianapolis 500.

"He's not a rookie at that," said Daniels. "And even in our journey together, we've had experiences where he's run a lot of different types of race cars on a Cup weekend. The magnitude and the gravity and just all the prep for Indy is a lot different, (but) we've been trying to provide an environment here so when he's at Indy and he's with the Arrow McLaren guys, he can stay focused on the mission at hand with them ... and providing him a space where he (can come) in with us, get up to speed with us and go do business."

The Coca-Cola 600 is airing exclusively on Prime Video for the first Cup race to air on a streaming platform.