NASCAR star Kyle Larson in day-ending wreck to deliver iconic race blow

Kyle Larson's Indy 500 test came to an abrupt halt on Thursday morning, with a messy wreck at Indianapolis.

The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champ is making his second attempt at the Memorial Day Double this year, after last year's effort was ruined by poor weather.

This week saw drivers run several sessions of testing, with some set apart for veterans, rookies on Wednesday before a High Boost session on Thursday morning.

It was in that session when Larson had his first IndyCar wreck, missing the bottom in Turn 1 and pushing high up the track into the wall, hitting square-on but breaking his suspension. After that, he wasn't much more than an energetic passenger before sliding back up the track and hitting the wall in Turn 2 as well.

Larson: I'm happy to crash my first IndyCar

The wreck ended Larson's day after just one completed lap, a massive blow with track time crucial for one of the few Indy 500 entrants who doesn't race in open-wheel cars outside of the key weekend in late May.

Speaking after being released from the infield care facility, he said: "I was starting my qualifying laps there and just got really tight. Just a bunch of understeer through [Turn] 1 and ran out of space off of Turn 1. So yeah, I kind of fought the understeer feeling yesterday and it carried over to today. Honestly, though I'm happy to crash my first IndyCar and live through it.

"But we'll just work on it and try and get the balance more comfortable. Just didn't quite feel like I had the feeling I needed yesterday, and then it really carried over today.

"I think when you're going faster, you know, it really stood out. So yeah, just a bummer. But also encouraging that it didn't feel – I know it wasn't like a big hit or anything – but it didn't feel anything different than what I was expecting."

READ MORE: NASCAR champion Kyle Larson criticized for 'embarrassing' social media post

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