Dale Earnhardt Jr. airs it out on Kyle Larson, Indy 500, Coke 600 double

Dale Earnhardt Jr. watched as Kyle Larson attempted The Double for the second consecutive season, looking to race and compete in both the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600. As the motorsports world now knows, it did not go swimmingly for the Hendrick Motorsports star.

There was a ton of commentary surrounding Larson’s attempt, and Earnhardt Jr. aired his thoughts on the matter out on the latest episode of his Dale Jr. Download show. While the two-time Daytona 500 champion believes the weekend started with a ton of positive energy, there wasn’t much by the end of Sunday night.

“All the way up until the start of the Indy 500, there was a positive vibe around it,” Earnhardt Jr. stated. “Like, ‘All right, this is going to be cool, (Larson) doing The Double. We’ve got a guy to watch that’s going to do The Double.’ He went out there and he struggled, had a bad run at Indy. There were some pot-shots, in terms of public opinion about it. … Then Larson came to Charlotte and hit the wall, and his day spiraled from there.

” So, there’s this interesting conversation in social media around — there’s people that want to see him do it again. There’s people that are big Larson fans, ‘Hey, you have bad days.’ Then, there’s the other side that’s like, ‘Well, I guess he’s not as good as you say.’ … I will say this. I admire Larson’s ability.

“I admire Larson and anyone who’s willing to be humbled. It takes more balls to be humbled than it does to get in something comfortable and fast. It doesn’t impress me for a guy to get in something that he’s familiar with and go out and kick everybody’s ass. That doesn’t impress me as much as seeing someone get into something they don’t know well, even if they fail. … I’m more impressed by that than anything else.”

While Earnhardt Jr. was impressed with Larson’s tenacity, he expected the NASCAR Cup Series star to have a better go-round in IndyCar. It reminded him of when Kurt Busch notched a top ten during his attempt at the Indianapolis 500, and how difficult the feat truly is.

“I think we expected Larson to do better at Indy, but you could see the signs that it was a struggle this year. … Think about Kurt Busch. Many years ago, he went up there and ran sixth. I don’t think we really appreciated just what Kurt had done,” Earnhardt Jr. added. “We were like, ‘He made it look too easy.’ Now we all think our Cup guys should jump in those cars and run top five. It ain’t that easy.”

Dale Earnhardt Jr. on Kyle Larson, future attempt at The Double: ‘I don’t want him to do it again’

Alas, Larson’s second attempt at The Double didn’t go as bad as his first, as he made it to both races, Earnhardt Jr. is over him looking to accomplish the feat. The NASCAR Hall of Famer would rather see him focus on winning the Coca-Cola 600, which remains one of the crown jewel events in the Cup Series.

“I don’t want him to do it again,” Earnhardt Jr. delineated. “… To me? He hasn’t done The Double. He’s not going to be satisfied until he can get to the finish line with great results in both races. I’m sure that he feels like he didn’t even get close to accomplishing it. You know, he fell far short. So, there’s probably something in there, his competitiveness is probably saying, ‘I’m not satisfied. I’m going to do it again.’

“But the pure logistics of it? The month is a pain in the ass, between Indy and NASCAR. He’s still racing in other Cup races during that first part of the month. He’s still got his real job to do. He has to answer the questions, ‘Which race is more important? What matters more? What happens if this? What happens if that happens?’ It’s like man, it’s just not worth it.”

‘I won’t be that excited about an announcement for him to do it again’

Still, if Larson believes a third time would be the charm, Earnhardt Jr. would sign up to see him attempt it. The novelty might’ve wore off a bit after the last two years though, and the Prime Video analyst simply believes Larson is better suited focusing on Charlotte instead of the added pressure of The Double.

“The cool factor of The Double is still there for me. I still think it’s a cool thing that if you want to give it a shot, give it a shot. But he, in my mind, from a fan standpoint, I won’t be that excited about an announcement for him to do it again,” Earnhardt Jr. proclaimed. “I’ll be more like, ‘Come on, man, let’s go win the 600.’

“… I felt like the dude got there and was smoked. He was absolutely flying in that car. And I think if he’s not at Indy — he busted his ass at the top of three and four, on the bumps. If he’s not at Indy, I think he’s more plugged in, tuned in, more sharp and self aware of all of the things he needs to be careful of and avoid to be able to win a 600 mile race at Charlotte.”

Dale Earnhardt Jr. certainly has a ton of respect for what Kyle Larson attempted over the weekend. What the Hendrick Motorsports star decides for 2026 remains to be seen, but he’ll be hoping for a smoother Sunday afternoon if he returns to Indianapolis on Memorial Day Weekend next year.