Kyle Larson crashes out of Brickyard 400 early

NASCAR Cup Series driver Kyle Larson. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Kyle Larson crashes out of Brickyard 400 early

By Samuel Stubbs | Last updated Jul 26, 2026 3:17 PM ET

A lap after his team told him to start pushing the pace, Kyle Larson crashed out of Sunday's Brickyard 400 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Larson, who had already made his first pit stop of the race earlier in Stage 1, hit the wall in Turn 2 on Lap 44, saying over the radio that he blew a left-rear tire.

Larson took a vicious hit into the outside wall, leaving crew chief Cliff Daniels stunned in the pit box.

Kyle Larson's Brickyard 400 ends early

Larson, who is the defending Cup Series champion and won the 2024 Brickyard 400, entered Sunday's race on a 45-race winless streak dating back to Kansas in May 2025.

There's trouble in Turn 3!@KyleLarsonRacin spins and gets into the wall. pic.twitter.com/sO5CSfXqfO
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) July 26, 2026

After starting the summer with four consecutive top-five finishes, Larson will have four straight finishes of 15th or worse, with three of those being results outside of the top 30. Larson will finish the Brickyard 400 last (39th).

Larson was set to take the race lead after Corey Heim and several other drivers who were staying out came down pit road for service. The two-time champion is likely to take a big hit in the points standings. Larson came into Indianapolis sixth in the standings, 18 points back of fifth-place Chase Elliott and only 60 points ahead of 12th-place William Byron.

Samuel Stubbs

Hailing from the same neck of the woods as NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin, Samuel has been covering NASCAR for Yardbarker since February 2024. He has been a member of the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) since October of 2024. When he’s not writing about racing, Samuel covers Arkansas Razorback basketball for Yardbarker

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