After Indy Disappointment, Kyle Larson Pulls the Plug on His Australian Excursion as Well

Neha Dwivedi | 03/06/2025
Arrow McLaren driver Kyle Larson (17) is seen talking in the garage area after a crash on Lap 91 on Sunday, May 25, 2025, during the 109th running of the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Kyle Larson, renowned for both his consistent NASCAR performances and his versatility across the racing spectrum — whether in sprint cars, stock cars, or IndyCars — was ready to make his Supercars debut this year. However, the sting of his recent double-duty disappointment, after crashing early in both the Indy 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 races, seems to have dented his confidence and prompted him to shelve the Australian series plan for now.

While he hasn’t ruled out a future attempt, Larson has hit the brakes for the time being. He was set to take on the Supercars challenge as a wildcard with PremiAir Racing and tackle the circuit’s speedway aboard a Jason Pryde Motorsport sprint car. Yet, the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion has now informed key stakeholders that he won’t proceed with the plan.

Although Larson has not explicitly detailed the reasons behind his withdrawal, his recent comments downplaying the prospect of another double-duty attempt next year suggest a similar rationale. He hinted at his decision to step back from Supercars during Nashville.

He said to Kelly Crandall, “I don’t know, I mean it’s… I’d like to race, it would be fun. It’s just again, it’s a lot that goes into it, logistically. It’s even tougher probably than doing Indy.

“You have to be down there for probably two or three weeks, and it’s around holiday season, just fresh off our Cup season. I mean maybe, maybe for sure. If not this year, down the road another time.”

When pressed by Crandall on whether Larson was still in the ‘exploratory’ phase to make a decision, Larson simply replied, “Yeah.” PremiAir Racing still has a car ready should it find another Chevrolet star willing to take the plunge, or should it decide to chase the dream at all.

 

Larson’s decision has blindsided those involved in the project, which had been an open secret and was going to be officially announced next week. It marks the second consecutive year that a NASCAR star had been lined up for Adelaide only to withdraw, following Kyle Busch’s abandoned wildcard effort last year when the RCR driver was to pilot a Triple Eight Camaro backed by Peter Adderton’s MobileX.

The Adelaide event stands alone as the only Supercars race held outside the 36-race NASCAR Cup Series calendar, making it the lone realistic window for a crossover attempt. Larson, who had previously expressed excitement about contesting the Adelaide Supercars and Sprintcar events, had labeled it as his next big “bucket list” challenge as recently as late April.

Meanwhile, speculation has surfaced about potential interest from Ford teams or drivers. For now, however, the Supercars-NASCAR crossover will remain a one-way street, with Will Brown and Jack Perkins preparing for cameo appearances at Chicago and Portland, respectively.

Post Edited By: Abhishek Ramesh
Kyle Busch Kyle Larson

About the author

Neha Dwivedi

Neha Dwivedi is an experienced NASCAR Journalist at The SportsRush, having penned over 5500 articles on the sport to date. She was a seasoned writer long before she got into the world of NASCAR. Although she loves to see Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Busch win the races, she equally supports the emerging talents in the CARS Late Model and ARCA Menards Series.. For her work in NASCAR she has earned accolades from journalists like Susan Wade of The Athletic, as well as NASCAR drivers including Thad Moffit and Corey Lajoie. Her favorite moment from NASCAR was witnessing Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. win the championship trophies. Outside the racetrack world, Neha immerses herself in the literary world, exploring both fiction and non-fiction.

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