By MICHAEL MAROT

Associated Press

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Kyle Larson survived his first Indianapolis 500 unscathed.

His luck ran out Thursday.

The 2021 NASCAR champion and defending Brickyard 400 winner spun coming out of the first turn on Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s 2.5mile oval, hit the wall, bounced down the track to the warmup lane, then went back up the track and tapped the wall again before his No. 17 Chevrolet rolled to a stop. It was his first IndyCar crash at the venerable Brickyard.

Larson blamed himself for the mistake that ended his second day of open testing for next month’s Indy 500 more than six hours early.

“It was my fault,” he said, noting the team was running in qualifying trim instead of race trim after series officials gave all 32 cars a power boost Thursday. “They have this thing where you hit the weight jacker and then you’ve got to hit it again before you turn in the corner, and I forgot to hit it in the corner. So I have had the understeer like I should have and, unfortunately, got in the wall.”

Larson was checked at the infield hospital before being cleared and released.

Still, it was an inauspicious start as Larson begins his second attempt to complete racing’s marathon double — completing all 1,100 miles of racing at Indianapolis and Charlotte in one day. Last year’s quest was derailed by early rain at Indy, which delayed the start of the 500.

And though he admittedly made some rookie mistakes, he never hit the wall — literally or figuratively — in his car. He qualified fifth after making the nine-driver pole shootout and finished 18th, thanks in part to a penalty for a speed violation in pit lane.

This time, he’s driving the Arrow McLaren car with a hybrid system that carries more weight, which is making its Indy debut. Scott McLaughlin had the fastest lap of the day, topping 236.6 mph with the higher boost. Points leader Alex Palou posted the fastest lap of the day at 223.993 mph when the power was turned down. Felix Rosenqvist was next at 223.366.

Larson acknowledged he needed the track’s refresher course to helped him but noted this car felt different. Yet he managed to post the 11th-fastest lap Wednesday, 223.430 mph.

“It feels a little different kind of handling wise this year,” Larson said. “I don’t know if it’s the hybrid stuff and the weight of that or what I’m feeling, but it feels a little different — not quite the same balance I had last year. So just got to think that through.”

That’s not what caused the crash, nor is it what has caught the attention of racing fans. They want to know whether Larson will return to Indy next year — even if he wins the May 25 race.

The full-time Cup driver hedged when asked Wednesday about his 2026 plans, then clarified Thursday why he may not come back for a while.

“Even before doing this we only ever had plans to do two years of it, so we’ve kind of known all along that I had two opportunities to compete in the 500, which is plenty,” the Hendrick Motorsports driver said. “So we’ll just enjoy it, try to make the most of it and do a good job. Not off to the best start.”

Larson finds himself in good company, though.

Two-time Indy winner Takuma Sato also crashed early in the session, losing the back end of his car in the first turn and smacking the wall hard in the short chute before rolling to a stop. He, too, was checked at the infield hospital and was released. Graham Rahal also tapped the wall lightly with his wheels late in the final minutes Wednesday.

This week’s biggest scare came Thursday when Rinus VeeKay’s car ran out of fuel in traffic, sending several drivers, including four-time 500 champ Helio Castroneves, scrambling to narrowly averting a multicar collision.

And if Larson finds a little more luck next month than he did Thursday, he might complete a different kind of unprecedented double — holding the Indy and Brickyard titles at the same time.

“I don’t ever like to think about like winning,” he said. “Obviously, it would be an amazing feat. Nobody else has done it, I don’t believe, so, yeah, it would be neat to stand on your own on something. But there’s a long way to go for that. I’ve got to get way better.”

Qualifying for the 500 is set for May 17-18. SPIRE MOTORSPORTS RELEASES CREW CHIEF RODNEY CHILDERS AFTER 9 RACES OF NASCAR SEASON CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Spire Motorsports has parted ways with championship-winning crew chief Rodney Childers after only nine races with the team.

Childers, one of the winningest active crew chiefs in the Cup Series, won the 2014 championship with Kevin Harvick at Stewart-Haas Racing. When that team closed at the end of last season, Childers moved to Spire to crew chief Justin Haley.

Through the first nine races of the season, Haley is 23rd in the Cup standings. His best finish this year is 10th at Homestead, but Haley is coming off a 13th-place finish at Bristol, where he scored a season-high 13 stage points.

The decision to release Childers came after NASCAR’s only off weekend of the season. The team announced Thursday that Ryan Sparks, competition director and former crew chief, will be Haley’s crew chief for the rest of this season.

“NASCAR is an ever-evolving sport and the path to improvement isn’t always comfortable,’’ Spire Motorsports co-owner Jeff Dickerson said in a statement. “The break in the Cup Series schedule gave us a chance to evaluate where we are as a program. We took the opportunity to discuss the best paths forward for everyone involved and the team and Rodney agreed that it would be best for us to part ways.

“Rodney has worked at the highest level of our sport for 20 years, and he knows what it takes to win championships. With that in mind, we collectively acknowledged challenges with the team dynamic. Having the right combination of talent is just as important as the results on track. As we move in a new direction it is not lost on us that Rodney has been an invaluable asset to our organization, as he will continue to be for others in this sport.”

Childers addressed his departure on social media, writing: “I know this is a shock. But also know that not everything works out perfect all the time. That’s how life works. This was just one of those things that just wasn’t working for either of us. I appreciate my time at Spire, working with JH and the entire 7 team. We did a lot of good that is yet to be seen, and I wish them the best in the future.”

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