Kyle Larson returns to Indianapolis Motor Speedway this week with great memories of his last time there in a stock car.

His last time there in a race car? Not so great memories.

Larson wrecked out of the Indianapolis 500 — his third wreck at the track in a span of six weeks — for a premature end to what he had hoped would be a day of 1,100 miles of racing at both Indianapolis and Charlotte on Memorial Day weekend.

But as he plans to step into the Hendrick Motorsports car this weekend for the Brickyard 400, he enters as the defending winner of the Cup event on the famed oval.

So will he drive through the tunnel and think of good memories of a year ago or about the frustration of May?

“Both,” Larson told me. “I’m happy to be going back to Indy. We were strong there last year and had some good fortune and were able to get the win.”

Larson will run in both the Xfinity and Cup races at Indianapolis. He is coming off a fourth-place finish at Dover, his first top five in his last six races.

“I’ll get to do double duty this weekend with Xfinity, also. So hopefully can have a couple good runs and get back to being consistent and get consistent finishes,” Larson said.

For Larson, he will look back at most of his Indy experiences — whether in a sprint car on the dirt oval inside the track or an INDYCAR or a stock car — with fondness for the challenge and the enthusiastic reception he gets from the fans.

“Indy is always a good time,” Larson said. 

Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR and INDYCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass.

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