Positively speaking, Kyle Larson feels more at ease with his Indy 500 race machine through Wednesday's second practice than his previous on-track experience at Indianapolis Motor Speedway when he crashed in April 25’s open test.

“As far as confidence and whatnot with the car, I’m more confident after (Tuesday) than I was at the open test,” Larson told the FOX Sports broadcast team of Will Buxton, Townsend Bell and James Hinchcliffe, plus special guest in three-time NASCAR Cup champ Joey Logano halfway through Wednesday’s practice. “I feel like my balance is better this time around.”

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Larson also registered 148 total laps through the pair of practice sessions so far, up from the 54 laps he logged in a rainy opening two days of last year’s Indy 500. He was 11th-fastest in overall speed with 30 minutes left, but finished the day 13th.

On the other hand, Larson doesn’t feel as competitive in traffic as he’d like, explicitly stating “I still don’t know how to necessarily time” passes and runs around the IMS 2.5-mile oval.

“I think your balance has to be matched up well with all that, too. Currently, I try to build that run and have to bail out of the throttle,” Larson said. “All of that momentum you’re trying to build is stalled out. Then you get in the tow, and then it’s too late by the end of the straightaway. Just have to get our car, and I don’t know how to do that, but get our car handling better, you know, closer within that three- to four-car-length gap of the guy in front of you.”

Speed-wise, Larson, who was 24th-fastest in Tuesday's practice, appeared to make strides the final hour Wednesday, logging his fastest lap of 223.985 mph on lap 93 of the 103 circuits he turned. Better handling in traffic for Larson means “you can build that run and then make passing a little bit easier.”

“That’s what my goal is the next few days, and then get to qualifying and hopefully have a good balance there,” Larson said. “And qualify toward the front like we did last year.”

For a few laps Wednesday, Larson tried riding behind Penske’s Josef Newgarden to see if he could learn anything from the reigning two-time Indy 500 champion in traffic. But Larson couldn’t keep up with Newgarden, perhaps the best car in traffic Wednesday, for long.

“If we can get our balance as comfortable as it is in clear in traffic, I can be a little more confident I feel like and build some runs,” Larson said. “Because right now, I feel like I’m stuck wherever I’m at. Just have to work on that.”

Larson said during one of his early afternoon runs he “was a bit understeery (tight) into turn three,” but that “the wind maybe effects that a little bit there. Yeah, just have to work on that.”

Logano, one of Larson’s fellow NASCAR Cup competitors, attended Wednesday’s practice at IMS and joined the FOX Sports booth during Larson’s mid-afternoon interview. Hinchcliffe asked Larson, hypothetically speaking, what someone like Logano would expect should he race an IndyCar around IMS as opposed to stock cars.

Kyle Larson tells @JoeyLogano what it's like to drive an #INDYCAR at @IMS. @wbuxtonofficial | @townsendbell | @Hinchtown pic.twitter.com/n5RuPTlyFY

— INDYCAR on FOX (@IndyCarOnFOX) May 14, 2025

“He’s in a Penske car, so he has that easy,” Larson quipped. “Just hold it, (the throttle), flat (to the floorboard). Honestly it’s nothing too crazy. Like when I ran, when I came back here for the Brickyard, I was surprised the sensation felt as fast, or faster, than the IndyCar here.

“The Cup car, you’re sliding around a little bit more. You have less, kind of, (grip) to lean on. I think the IndyCar, when you look at the wall, you feel like you’re hauling ass. But you know, before that, you’re pretty stuck. But then traffic, it’s all similar, it’s just more magnified. The dirty air is just more magnified. The affect of it is similar, but it’s the wash you get with the front (of the race car that) is more (pronounced).

“I wish more (NASCAR) guys would try it, (IndyCar), because I think they’d be surprised with how similar it all really is. I enjoy it, with a great team here with Arrow McLaren and having Hendrick Motorsports involved in it again is cool. Just having fun. Thankfully the weather is good right now and hopefully we can get our car dialed in a little better and have a decent shot come next week.”