After last year's promising debut, logic says Kyle Larson would have a seamless reintroduction to IndyCar racing as he prepares for Sunday's 109th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge.

But this year's Indy 500 build-up has been more modest for Larson, shaped by more on-track challenges than what he faced in 2024.

When Larson was asked during Thursday's media availability what's different at this year's Indy 500, the pair of crashes — first at April's open test and then on Fast Friday — are obvious setbacks that come to mind. But outside that, Larson's ongoing search to fine-tune the balance of his Arrow McLaren race car differs from last year's preparations.

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"I feel like last year we didn't really have to mess with a whole lot," Larson said as he gears up for another attempt at The Double on Sunday, racing the Indy 500 and NASCAR's Coca-Cola 600 the same day. "I thought the balance was pretty comfortable, but it's just taken a little bit more time to get to that comfortable spot this year. Happy with where we're at now."

Larson's 19th-starting spot might not give the 32-year-old much of a chance to contend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway's crown jewel of crown jewels where he started fifth in last year. Unlike other forms of racing Larson's excelled in, coming through the midpack isn't as straightforward in the Indy 500, where "you can't just do it all on your own at this level."

"I think for any of us in the field, you have to rely on your team," said Larson, who during Wednesday's media availability said his Row 7 starting spot "definitely presents challenges."

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Larson did rebound last year after he tumbled down the leaderboard from sixth to 14th when he missed second gear on the race’s first lap-nine restart. His car was good enough to battle back inside the top-five before a lap-130 speeding penalty on pit road caved his chances at finishing strongly.

"I had that horrendous restart last year. I think I fell back to close to where I'm starting," Larson said Wednesday. "We were able to get closer to the front by the three-quarter point of the race. I think if you just (focus on) normal kind of race stuff, execute good restarts and pit stops and things, you can work your way forward without having to work too hard."

Based off what he learned last year, Larson expects restarts for him to go smoother this time around.

"You don't get the chance to practice restarts in practice, but yeah, I just had that one kind of mishap last year where I think I kind of hit the rev limiter right when I went to shift to second, and then it got me confused if it did shift, and I think I hit it again maybe or something and ended up in the wrong gear," Larson said Thursday. "You know, I was able to kind of overcome that and had -- I would say every restart after that was pretty good. We would gain a spot or three.

"It was honestly probably good for this year I think to go and have that bad restart, and then you have to get aggressive on some others to learn for this year having to start from, I don't know, Row 7 or wherever we're at."

Even though Larson said this year's Indy 500 experience has only "been a little bit different" from his debut, there's one difference that's seemingly challenged him the most: IndyCar's new hybrid engine that's added an intricate and tricky layer to the complexion of this year's Indy 500, both from the stance of race craft and car handling.

IndyCar's hybrid powerplant stores energy throughout a run by virtue of a supercapacitor that charges and discharges the extra boost of roughly 60 horsepower at a driver’s discretion. Drivers have manual control over the regeneration process triggered by the press of a button akin to the push-to-pass system.

Unlike the traditional IndyCar push-to-pass system, the hybrid power doesn't have a restriction on total time used over the course of a race. IndyCar insiders say that Alex Palou, who has four wins and a runner-up in five races to start the season, has virtually mastered IndyCar's new hybrid system. 

Other drivers, Larson included, haven't taken to the hybrid's system as smoothly around the 2.5-mile oval. The new powerplant adds roughly 100 more pounds to the car's weight, giving drivers a different feel, sometimes an imbalanced one. The eight total crashes between the open test, practice and qualifying have likely been a byproduct of this — with Larson accounting for two of the incidents.

While crashing is different for Larson this year at Indy, he denies there will be any lingering psychological hindrances it might have on him.

"You see me crash all the time," Larson said Friday. "I don't think it usually affects me."

Larson also doesn't believe execution of the hybrid energy system — the timeliness or tactfulness of deploying extra boosts — gives drivers a considerable edge.

"The hybrid is, I feel like, hyped up as being this crazy new thing, but it's really not a big deal either, I don't think," Larson said Thursay. "I don't know what these guys think. But you just pull the paddle and go. When you want more charges, hit a button. It's not really, like, a big deal."

Larson added last week during the FOX Sports practice broadcast "you don’t necessarily feel" the hybrid's energy boosts when deployed "like a ton, at least for me."

"You say push-to-pass or whatever, and it’s going to be like 500 more horsepower. It’s just a little bit of help down the straightaways, then I think it’s how to regenerate that energy and then have it be useful once I’m out front," Larsons said.

Navigating and effectively operating an IndyCar cockpit — all the functionalities on buttons of the steering wheel — have been and will continue to be likely Larson's biggest adjustment. But Thursday he said "this year I've gotten way more comfortable with doing those things."

“I would say everything besides the IndyCar, (like the stock car and Sprint Car), is really easy because I do it often," Larson said last week on the FOX Sports broadcast. "I wouldn’t say the IndyCar is difficult to drive by any means compared to the others but it’s just, like, there’s so much more going on in the car that’s new to me, you know? Like, Sprint Cars, all I have is a wing valve. Rarely do I touch that. In the stock car ... you have some fans and stuff but that’s not really a big deal.

"But then in the IndyCar, you have fuel mappings, weight jackers, bar adjustments, all sorts of other things, too. The hybrid now that you have to keep on top of."

Another difference that's flown under the radar for Larson's Double attempt this year is he's without public relations specialist Jon Edwards, who died April 12 from complications stemming from a diabetes-related illness, per a death notice.

Edwards, who was Jeff Gordon's righthand man for decades, handled most of Larson's logistics between the Indy 500 and Coke 600 last year and kept Larson focused through the busyness. Edwards's tragic passing right before The Double has certainly been felt by Larson, who now has Hendrick Motorsports's Ashly Ennis as his PR manager.

"I think just -- had he been here, it would have been more organized weeks ago. But I feel like since he passed, it was kind of like quick decisions on who's going to be the team around me," Larson said last week during Indy 500 media availability. "I would say to this point, though, now that we're here, it's well-organized, and that's a lot due to Ashly and everybody at Arrow McLaren, as well. I think everybody with Jon out here worked much harder to make sure it was smooth operating, which it's been so far."

Speed-wise, Larson had his best practice of the Indy 500 on Monday where he clocked the 11th-fastest lap. Outside that, he's only shown midpack speed: 24th on last Tuesday, 13th last Wednesday, 17th last Thursday, 33rd on Fast Friday and 22nd on Saturday before qualifying.

If Larson's parallels between IndyCar and NASCAR in terms of race craft pay dividends for him, he'll be just fine come Sunday at IMS.

"The cars are pretty similar to the stock car stuff. Even learning it wasn't crazy difficult," Larson said last week on the FOX Sports broadcast. "So yeah, I think that allowed me to enjoy the moment and enjoy all the fans' stuff, and all the festivities that go on throughout these couple weeks.

"It's definitely the biggest event I've ever competed in. It's everyday is something. It's really cool. Being a part of it again is really special. Hopefully we can make the (The Double) special and perform well on track, and then do a good job, too, in the NASCAR stuff."