Scott McLaughlin makes feelings on Kyle Larson clear after his Indy 500 radio comment

Scott McLaughlin would have plenty of reason to be frustrated with Kyle Larson following the 2025 Indianapolis 500. As McLaughlin spun out during the test laps to prematurely end his day, Larson passed him while giving him a cheeky thumbs-up. 

Larson's radio picked up someone saying, "Someone just crashed, ------- idiot" — it's unclear if it was Larson or a spotter's voice. A video of the incident quickly generated a couple of million views on X. 

McLaughin quote-tweeted the post, writing: "Guess I'm out of the best driver in the world talks." This references Larson's claim that he's a better all-around driver than F1 champion Max Verstappen. 

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Speaking ahead of this weekend's Indy race, McLaughlin clarified that his post was tongue-in-cheek. "I just love poking ---- at everyone, too," he said.

"So my tweet was a bit of making fun of that whole conversation because that's been such a big piece. But also, I wasn't going to let him off the hook with that [gesture] either. That's the type of person I am."

"[Larson] texted me," McLaughlin added. "We're all good….I've got a tremendous amount of respect for Kyle." Neither man finished the Indy 500. 

"He texted me and apologized and didn't mean it. And I know he didn't. He’s really a respectful racer. And kudos to him for even reaching out. He didn't need to."He doesn't care about my INDYCAR [race]."

Larson crashed shortly after McLaughlin did. Then, the driver on double duty failed to finish the Coca-Cola 600 to cap off his tumultuous day. 

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Larson was left with just 40 scheduled minutes to get ready to leave Indianapolis for Charlotte. "Forty minutes is cutting it pretty close to even do it," McLaughlin said. "So maybe the two series need to come together and talk about different times or whatever? At the same time, Indy is Indy and the 600 is the 600, and if you want to run the risk of doing that, that's up to you."

Larson performed well at the 2024 Indy 500, his first race on the circuit. His 18th-place finish netted him the race's Rookie of the Year honor.