INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Kyle Larson raced to his third NASCAR Cup victory of the season at Kansas in mid-May then turned his attention to his second and perhaps final attempt at racing's double — completing all 1,100 miles of the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on the same day.
Instead, he was hit with a double whammy.
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Christopher Bell (20) spins ahead of Kyle Larson (5) during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Dover Motor Speedway, Sunday, July 20, 2025, in Dover, Del. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton)
Joey Logano, front, drives ahead of Kyle Larson through Turn 2 during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Dover Motor Speedway, Sunday, July 20, 2025, in Dover, Del. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton)
Kyle Larson (5) drives while followed by Chase Elliott (9) during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Sonoma Raceway, Sunday, July 13, 2025, in Sonoma, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
Kyle Larson waves at fans after being introduced before a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Sonoma Raceway in Sonoma, Calif., Sunday, July 13, 2025. (Scott Strazzante/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
A crash on Lap 92 knocked him out of the 500, relegating him to 24th, and two crashes — the second on Lap 245 — knocked him out in Charlotte, where he finished 37th.
Not much has gone right for Lason since then.
He posted just one top five finish over the next eight races before finishing fourth at Dover last weekend. Now, the defending Brickyard 400 champion is back at Indianapolis Motor Speedway trying to recharge his season.
“It’s great to be back here in Indy and back at the track, hopefully I'll do a much better job than I did in May,” he said Friday. “It's a privilege to get to run here and I would love nothing more than a good run and hopefully kind of put the bow on the double stuff.”
Only three drivers in race history own back-to-back Brickyard wins — Jimmie Johnson in 2008-09, Kyle Busch in 2015-16 and Kevin Harvick in 2019-20. Larson's won last year on Indy's historic 2.5-mile oval instead of the road course used the previous three years.
Most if not all drivers including Larson prefer running the oval.
“There's so many people from all over the world here whether it be May or our events or, really for that matter, any events,” Justin Allgaier said. “... It's just there's nothing quite like it;”
Larson understands having driven an IndyCar on the oval each of the last two Mays and now back in a Cup car, his fourth start in 14 months at the Brickyard.
The difference this year: Larson wants to change directions after some sub-par results.
But they haven't dashed his championship hopes.
The 2021 Cup champ is tied for second in wins this season, already has accrued 23 playoff points and trails only Hendrick Motorsports teammates Chase Elliott, the 2020 Cup champ, and William Byron in points. Neither Elliott or Byron has won the 400, though.
Neither has Denny Hamlin, who sits just behind Larson in points despite winning a series-best four times including last weekend at Dover. He also signed a two-year contract extension with Joe Gibbs Racing on Friday.
If he can add a win Sunday to the three he's had in the Daytona 500 and Southern 500 and the one Coca-Cola 600 title, Hamlin would join the short list of drivers who have won all four Cup crown jewel races in their career.
“It certainly would mean a lot to me,” said Hamlin, who has started 16 Brickyards. “We've come close. We were actually as close on the road course as we were on ovals although I don't know — you could argue whether that (road race) was actually a crown jewel or not. So, yeah, highly motivated.”
But things already are off script for Larson, Hamlin and everyone else in Indy.
Friday's scheduled practice was rained out, making the second week in a row practice was washed out. Qualifying is scheduled for Saturday when temperatures are forecast to be in the mid to upper 80s with rain in the forecast most of the afternoon. The forecast for Sunday looks almost identical to Saturday.
That's not what Larson wanted to hear even though race organizers rescheduled a short practice for Saturday afternoon.
“Hopefully, our car is good again,” he said before the scheduled practice. “I believe it should be fast, if not better than it was last year. So, you know, hopefully we'll have a good practice, good qualifying (Saturday) and execute a good race on Sunday.”
Larson's goal is simple — qualify up front, stay up front and stay out of the trouble he's found far too routinely lately.
“When (Christopher Bell) spun (at Dover), I thought I was going to get collected and be like ‘Uh, oh, just continuing our bad luck here,” he said. “So, hopefully, this is the beginning of us to kind turn things around. We’ll see.”
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Christopher Bell (20) spins ahead of Kyle Larson (5) during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Dover Motor Speedway, Sunday, July 20, 2025, in Dover, Del. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton)
Joey Logano, front, drives ahead of Kyle Larson through Turn 2 during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Dover Motor Speedway, Sunday, July 20, 2025, in Dover, Del. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton)
Kyle Larson (5) drives while followed by Chase Elliott (9) during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Sonoma Raceway, Sunday, July 13, 2025, in Sonoma, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
Kyle Larson waves at fans after being introduced before a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Sonoma Raceway in Sonoma, Calif., Sunday, July 13, 2025. (Scott Strazzante/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
LOS GATOS, Calif. (AP) — Like many retirement communities, The Terraces serves as a tranquil refuge for a nucleus of older people who no longer can travel to faraway places or engaging in bold adventures.
But they can still be thrust back to their days of wanderlust and thrill-seeking whenever caretakers at the community in Los Gatos, California, schedule a date for residents — many of whom are in their 80s and 90s — to take turns donning virtual reality headsets.
Within a matter of minutes, the headsets can transport them to Europe, immerse them in the ocean depths or soar them on breathtaking hang-gliding expeditions while they sit by each other. The selection of VR programming was curated by Rendever, a company that has turned a sometimes isolating form of technology into a catalyst for better cognition and social connections in 800 retirement communities in the United States and Canada.
A group of The Terraces residents who participated in a VR session earlier this year found themselves paddling their arms alongside their chairs as they swam with a pod of dolphins while watching one of Rendever's 3D programs. “We got to go underwater and didn't even have to hold our breath!” exclaimed 81-year-old Ginny Baird following the virtual submersion.
During a session featuring a virtual ride in a hot-air balloon, one resident gasped, “Oh my God!” Another shuddered, “It's hard to watch!”
The Rendever technology can also be used to virtually take older adults back to the places where they grew up as children. For some, it will be the first time they've seen their hometowns in decades.
A virtual trip to her childhood neighborhood in New York City's Queens borough helped sell Sue Livingstone, 84, on the merits of the VR technology even though she still is able to get out more often than many residents of The Terraces, which is located in Silicon Valley about 55 miles south of San Francisco.
“It isn't just about being able to see it again, it's about all the memories that it brings back,” Livingstone said. “There are a few people living here who never really leave their comfort zones. But if you could entice them to come down to try out a headset, they might find that they really enjoy it.”
Adrian Marshall, The Terraces' community life director, said that once word about a VR experience spreads from one resident to another, more of the uninitiated typically become curious enough to try it out — even if it means missing out on playing Mexican Train, a dominoes-like board game that's popular in the community.
“It turns into a conversation starter for them. It really does connect people,” Marshall said of Rendever's VR programming. “It helps create a human bridge that makes them realize they share certain similarities and interests. It turns the artificial world into reality.”
Rendever, a privately owned company based in Somerville, Massachusetts, hopes to build upon its senior living platform with a recent grant from the National Institutes of Health that will provide nearly $4.5 million to study ways to reduce social isolation among seniors living at home and their caregivers.
Some studies have found VR programming presented in a limited viewing format can help older people maintain and improve cognitive functions, burnish memories and foster social connections with their families and fellow residents of care facilities. Experts say the technology may be useful as an addition to and not a replacement for other activities.
“There is always a risk of too much screen time," Katherine “Kate” Dupuis, a neuropsychologist and professor who studies aging issues at Sheridan College in Canada, said. “But if you use it cautiously, with meaning and purpose, it can be very helpful. It can be an opportunity for the elderly to engage with someone and share a sense of wonder.”
VR headsets may be an easier way for older people to interact with technology instead of fumbling around with a smartphone or another device that requires navigating buttons or other mechanisms, said Pallabi Bhowmick, a researcher at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign who is examining the use of VR with older adults.
“The stereotypes that older adults aren’t willing to try new technology needs to change because they are willing and want to adapt to technologies that are meaningful to them,” Bhowmick said. "Besides helping them to relieve stress, be entertained and connect with other people, there is an intergenerational aspect that might help them build their relationships with younger people who find out they use VR and say, ‘Grandpa is cool!’"
Rendever CEO Kyle Rand's interest in helping his own grandmother deal with the emotional and mental challenges of aging pushed him down a path that led him to cofound the company in 2016 after studying neuroengineering at Duke University.
“What really fascinates me about humans is just how much our brain depends on social connection and how much we learn from others,” Rand said. “A group of elderly residents who don't really know each other that well can come together, spend 30 minutes in a VR experience together and then find themselves sitting down to have lunch together while continuing a conversation about the experience.”
It's a large enough market that another VR specialist, Dallas-based Mynd Immersive, competes against Rendever with services tailored for senior living communities.
Besides helping create social connections, the VR programming from both Rendever and Mynd has been employed as a possible tool for potentially slowing down the deleterious effects of dementia. That's how another Silicon Valley retirement village, the Forum, sometimes uses the technology.
Bob Rogallo, a Forum resident with dementia that has rendered him speechless, seemed to be enjoying taking a virtual hike through Glacier National Park in Montana as he nodded and smiled while celebrating his 83rd birthday with his wife of 61 years.
Sallie Rogallo, who doesn't have dementia, said the experience brought back fond memories of the couple's visits to the same park during the more than 30 years they spent cruising around the U.S. in their recreational vehicle.
“It made me wish I was 30 years younger so I could do it again,” she said of the virtual visit to Glacier. “This lets you get out of the same environment and either go to a new place or visit places where you have been.”
In another session at the Forum, 93-year-old Almut Schultz laughed with delight while viewing a virtual classical music performance at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado and later seemed to want to play with a puppy frolicking around in her VR headset.
“That was quite a session we had there,” Schultz said with a big grin after she took off her headset and returned to reality.
Rendever CEO Kyle Rand is pictured at Salesforce Park in San Francisco on June 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Terry Chea)
Jim Holtshouse and his son, Mike Holtshouse, watch video through Rendever virtual-reality headsets at the Forum at Rancho San Antonio retirement community in Cupertino, Calif. on June 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Terry Chea)
Bob Rogallo watches video through a Rendever virtual-reality headset at the Forum at Rancho San Antonio retirement community in Cupertino, Calif. on June 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Terry Chea)
Mike Holtshouse and his father, Jim Holtshouse, watch video through Rendever virtual-reality headsets at the Forum at Rancho San Antonio retirement community in Cupertino, Calif. on June 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Terry Chea)
Jim Holtshouse watches video through a Rendever virtual-reality headset at the Forum at Rancho San Antonio retirement community in Cupertino, Calif. on June 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Terry Chea)
