2021 NASCAR Cup Champ Kyle Larson Plans to Race in 2024 Indianapolis 500

• Larson will drive at the 2024 Indianapolis 500 in a joint venture between Arrow McLaren Racing and for his boss man in NASCAR, Rick Hendrick.

• This won’t be just a one-off day for Larson, who is 30 now but will be almost 32 (birthday July 31, 1992) when the 2024 big race day comes around.

• As soon as he’s done in Indianapolis, he will catch a quick flight to Concord, N.C., to race in that evening’s Coca-Cola 600.

It may be more than 16 months away, but NASCAR Cup star Kyle Larson already has May 26, 2024 circled on his calendar.

If all goes well, the 2021 Cup Series champion will not only fulfill a lifelong dream of driving in the 2024 Indianapolis 500, but then later the same day, he’ll compete in that evening’s Coca-Cola 600 in Concord, N.C.

The Elk Grove, Calif. native and 2021 NASCAR Cup champion will have plenty of time to get ready when he hopes to take both the green flag and then the checkered flag in the 108th edition of the Greatest Spectacle In Racing.

Larson will drive at Indy in a joint venture between Arrow McLaren Racing and for his boss man in NASCAR, Rick Hendrick. McLaren will provide the Chevrolet-powered race car, while Hendrick Motorsports and HendrickCars.com will be Larson’s primary sponsor. It will mark the first time Hendrick has ever competed directly in the Indy 500 as a part-owner or sponsor.

“I’m super excited,” Larson said. “Competing at the Indianapolis 500 is a dream of mine and something I’ve wanted to do for a very long time—since I was a child before I ever began competing in sprint cars.

“To do it with Arrow McLaren and Mr. Hendrick especially is a dream come true. I’m grateful for the opportunity and am really looking forward to it even though it’s still about a year-and-a-half away.”

But this won’t be just a one-off day for Larson, who is 30 now but will be almost 32 (birthday July 31, 1992) when the 2024 big race day comes around. As soon as he’s done in Indianapolis, he will catch a quick flight to Concord, N.C., to race in that evening’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, NASCAR’s longest race of the year.

Larson hopes to complete all 1,100 laps between Indy and Charlotte. Unless another NASCAR driver attempts to race in this year’s 500—rumors persist that Kyle Busch may still try to accomplish the feat this year with backing from new team owner Richard Childress—Larson would be the fifth driver overall and the first driver to compete in racing’s so-called “Double” since Kurt Busch did so in 2014.

The first of four drivers to ever “do the Double” was the late John Andretti in 1994. Others that followed include Robby Gordon (1999, 2000, 2002, 2003 and 2004), Tony Stewart (1999 and 2001) and Busch (2014).

Stewart’s twin-bill effort in 2001 set the bar for the Double, finishing an event-best sixth in the Indy 500 and third at Charlotte in the 600, becoming the first and only driver to date to finish all 1,100 laps of racing on the same day.

Unless one of his NASCAR rivals enters the Double this year, Larson will be the first Cup driver to do both races on the same day in a decade, since the elder Busch brother’s effort (finished sixth at Indy, earning Rookie of the Year honors, but finished a disappointing 40th in the Cup race that night after mid-race engine failure).

“I’m really looking forward to competing in both the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 and maybe even get a win or two that day,” Larson said in a statement.

Arrow McLaren will have four drivers competing in this year’s Indy 500: Pato O’Ward, Felix Rosenqvist, veteran driver and 2013 500 winner Tony Kanaan, and 2016 winner Alexander Rossi, who joins the team this year after spending the last seven seasons with Andretti Autosport.

“Adding Kyle Larson with a HendrickCars.com partnership to the Indy 500 lineup in 2024 is exciting for our Arrow McLaren team as well as for race fans,” Arrow McLaren chairman Zak Brown said. “He’s a complete driver, known for racing anything on wheels, so I’m looking forward to seeing what Kyle can do in an NTT IndyCar Series car.

“It’s been great working with Rick Hendrick and (Hendrick Motorsports vice chairman) Jeff Gordon to pull this together, so a big thank you to them for what’s to come in May 2024.”

Added Hendrick, “Having the opportunity to support Kyle, partner with an elite team like Arrow McLaren and promote HendrickCars.com in one of the world’s great auto racing events is truly unique. All of us are competitors. Putting Kyle in top-level equipment and allowing ample time for him to prepare for such a difficult challenge was important. It’s going to be very, very special to field a Chevrolet in the Indy 500 as a car owner. A collaboration like this was what we needed to make it happen, and fortunately the stars aligned. We’re 100% committed to doing it right and look forward to working with Zak and his organization.”

Larson, Brown and Hendrick are expected to further discuss the Double venture in a press conference late Thursday afternoon.

Although he drives the No. 5 in the NASCAR Cup Series, the car number for Larson’s Indy 500 ride will be announced at a later date.

Follow Autoweek contributor Jerry Bonkowski on Twitter @JerryBonkowski.