What's Different About Kyle Larson's Second Indy 500-Coca Cola 600 Double Attempt

NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson is scheduled to attempt to race in both the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 for the second straight time next year, but team owner Rick Hendrick said Tuesday the 600 will be more of a priority in a convoluted race-day schedule than last season.

Hendrick said he has assured NASCAR that Larson will be in Concord, North Carolina at Charlotte Motor Speedway to start the 600 next May 25, even if that means removing Larson from his IndyCar during the race so that he will have time to travel to Concord.

Larson competed in the Indy 500 this year as part of an agreement between Hendrick Motorsports and Arrow McLaren to field an extra car for the 500. But Larson’s grand adventure at Indy – which attracted attention across motorsports barriers and was a popular sidelight on the 500 landscape – was dampened. Literally.

Rain delayed the start of the 500 by four hours, spoiling the Hendrick-Larson plan to run at Indy and then fly to Charlotte to race in the night-time 600 Cup Series race at CMS. Several drivers have completed the Indy-Charlotte “double,” but Larson’s much-publicized attempt was ruined by the weather.

After so much effort – and money – was put into Larson’s 500 run, Hendrick decided to keep Larson in Indy for the delayed running of the 500. This meant that Larson could not make it to CMS in time for the 600 green flag. By the time he arrived at CMS, that race was well underway and also had been impacted by rain, and he was unable to drive the No. 5 Chevrolet. Justin Allgaier raced for Hendrick and finished 13th.

Larson’s rookie run in the 500 was impressive. He was contending in the top 10 until a late-race speeding penalty pushed him into an 18th-place finish. He was named Rookie of the Race.

NASCAR’s rules require that drivers competing for the seasonal championship start every race on the schedule, but the sanctioning body has issued waivers for drivers who miss races because of injuries or suspensions. Hendrick applied for a waiver for Larson this season after the Indianapolis weather issues, and NASCAR approved it a week later after much discussion within the sanctioning body’s offices.

NASCAR president Steve Phelps said Tuesday that Hendrick had made the commitment to NASCAR chairman Jim France that Larson will be at CMS to start the 600. Hendrick said Larson would be in Concord even if it meant pulling him from the Indy race with the lead. IndyCar veteran Tony Kanaan will be standing by as a possible replacement driver.

Phelps would not speculate on whether a waiver would be granted to Larson if similar weather circumstances develop next year and Larson misses the Charlotte start despite Hendrick’s commitment. “We’re all looking for dry weather,” Phelps said.

“We’re going to run the 600 even if that means having to cut the race short at Indy,” Hendrick said. “My commitment to NASCAR is that we’re in NASCAR and that’s where we run for the championship. If weather catches us, Tony will be in the car. But we’re looking forward to a non-rain event and going back and finishing the job.”

Asked if he would be OK with giving up the lead late in the 500 to travel to Charlotte, Larson said, “I owe it to my NASCAR team to get here in time and try to win one of the biggest races of the season. Right now, I’m OK with it.”

Larson said the stress of dealing with weather last May was tougher than preparing to race in the 500 for the first time.

“I think I was checking my phone every two minutes,” he said. “I was hoping the rain would linger another hour and the race would be postponed to Monday, then I could run the 600 and go back to Indy Monday. My mood before the race wasn’t the greatest. I was expecting it to be different. I wasn’t in the best of moods leading into the race, but I was still excited to get in there and run the Indy 500.”