With rain showers delaying the start of the 2024 Indianapolis 500 on Sunday afternoon (May 26), it was announced by Indianapolis Motor Speedway President Doug Boles that Kyle Larson will wait out the delays to focus on completing his Indianapolis 500 and NTT IndyCar Series debut, skipping the NASCAR Cup Series’ Coca-Cola 600 if needed.
Larson is the first driver to attempt the Memorial Day Double since Kurt Busch in 2014, and he’s delivered in the Month of May with impressive practice speeds and a fifth-place qualifying effort last Sunday (May 19).
If Larson is unable to make it on time for the start of the Coke 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Justin Allgaier is on standby and will drive Hendrick Motorsports’ No. 5 car.
Larson is the current regular season points leader in the NASCAR Cup Series, with two wins in 2024 and a 30-point lead over second place Martin Truex Jr. Larson would need a playoff waiver to keep eligibility for the Cup playoffs, which is decided by NASCAR on a case-by-case basis.
Stephen Stumpf is the NASCAR Content Director for Frontstretch and is a three-year veteran of the site. His weekly column is “Stat Sheet,” and he formerly wrote "4 Burning Questions" for three years. He also writes commentaries, contributes to podcasts, edits articles and is frequently at the track for on-site coverage.
Find Stephen on Twitter @stephen_stumpf