MADISON, Ill. – With intermittent rain threatening Saturday’s (June 1) track activity at World Wide Technology Raceway, the center of attention was on a driver who just six days earlier saw his plans to run the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600 double thwarted by rain.
And while NASCAR has not yet decided on whether or not it would grant Kyle Larson a playoff waiver after weather delayed last Sunday’s race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and also shortened the Coca-Cola 600 before Larson could relieve Justin Allgaier mid-race, the Hendrick Motorsports driver had what appeared to be a motivated resolve to attempt running both races on the same day again.
“I would like to do it again because I can’t imagine the weather would be any worse, or screw up the plans any worse,” Larson told media during his bullpen session. “I think if I could do it again, it’d go smoother.”
In a perfect world, Larson would have done what NASCAR drivers like Kurt Busch, John Andretti, Robby Gordon and Tony Stewart have done in running the Indy 500 at its scheduled time and making it to Charlotte Motor Speedway for the 600-miler.
That best-laid plan threw those plans off-base for Larson, however. Adverse weather delayed the Indy 500 to a start of approximately four hours behind schedule, preventing Larson from running the full length of both races. Instead, he ran the full race in Indianapolis, finishing 18th after a pit road penalty dropped him from within range of a top-five finish.
“All of that was cool, getting to race,” he said. “The restarts were a lot of fun. It’s hard to pass anybody there once you get going. You’re out there trying to block Scott Dixon in your mirror and trying to pass guys who have been doing it a long time. It was pretty neat.”
From there, he was quickly whisked to Charlotte where rain ended the race early before Larson swapped out with substitute driver Allgaier.
“As the rain got closer, I realized that it was probably not going to happen,” he continued. “You kind of get down, because you know you won’t be able to race both races and I felt like I was going to let my NASCAR team down, not being there in time to start the race. All of that kind of sucked.”
Getting a feel for a totally different racecar can pose a challenge, not to mention race protocols when a driver is in a different series or style of car. Larson said that the adoption was not too abrupt, due in part to how much non-NASCAR racing he does.
“I felt like I got comfortable in the racecar and all the procedures,” he noted. “It was maybe a little easier than I thought I would, I probably helps with all the racing I do.”
Through it all, Larson says that he felt support from fans across all motorsports last weekend, something that was not lost on him.
“I felt the support from all disciplines – dirt racing, NASCAR and IndyCar fans,” he added. “I think everyone was excited to see me run that race, because there had been a lot of anticipation that one day, I would run that race. I felt lots of support, all of that was great.”
Brad joined Frontstretch.com in 2020 and contributes to the site's 5 Points To Ponder column and other roles as needed. A graduate of the University of Georgia's Henry W. Grady School of Journalism and Mass Communication, he has covered sports in some capacity for more than 20 years with coverage including local high school sports, college athletics and minor league hockey. Brad has received multiple awards for his work from the Georgia Press Association.
Anyway like I said before I hope that Kyle Larson will have a beautiful perfect weather for next year’s Memorial Day weekend on Sunday may 25th, 2025.