Earlier this season, Kyle Larson’s attempt at the Memorial Day weekend double – the Indianapolis 500 and the Cocoa-Cola 600 – was washed out when rains delayed the start of the race in Indianapolis and brought an early end to the race in Charlotte.
Undaunted, Larson has announced that he will again run “the double” next year in hopes of actually getting both races running on time and to their completion.
Larson will drive for Arrow McLaren in the Indianapolis 500 and for his Cup Series Hendrick Motorsport team for the Coca-Cola 600.
When Arrow McLaren and Hendrick Motorsports made the joint announcement, they both cited “unfinished business” as the reason for attempting “the double” a second time.
After qualifying in the top five and finishing the complete race in the top 20, Larson was named the Indianapolis Rookie of the Year. Next year at Indy, he will pair up with Pato O’Ward, Nolan Siegel and Christian Lundgaard.
Larson made it to Charlotte and was suiting up to get in the car when NASCAR called the race due to rain. As a result, he did not receive credit for the race. NASCAR allowed Larson to have a waiver so that he would qualify to be eligible for the playoffs. Despite running one less race than the rest of the full time drivers, Kyle Larson is a part of the 16 driver playoff field.
Speaking on the waiver, car owner Rick Hendrick said, “I think they were in a box. You had so many people bitching about it that we shouldn’t get a waiver, should get a waiver, comparing what happened with him to someone getting hurt, and I don’t want to go through that again. So that’s part of the decision. Hey, if we’re going to do this, we’re not going to put them in a box, and we’re not going to be late. We’re going to be here and run this race. That’s priority. But no, I mean, they were damned if they do, damned if they don’t, so I think they saw the benefit.”
This year, Larson focused on completing the Indy race; but next year the focus will be on Charlotte. Larson spoke on the races saying, “I think this year went the way it did, and I couldn’t be in two places one time, although I would have loved to but I think I owe it to my NASCAR team as well, to get here in time to try and win one of the biggest races of the season, and a race that has the most implication to this season as well. So, yeah, right now I’m OK with that.” In the event that Larson would need to leave the race in Indianapolis early, Tony Kanaan would take over the driving duties.
In his return to Indianapolis for the Brickyard 400, Kyle Larson’s car was painted blue and orange – like his IndyCar – and he took that number five to victory. It was at that time that Larson stated his desire to run “the double” again, saying, “I think everybody knows that I would love to do it because, in my mind, I did not get to do it this year.”
Vice Chairman of Hendric Motorsports Jeff Gordon spoke on Larson saying, “don’t give Kyle Larson a second shot at something that he already did well at. I mean, I think he’s going to knock it out of the park. He already did, but I know what a perfectionist he is and the few things that he learned or couple of things that didn’t go well, I know he wants that second chance to clean that up. I was so impressed with what he did, but I was also impressed with what Arrow McLaren did, so obviously that does raise expectations.”