Why Indy? Five Questions with NASCAR Champion Kyle Larson
NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson’s Hendrick 1100 journey is one for the history books. It also marks Rick Hendrick’s first official entry in IndyCar racing.
Starting with the 108th running of the Indianapolis 500 early in the afternoon, and ending the day in his matching No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro at the historic Coca-Cola 600, Larson has a chance to be behind the wheel of a racecar competing at the highest levels for more than seven hours on a single day.
Before the action, the HendrickCars.com blog had a brief moment to ask Larson about the challenge and what it means to compete at Indy, and if he has any other “bucket list” races he would like to try. Here is what he had to say:
Q: When did you first have thoughts about competing in the Indianapolis 500?
A: It’s hard to remember exactly. I’m sure as a kid I wanted to do it. It really didn’t become a reality that I could do it one day until I started racing in NASCAR. Once I came to Hendrick Motorsports and we had a really successful 2021 season (winning the Cup Series championship), that’s when I really started putting the bug out there. It’s been a long time that I’ve thought about doing it.
Q: What makes the Indianapolis 500 so special to you?
A: It’s been the biggest race in the world for a long time now, in my opinion, and I want to compete in the biggest races in the world. It doesn’t get any bigger than the Indy 500. And to have Mr. Hendrick’s trust and support to do this, to be the first driver he’s backing in the Indy500, makes it an even bigger deal for me.
Q: How different will it be to go from an Indy Car to Stock Car on the same day?
A: I don’t think it’s going to be that difficult because I have experience popping into different kinds of cars throughout multiple days of the week. A lot of the time, I’ll practice or qualify the Cup car, then jump into my sprint car or late model on the same day. I’ve been doing it so long that I don’t really have to think about it anymore. Even though Indy Car is new to me, I think once the Indy Car race is done, its not going to be hard for me to swap my mindset into NASCAR mode and get ready for that race. I think maybe if the roles were reversed, and the 600 was first and then I was going to the Indy 500, I think adapting to that may be tougher.
Q: What are you the most nervous about for the Indianapolis 500?
A: I was the most nervous for qualifying. Just because I know it’s the fastest we go, and the most on-edge you probably feel during those couple weeks. And, I wanted to do a good job and make the most of it. There’s a lot of opportunities to go fast, which come with a lot of pressure to succeed. I don’t want to go out here and just run laps just to do it, I want to do well.
Q: Are there any additional “bucket list” races you would like to compete?
A: A long time from now when I’m retired from full-time racing, I think endurance racing would be cool. Le Mans would be awesome to go to. I don’t know anything about that race, but I know from everybody’s experience there from Hendrick Motorsports’ 2023 Garage 56 project – they said it was unreal. I want to try that out someday, maybe. There’s also a handful of dirt races I have not gotten to run. I would like to compete in a lot of big late model events. And there are a lot of big sprint car events I would like to try.
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