By David Morgan, Associate Editor
INDIANAPOLIS – The day is upon us. The day in which Kyle Larson will once again try and pull off the Memorial Day Weekend Double of racing in the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 to complete all 1,100 miles.
After weather wreaked havoc on the first year of the attempt, which saw Larson stick around in Indy to make his debut in the Greatest Spectacle in Racing, only to have rain spoil the party by the time he made it to Charlotte, the second year around, things are more clear-cut for Larson when it comes to his duties on the day.
This time around, NASCAR takes precedence – no matter what.
Hendrick Motorsports vice chairman Jeff Gordon detailed the tight schedule that Larson will have to keep to make it into his No. 5 Chevrolet by the time the green flag drops in Charlotte.
“He is going to be here for driver introductions at 5:25,” Gordon said. “That’s the call, right? The call is, we know exactly how to back it up from there. What time he has to be, you know, leaving, taking off from Indianapolis, to get here. That’s all you know at this point. We can’t predict red flags, caution flags, anything else other than that time. And that’s what’s different this year from last year, you know?”
Gordon added that with last year being the first attempt at the 500, not only for Larson, but for everyone at Hendrick Motorsports in their partnership with Arrow McLaren, it made the call to stay in Indianapolis in 2024 a tough decision.
With the rule changes put in place concerning Playoff waivers this time around, their hand has been forced to make the Cup Series the priority should the call need to be made whether to stay or go.
“Last year as the rain started coming and the delays started coming, it started being a factor of okay, you know, how do you take this opportunity from Kyle Larson and the team? Everybody’s worked so hard for their one and only shot at racing in the Indy 500, especially now that the track’s starting to dry and it’s starting to clear up,” he explained.
“You know, we kind of took into account at that point, yes, he’s gonna miss the start of the 600, but we still had the plan to get him here and get him in the car and finish the race and you know, that’s what bit us really was that on both sides.
“That’s just not the case this year.”
The 109th running of the Indianapolis 500 is scheduled for a 12:45 pm ET green flag, with driver introductions for the Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte at 5:25 pm ET and the race scheduled for 6:00 pm.
To make it to Charlotte on time, Larson would need to depart Indianapolis at approximately 4:00 pm ET. The past three seasons, the Indy 500 has finished at just under three hours.
Larson will start from 19th place in Indianapolis and on the outside of the front row in Charlotte.
zyj6uh