“My Palms Were Sweating”: Kyle Larson’s Indy 500 Test Left Jeff Gordon Pretty Nervous

Sure, Kyle Larson is arguably the most talented driver of his generation. After all, the man has tasted success in almost everything he has been strapped into. However, even for someone with the talent and resume of Larson, the high speeds of racing in an INDYCAR at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in a session that determines whether you race at the INDY500 can be a bit daunting.

And that’s exactly what it was for Jeff Gordon, the former NASCAR driver and current executive at Hendrick Motorsports. The 4x Cup champion described his experience of watching the 2021 Cup champion put in lap after lap around IMS in the insanely fast single-seater.

Jeff Gordon opens up on his nerves watching Larson put in laps at IMS

For Jeff Gordon, after watching Larson exercising his craft, being in his element, he could tell Yung Money was “a little bit nervous.” In fact, the same was the case with him too.

“My palms were sweating before he got out on track as well,” Gordon confessed as per Hendrick Motorsports. “Immediately, you just see it click when he made those first few laps and went into Kyle Larson mode of ‘how do I get up to speed and go fast?”

Having said that, Gordon added that Larson wasn’t just there to compete for the sake of competition. But he was there to “compete competitively.”

Kyle Larson assesses his first taste of INDYCAR

In an interview after his first experience of driving in an INDYCAR at the IMS, Kyle Larson shared his observations of what he expected, what he didn’t expect, and what he could work on. “The speed and grip didn’t feel scarier than I thought it might,” he said.

Kyle Larson’s immediate takeaway from his first time driving an Indy car at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway pic.twitter.com/6poDzoZbd5

— Matt Weaver (@MattWeaverRA) October 12, 2023

As for what he didn’t expect was how much the car would pull left and how he had to fight to correct it and pull it back or how the wheel was lighter than the simulator but heavier than his expectations. The things Larson claimed he could focus and work on were getting used to the steering at slower speeds and working around the pit road stuff.

Having said that, Larson thanked everyone at McLaren for “a great day.”