Kyle Larson’s attempt to complete the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 on the same day was one of the major storylines of 2024. And the Hendrick Motorsports driver is set to attempt the double again despite last season’s disappointment. So, has he already begun preparing for redemption? Not yet.
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Larson spoke to motorsport.com recently and revealed that he hasn’t even confirmed the members of his crew yet. A proper discussion and strategy meetings with Arrow-McLaren are still pending.
On the brighter side, the reason for the laidback approach is that this won’t be his maiden attempt. He now knows what to expect from the Indy 500 and that is a huge advantage.
“Last year, I didn’t know what to expect on anything. So, I feel like I over-prepped in a lot of ways — which is still good, but once I go to do it, it wasn’t really any different than what I’m used to. I haven’t done any prep, and I think I probably won’t do anything until the Open Test in April…”
“I haven’t had the chance to talk to anybody from McLaren. I don’t know what my team looks like. I don’t know anything about it.” Larson said.
Larson showed a lot of promise in last year’s race. He qualified in style and almost finished in the top 10 before a speeding penalty caught him off-guard and relegated him to a tail-end finish.
He hopes to avoid such mistakes in the upcoming Memorial Day Weekend and create history. NASCAR, in the meanwhile, is doing all it can to make things trickier for him.
NASCAR imposes harsher rules in anticipation of the Double
The promotion granted Larson a playoff waiver in 2024 even though he missed driving in the Coca-Cola 600. It won’t be repeating the leniency if a similar situation plays out in the upcoming season. In a set of changes that it enacted recently, NASCAR confirmed that a playoff-eligible driver who misses a race will lose all his playoff points.
Drivers who miss a race due to a medical emergency will be allowed through the gate with their points. But the others will be relieved of their playoff points and will be forced to start the postseason from 16th place.
They will also be able to start the postseason with a maximum of 2,000 points. Anything higher will be reset to this limit.
While extremely harsh, both Larson and Rick Hendrick understand why such measures need to be taken.
Hendrick said, “We will be here for the 600. If that means having to cut the race short in Indy, we will, because my commitment to NASCAR is that we’re in NASCAR, and that’s where we run for the championship.” Needless to say, a lot depends on the mood of the skies too.
