Kyle Larson was at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Wednesday. The driver ran laps in the No. 17 Arrow McLaren Racing Chevrolet for the second day in a row in preparation for the Indy 500 that he is set to race in on May 25. In the aftermath of a clean day, he wished that his fellow Cup Series drivers would try racing in the Indy car.
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Thanks to the Next Gen car, the gap between NASCAR and IndyCar has narrowed significantly. Larson noted this and said, “It’s nothing too crazy. When I came back here for the Brickyard, I was surprised that the sensation felt as fast or faster than the Indy car because in the Cup car you’re sliding around more.”
Larson added, “I think with the Indy car, when you look at the wall, you feel like you’re hauling a**. But before that, you’re pretty stuck. Traffic is similar, but it is just magnified… I wish more guys would try it because they’d be surprised by how similar it all really is.”
Larson completed 103 laps on the day, recording a top speed of 223.985 mph. These numbers are better than the ones he produced at the end of the opening practice session on Tuesday.
Thursday will feature another six-hour session giving him more time to get used to his car. Last year, he started the Indy 500 in fifth place. The two days of qualifying to set the field for this year will fall on Saturday and Sunday. As for his wish to see more Cup Series drivers try IndyCar, defending champion Joey Logano has no interest in doing so.
Why Logano isn’t interested in racing an IndyCar
Logano was invited to Wednesday’s practice session as a trackside guest of Team Penske. Watching one of his toughest rivals perform so well in an Indy car, Logano came away highly impressed. He told the press he thought Larson was a freak for getting into any type of race car and mastering it almost immediately.
When asked about his interests in Indy Car, Logano was quick to shoot them down. He said, “I’m so center-focused on winning and not really focused on having fun, it’s just about winning, so for me, it’s best just to stay in my lane, my NASCAR lane and keep doing that as best as we can.”
He added, “It is fun talking to Kyle [Larson] about some of the things that are different. And, surprisingly, hearing him say how similar our Cup cars are [to Indy cars] now. It’s probably closer than it’s ever been with the Next Gen car now that we’re creating a lot of downforce underneath the car, the smaller sidewall tires, and the cars are a lot more edgier than they used to be.”
The gap between NASCAR and IndyCar is narrower than ever. But that does not mean Larson‘s job on May 25 will be any easier.
The Hendrick Motorsports driver failed to complete all 1,100 miles of the Double Duty last year due to bad weather. He will hope to go green in both the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600 and make history.
