Since Kyle Larson’s plans to race in the Indy 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 on the same day during the 2024 Memorial Day Weekend came to light last year, the motorsports world has been eagerly awaiting the upcoming Sunday. A mere number of steps away now, there are issues that have popped out of nowhere and threaten to foil the Double attempt in the final minute.
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First off, news of the former U.S. Commander-in-chief Donald Trump attending the race emerged. This meant that the airspace surrounding the track would be restricted and prevent Larson from flying into Concord after completing his Indy 500. Next, worrying reports about the weather on Sunday jumped in and cast doubts over the Coca-Cola 600 beginning at the scheduled time.
After completing his Indy 500 in Indianapolis at around 4:00 p.m. on May 26, Larson will have just a couple of hours to get to Charlotte where the Coca-Cola 600 is set to begin at 6:18 p.m. With these issues tightening his chances even still, the sanctioning body has stepped in and assured fans that it will be doing everything within reason to make sure that his attempt goes as planned.
NASCAR’s Senior Vice President of Competition, Elton Sawyer, said in a recent appearance on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, “We are going to work closely with the folks at Speedway Motorsports, our TV broadcast partners, and the folks at HMS to do everything we can to make sure that Kyle can get there. Within reason.” The words do come as a welcome reassurance.
#NASCAR‘s Elton Sawyer says the sanctioning body will work closely with all parties involved “within reason” to ensure @KyleLarsonRacin gets to @CLTMotorSpdwy in time for the #CocaCola600
More from the SVP of Competition → https://t.co/MKhd9eLXG8 pic.twitter.com/yFNL0xuy1K
— SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Ch. 90) (@SiriusXMNASCAR) May 23, 2024
Why could Kyle Larson be forced to abandon the Indy 500?
Even if the storm clouds from the Mississippi River Valley blow over Concord to facilitate a smooth running of the Cup Series race, Larson could be forced to miss the Indy 500. That’s because the weather forecast in Indianapolis during the Indy 500 calls for rain as well. Should it rain, Larson’s wish is that it rains throughout Sunday and the race is moved to Monday.
The Coca-Cola 600 is an important race in his NASCAR title charge and one that he cannot afford to miss. If the Indy 500 is postponed by just a few hours, he will have to abandon ship and fly to compete in the Cup race alone thereby ending his Double attempt even before it begins. “We’ve talked about it many times, and we know we need to be at Charlotte for the points,” Rick Hendrick said to AP. “We’re just going to let it play out … we’ll make that decision Sunday.”
