Larson is gearing up for his first-ever Indy 500, part of his plan to compete in both the IndyCar race and the NASCAR Cup Series event on Memorial Day Weekend. He’ll be driving the No. 17 car, which is a collaboration between Arrow McLaren and Rick Hendrick, powered by Chevrolet.
Because of unpredictable weather, like the rain that shortened practice on Tuesday, there’s talk about Larson’s backup plan. If something goes wrong, Larson, who’s leading in the Cup Series, would hand over his spot to Tony Kanaan, the winner of the 2013 Indy 500.
“Yeah, I hope it doesn’t happen,” Larson said. “But I’m not sure who decides that. There’s probably a time limit for me to leave because the Coca-Cola 600 is the main race that weekend, and chasing another NASCAR Cup Series championship is the priority.”
“I hope it doesn’t come to that. Tony Kanaan is ready to step in if needed for the Indy 500. But let’s just hope it doesn’t happen.”
But there’s a hitch: Kanaan can’t do his refresher practice unless Larson pulls out of the race. An IndyCar representative said that Kanaan can’t replace Larson after a certain number of laps, unlike a situation in 2021 when Santino Ferrucci replaced Jack Harvey after a practice crash.
IndyCar has allowed relief drivers before, like in the 2004 Indy 500 when Jacque Lazier subbed in for Robby Gordon. Larson, the fifth driver to attempt the double, is keeping an eye on the weather to see what happens next.
But for now, he’s just focused on soaking in the experience of racing an Indy car at the Speedway.
“I’m excited to learn new things and take on this new challenge,” Larson said. “Racing against drivers I’ve watched on TV for a long time is what excites me the most. But mostly, I’m just eager to learn and see if I can be competitive. If I can do well with that, the results will take care of themselves. I’m just excited to learn something new.”
