Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson is set to make history, as he would be making his IndyCar debut at the 2024 Indy 500. He will drive for Arrow McLaren’s HendrickCars.com sponsored challenger and is expected to be in the fight to become the first ever active NASCAR driver to win the iconic race at the Brickyard.
Kyle Larson has a special relationship with IndyCar and open wheel racing. His father, Mike Larson, was a big IndyCar fan, and though he used to watch NASCAR, the open wheel championship was the one that often intrigued him. The 2021 Cup champion raced open wheel cars majority of his junior career before making a switch to stock car racing.
While talking about his childhood IndyCar memories, he pointed that he fell in love with the sport because his father loved it, especially the Indy 500. The passion showed by his dad was enough for him to understand, 500 miles race is one of the biggest races ever in the world. A potential Indy 500 win would be the biggest gift he can give to Mike.
I remember being young watching on TV and just always seeing how massive the crowd was. There’s not a certain Indy 500 that I remember when I was young, like, ‘Oh, this driver won,’ and that’s when I fell in love with this. Just my dad’s love for the event, probably understanding from an early age, how much this race meant to him — even though we followed NASCAR, and IndyCar all that sort of stuff and sprint-car racing, I could tell that this was the biggest race in the world. Kyle Larson said Via Fox Sports.
Kyle Larson claims he is prepared for the stress of Indy 500 weekend
With the Indy 500 practice coinciding with North Wilkesboro All-Star race and the main race being on the same day at Coke 600, Larson is in for stressful month. But when asked about it, he pointed out that he is prepared to tackle those challenges always.
I think I stay prepared for things like this because I race all the time. These next two weeks, honestly, I feel like are simpler than most of my weeks. I’m in Indiana for a full week, and I’m behind one certain type of car for the majority of that week. Kyle Larson said.
The HMS driver has one of the biggest racing schedules of nay racer, as he often races the whole week. His schedule has, NASCAR, Sprit Car and dirt racing ventures, so he is prepared mentally for any types of challenges that comes his way.
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