Kyle Larson is set to face his first test on the way to making his Indianapolis 500 debut in 2024.
The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion will participate in his Rookie Orientation Program next week alongside Chip Ganassi Racing’s Marcus Armstrong and Linus Lundqvist and Meyer Shank Racing’s Tom Blomqvist.
Larson will drive a car fielded by Arrow McLaren with support from Hendrick Motorsports, his NASCAR Cup Series team, with both owner Rick Hendrick and vice chairman Jeff Gordon in attendance at the Racing Capitol of the World on Thursday.
The Rookie Orientation Program has three phases, and a driver must check each box before moving on to the next one. They must complete all three by themselves before they are permitted to practice in a group and then race.
Phase 1 is 10 laps at 205-210 mph.
Phase 2 is 15 laps at 210-215 mph.
Phase 3 is 15 laps at 215-plus mph.
Larson said on Saturday at Talladega Superspeedway that he wasn’t sure what he would even be tasked to do but did plan to jump in the Chevrolet simulator this week in advance of his first actual track time next week at Indianapolis.
“I haven’t gotten anything yet,” Larson told Sportsnaut over the weekend. “I’ll be in the sim on Monday, and I’m sure I’ll get a lot of that information then, but yeah, I don’t even know what it is and what we do or how long the day goes.”
Larson was permitted to skip the first usual portion of a new driver requirement program, which is turning laps at Texas Motor Speedway or an equivalent oval. Larson was allowed to bypass that requirement due to his vast oval experience.
He will also be allowed to run his laps on Thursday after the others have conducted their ROPs due to his extensive racing schedule between NASCAR and the High Limit Sprint Car Series he co-owns with four-time World of Outlaws champion Brad Sweet.
“It’s tough because it’s in the middle of our playoffs, and I’m not entirely invested in that yet,” Larson said. “I guess I’m just supposed to pass a test. Like we’re not working on the cars, right? But I’m sure it will be fine, and I’ll figure everything out.”
Matt Weaver is a Motorsports Insider for Sportsnaut. Follow him on Twitter.