The Indianapolis 500 is officially under a rain delay but it appears Kyle Larson has made a decision about the conflict that now lies ahead of him, Hendrick Motorsports and Arrow McLaren Racing.
The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion has told NBC Sports that the Indianapolis 500 is the priority over the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
“I think our plan is to keep this as the priority,” Larson told NBC Sports. “Yeah, I think I would be here racing. But I’m actually bummed about that in a way because I just want it to rain out today. With the rain coming, I would rather the storm be bigger and last here longer. It looks like there’s going to be tin hat window where we might be able to get it dry to race at some point today. Then obviously that affects things for the 600. Yeah, it’s still weather, so you don’t know how it’s going to be exactly.
“I don’t know. I would say the worst-case scenario is happening, which is just a bummer more than anything. But we’ll get to get on track in something at least today. That’s exciting.”
Larson intended to become the fifth driver in North American motorsports history to attempt the same day Memorial Day Sunday Double — running both the Indianapolis 500 and Coca Cola 600 on the same day.
Now, a line of thunderstorms that should be out of the Speedway, Indiana area is forcing Larson to pick one over the other. Larson needed to be out of Indianapolis by 4:15 to start both races but the Indianapolis 500 may not start until 4:30 p.m.
It’s a complicated matter because Larson is the current Cup Series championship leader. And while he is already locked into the playoffs, winning the regular season championship would earn him 15 bonus points towards each round of the playoffs.
NASCAR also requires every driver to start every race to remain playoff eligible unless he receives a waiver. The expectation appears to be that the sanctioning body will grant that request but Larson will likely lose his championship lead as a result.
Justin Allgaier is on standby to start the Coca Cola 600 in his absence.
Larson has a two year deal to run this race with Arrow McLaren so this shouldn’t be his only opportunity.
“It’s not just my decision,” Larson told NBC. “I think it’s everybody within Hendrick: Rick Hendrick, Hendrick Automotive Group, Hendrick Motorsports. I think we’re all part of the decision. Jeff Gordon, Jeff Andrews. And there’s just been so much time and investment to make this Indy 500 happen. I mean, it’s been a buildup for over a year. We need to run it. And I want to. We have a really good shot to run and potentially win. So, I want to be here.
“I just wish it’d all work out and we can get both races in and the full distance. I don’t care if it’s on the same day. I just want to race both races the full distance. But we’ll see.”