With rare Indy 500/NASCAR 'Double,' Kyle Larson eyes new level in racing lore (2024)

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INDIANAPOLIS — The creases on 84-year-old Mario Andretti’s iconic face immediately turned to smile lines when he heard the question.

If NASCAR star Kyle Larson somehow won the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday, a reporter asked, where would it put Larson among the all-time American motorsports greats?

Andretti, sitting at a lunch table on the top level of Andretti Autosport’s two-story hospitality chalet inside Indianapolis Motor Speedway, leaned forward.

“In a space where he’ll probably be alone,” he said, eyes twinkling.

That’s high praise from a man widely considered to be one of the great drivers in world history, and arguably the best American. But Andretti adores Larson, in part because he sees much of himself in the 31-year-old Californian.

They are from different generations, but share a common bond: The love of driving any type of race cars while also possessing otherworldly talent to do so.

Only a few on Earth can understand.

“There’s no need for him to do something like that career-wise; his main effort is with NASCAR,” Andretti said. “But as you can see, he doesn’t get enough of driving. And I can definitely identify with that. Because it was the same for me; I just lived for driving a race car.”

Larson, like Andretti, has become known for his ability to win in every type of vehicle he’s climbed into. He is a NASCAR Cup Series champion and has won crown jewel events in sports cars (Rolex 24 at Daytona), sprint cars (Knoxville Nationals), dirt midgets (Chili Bowl Nationals) and dirt late models (Prairie Dirt Classic).

Now Larson is the fifth driver to attempt the famed “Double” — racing the Indy 500 and the Coca-Cola 600, NASCAR’s longest race — on the same day. He will race the No. 17 entry for Arrow McLaren at Indy, then fly to Charlotte to drive his familiar No. 5 for Hendrick Motorsports.

But for Larson, it’s not just about participating in both events. It’s about winning, which is why Andretti is so tickled at the thought.

“If he wins this and then goes to Charlotte and maybe even wins that?” Andretti said, breaking into delighted laughter. “Oh my goodness! That would go down in history.”

It’s a longshot, to be sure. But the mere idea that it seems possible speaks to Larson’s ability and status as a generational driver.

Jeff Gordon, the four-time NASCAR champion who is now vice chairman of Hendrick Motorsports, said he already views Larson in the same company as Andretti and another American motorsports icon, A.J. Foyt (who declined a request to speak about Larson).

“Everybody always says to me, ‘Oh my God, I’m so surprised he got in and picked it up that fast,'” Gordon said. “I say, ‘Yeah, I used to say that, too. I don’t say that anymore.’ You become accustomed to him doing very special things.”

But this will certainly be Larson’s tallest challenge yet, particularly if Larson is to match Tony Stewart as the only driver to complete every lap of both races on the same day.

Stewart was the driver from the generation that preceded Larson’s who was most often compared to Andretti and Foyt. Stewart, who is now racing in NHRA Top Fuel Dragsters, also did the Double twice and stands as the only driver to complete all 1,100 miles on the same day.

Stewart long sang Larson’s praises before the younger driver even made his first NASCAR start, and said Larson will need to be aware of the “adrenaline spikes” that occur on such a marathon day.

“He’s going to have one (spike) before driver introductions at Indy, he’s going to have one after Indy, and he’s going to have one when he lands at Charlotte before he even gets in the car,” Stewart said. “(There are) all these things he’s not even thinking about right now. It is going to be a very long, exhausting day for him.”

Jimmie Johnson, the seven-time NASCAR champion, ran the Indy 500 in 2022. He qualified 12th and finished 28th after crashing with just four laps to go. But even before his incident, Johnson wasn’t able to contend for the win because he hadn’t gotten to experience enough racing conditions during practice.

“That’s really what it is about, is getting reps in the very unique situations that you see in the race,” Johnson said of Larson’s task at Indy. “I personally didn’t see the aero situations and the traffic situations that came up during the race, and that is where I wasn’t as prepared as I would have liked.”

Larson missed out on a large part of last Thursday’s practice day, but did get to experience some traffic on Monday. Still, it’s unclear whether it will be enough.

The cars are twitchy in traffic and, at speeds of 230 mph, can quickly snap without warning and send drivers careening into a wall.

Additionally, the Indy 500 can often be thrown away with a pit road mistake. Even the top IndyCar drivers have been tagged with pit-road speeding penalties (like Scott Dixon when he was dominating the race in 2022) or stalled the car leaving their pit box.

Plus, Larson must fly to Charlotte on Saturday to qualify his NASCAR Cup Series car for the co*ke 600, then fly back to Indianapolis later that night.

“He’s mastering a new car, and he’s one of the best in the world at doing that,” said Josef Newgarden, the defending Indy 500 winner. “It’s a tough challenge. He’s trying to juggle his day job and still figure this out and the schedule behind it and all that. He’s got a lot on his plate, but it’s fun to watch.

“We’re happy he’s here. We want the best of the best to be in this race, and the more the merrier.”

It’s been so far, so good for Larson at Indy. He surprised many by not only becoming one of the dozen drivers who advance to the second day of pole qualifying, but ultimately securing a fifth-place starting spot, which gives him the middle of the second row of the race, among the 33-car field.

But whether or not Larson actually wins the race may not be reflective of his true performance. Rick Mears, who has a record-tying four Indy 500 victories, said luck and circ*mstances play a large part in deciding the winner of the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing.”

“He’s going to have his work cut out for him,” Mears said. “But he’s with a good team, and if the cards fall right and he does his job — which I know he will — and nothing new catches him by surprise, he’ll have an opportunity.”

—Jordan Bianchi contributed to this story

More on Kyle Larson

• For Kyle Larson’s Indy 500/NASCAR marathon, there will be one voice in his ear
• Kyle Larson on Indy 500 significance, a dust-up with Joey Logano and more: 12 Questions

(Top photo of Kyle Larson and his team after qualifying last week at the Indianapolis 500: Brian Spurlock / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Jeff Gluck has been traveling on the NASCAR beat since 2007, with stops along the way at USA Today, SB Nation, NASCAR Scene magazine and a Patreon-funded site, JeffGluck.com. He's been hosting tweetups at NASCAR tracks around the country since 2009 and was named to SI's Twitter 100 (the top 100 Twitter accounts in sports) for five straight years.