Larson uses Indy 500 testing to learn on the fly
INDIANAPOLIS — Kyle Larson embraces the challenge of racing in any car on any track at any time.
He’s now facing his trickiest quest yet — preparing for his Indianapolis 500 debut next month.
Larson returned to the historic 2.5-mile oval Wednesday for the first of two days of open testing and spent his time on the track trying to learn as much as possible. The 2021 NASCAR Cup champion is going to attempt to complete the Memorial Day weekend double — 1,100 miles of racing in Indianapolis and Charlotte, N.C., on the same day.
“I went out there, I was starting to get like tighter and tighter [steering] and then [Josef ] Newgarden passed me and I got like super tight,” Larson said, referring to last year’s first-time Indy winner. “So I don’t know if that amount of tight was real but I would assume it’s probably more real than not having another car out there.”
It didn’t take Larson long to show what he’s already deciphered. He posted the second-fastest lap in morning practice, 226.384 mph, albeit with a tow. Only Newgarden, at 228.811, was quicker.
But Larson may be better suited to successfully completing the Indy-NASCAR double than today’s more specialized drivers.
His busy schedule and willingness to compete in so many formats rekindle images of the days race fans watched A.J. Foyt and Mario Andretti competing on nearly any circuit.
Still, getting acclimated to the nuances of the faster, lighter IndyCars is a challenge.
In Larson’s previous trip to Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a sunny October day, he needed roughly 2 1/2 hours to pass the race’s three-phase rookie test before spending the rest of the afternoon running flat out in little or no traffic. He also detected some spots where overconfidence — or wind gusts — could take drivers for a wild ride into the concrete walls.
Larson, who finished second in a NASCAR race at Martinsville, Virginia this past weekend, said it would have been more “overwhelming” had he been dealing with rookie orientation during Wednesday’s test.
He returned to the Arrow McLaren No. 17 Chevrolet in February on Phoenix’s 1-mile oval and acknowledged he nearly spun out the car that his NASCAR team, Hendrick Motorsports, also is backing. Larson called it a good sign to be running on the car’s edge.
With the May 26 double nearing, the higher stakes come with more complicated lessons.