USA TODAY International Edition
Indy 500 run on wish list for NASCAR’s Larson
INDIANAPOLIS — Kyle Larson still believes there is an Indianapolis 500 in his future. Someday.
Maybe soon. Maybe not. It depends on whether the NASCAR star overcomes the nerves that accompany piloting an open-wheel car at 230 mph around Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
“I definitely would like to say I’ve raced the Indianapolis 500 someday,” Larson, 26, told IndyStar on Wednesday. “But, man, everyone talks about sprint cars being dangerous. Obviously you see what happened in Pocono (last) weekend with Robert Wickens and last year with (Sebastien) Bourdais and (Scott) Dixon. So it’s a little nerveracking.
“I don’t know. We’ll see. I still think I want to. I just kind of need to get the courage up to do it. Like I said, that race is so awesome. It’s always exciting racing. I think I would do good.”
Larson, who was in Indianapolis hanging a street sign featuring his name as part of a promotional tour for the upcoming Brickyard 400 weekend, echoed Tony Stewart’s recent sentiments about the proper way to take a crack at the Greatest Spectacle in Racing.
Like the Indiana native and racing legend, Larson said he’d need to know he was in a competitive car and ideally he’d have an opportunity to drive an
Indy car ahead of May.
“I think I would definitely want to go test a couple times, maybe a road course or something,” Larson said. “Something that’s slower pace that I could do a test at.
“I feel like to go there and have a good shot at winning, you need to go through the motions of pit stops and restart procedures. Everything is so opposite of what I’ve done.”
When asked what he thought of Stewart’s comments about taking his first shot at the 500 since 2001, Larson chuckled.
“Tony is going to have to shed some weight first,” he laughed.
Larson, who has spent plenty of time in Indiana himself as he cut his teeth in midget and sprint cars, said his goal would be to replicate Kurt Busch’s success from 2014. That year, Busch raced the “Memorial Day Double,” competing in the 500 and Coca-Cola 600 in the same day. Busch finished sixth, as he earned rookie of the year honors.
“I think Kurt did an amazing job,” Larson said. “I don’t see how anyone could do any better than he did with having as little experience as he did. I think to feel like you have a shot, you definitely want to test as much as you can, outside of Indy. Then if you could get a race in somewhere, somehow and get to learn the procedures of everything, that would give you your best shot to win.”
Larson said he’s not the only NASCAR driver who’d fare well at the 500 under the right circumstances. He hopes Kurt’s brother, Kyle Busch — who had a deal in place to race the 2017 500 nixed by his team owner — gives it a try soon. Christopher Bell, 23, who boasts a similar dirt-track background to Larson’s and now competes in NASCAR’s Xfinity Series, also would fare well in the 500, Larson said.
“Honestly I think there are so many guys in NASCAR who could do it, but outside of NASCAR it’d be nice to get someone like Bryan (Clauson), from the dirt-track side to do it again,” Larson said. “I think it’s important to keep that alive and keep that well.
“It seems like Tyler Courtney is the kind of the guy who’s taken (the mantle) from Bryan since he passed. It doesn’t have to even be Tyler. It could be someone else, but I think he’d be a great tie-in to race there. I mean, he spots the Indy 500 every year, so he knows how it works. I think he would do a great job.”