SPEEDWAY, Ind. – Kyle Larson was like a kid on Christmas as he completed his Rookie Orientation Program at Indianapolis Motor Speedway—with the Hendrick Motorsport contingent living vicariously through the 31-year-old racer.
Larson completed 72 laps with a top speed of 217.898 mph behind the wheel of the No. 17 HendrickCars.com Arrow McLaren Chevrolet on the 2.5-mile oval in anticipation of becoming just the fifth driver to complete the Indianapolis 500/Coca-Cola 600 double.
When both cars were unveiled for the “Hendrick 1100” two months ago, car owner Rick Hendrick said the venture was something “all of us had dreamed about.” Larson added the opportunity truly hadn’t sunk in. On Thursday, the experience edged closer to reality for the 2021 NASCAR Cup champion. Larson described his ROP as “fun.”
“I guess mostly what I anticipated in a way, the speed and the grip didn’t feel thankfully scarier than what I thought it might,” Larson said. “But just like how much the car wants to pull left, you have to fight it back to the right on the straightaways. All that was something I didn’t expect.
“The way the wheel was lighter, a lot lighter than the simulator, but still a little heavier than what I expected. Other than that, I thought it went really smooth.”
Although Larson had the luxury of spending time in the simulator to prepare for the test, there were certainly intricacies on the IndyCar that took him a little more time to adapt.
“I think more of the pit road side of things is where I’ll have to work more on,” Larson said. “Just the steering is so slow, you have to turn so far getting in and out, if you’re coming in around someone, leaving out around someone. Getting used to the steering at the slower speeds will be something to get used to.
“Then maximizing the apron, braking for pit road, stuff like that, is stuff I’ll have to really focus on and work on, maximizing potential. Overall, it was a great day. Felt like everybody at McLaren did a really good job prepping me to make things easier to get up to speed.”
Arrow McLaren Sporting Director Tony Kanaan is mentoring Larson throughout the process. The 2013 Indianapolis 500 winner was careful not to overwhelm the rookie with too much data during the course of the exercise.
While Larson’s ability to adapt—and succeed—in whatever race car he climbs into has been well documented, Kanaan insisted on sticking to the basics until they return for the Indy 500 open test in April.
“It makes my life easier when you have a superstar, so it makes me look good,” Kanaan said. “I woke up this morning, I was actually nervous. I didn’t know why. There’s no reason for me to be. I think the good thing is Kyle and I were teammates back in the day. We won the (2015) 24 Hours of Daytona together, so we knew each other. We fit in each other’s seat. It was seamless.
“I think we did what we were supposed to do today. It was a lot of information that I was trying to filter and tell people to stop talking to him about. He doesn’t have to worry about that. Yeah, come back here in April and get on.”
Similar to Kanaan, Jeff Gordon was a bit anxious entering the day. The vice chairman of HMS spent his formative years in Pittsboro, Indiana, prior to moving to North Carolina to pursue a career in NASCAR. When he returned to IMS for the first time behind the wheel of a stock car, Gordon won the inaugural Brickyard 400—the first of 10 victories for HMS at the track.
“I think some of my nervousness was in conversations with him, putting myself in the driver’s seat of what would I be going through right now when this is the very first time he’s ever been in an IndyCar, he’s going to go out there and go 220 miles per hour, only being here in a stock before that and a simulator,” Gordon said.
“But making sure we’re doing it right. We’re partnering with a great team to be sure this goes smooth and we’re aligned in a way that we can make it successful, as well. We know what Kyle’s capabilities are. We’ve seen him drive everything and anything, and succeed at it. But this is different. We’re going to recognize that.”
Clearly, the anticipation is building for Gordon, even though he’ll have to wait seven months to see the green flag wave on the “Hendrick 1100.”
“It’s just so special to be here,” Gordon said. “I go back as a kid, the first time I came here. My memories of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, my heroes, seeing my first Indy 500 live, going to the museum. It seems so surreal here we are having Kyle Larson and Rick and Hendrick Motorsports be a part of this effort.
“I think next May is going to be just an experience I’ll never forget. It definitely was different walking in here. It’s one thing to be a competitor on your own, it’s another thing to be supporting an effort, a team like Arrow McLaren, just seeing how well they prepared for today, how smooth it went.”
Despite Hendrick’s remarkable success in motorsports—with 14 championships and 300 Cup wins—he has never participated in the Greatest Spectacle in Racing as a car owner or sponsor. Larson’s debut on May 26, 2024, will mark his first.
“It didn’t really hit me till I saw him,” Hendrick said. “We had the car here when we had the unveiling. But when you hear it and see it come by and he’s in it, it was goosebumps. It was goose bumps, it was pride. Happy for him because it’s on the bucket list for him. Probably Jeff and I, too.
“But, to hear it, see it, watch the speed when it came by, that brought it all to life.”
If Larson had one regret on Thursday, it was that his parents weren’t at IMS to share in the moment. Mike and Janet Larson are fixtures at the track. Growing up in Elk Grove, California, Larson quickly climbed the open wheel ranks on dirt. But his father always believed that Kyle’s path would carry him to IndyCar, not NASCAR.
“They were here this week,” Larson said. “I was surprised when they weren’t sticking around for today. They had to get home to California. They go to so many of my things. Knowing how big this was, I thought they would…They had to go back to get the dog. If not for that, they would have been here.
“I’m sure I’ll get to talk to them. I don’t know if I’ll get to see them this week in Vegas. I’ll call them and talk to them on the phone. It’s going to be exciting next year when April or May comes around because it’s going to be real then, race time, getting ready for the race then. This is such a huge race to myself and my family and so many people that I’m glad I get to do it.”
Follow Lee Spencer on Twitter @CandiceSpencer or email her at: [email protected].
