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Kyle Larson Wary of IndyCar venture, Reveals Minute Details That Could Make or Break Indy 500 Debut

Published 03/13/2024, 12:59 PM EDT

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Kyle Larson’s 2024 just got off to a fantastic start after he won the first race of the season, hands-down dominating the field to earn a pass into the playoffs. Another thing that adds significance to this year is the HMS ace’s highly anticipated IndyCar debut later this year. Kyle will follow the path of the great Tony Stewart, Kurt Busch, etc attempting the ‘Double Duty,’ in an effort to win both in NASCAR and IndyCar on the same day.

Speaking to Dale Earnhardt Jr, Larson revealed how things are panning out for him. Joining the veteran, the 2021 Cup Series champion also briefly mentioned variables that can play a crucial role during his IndyCar debut.

Kyle Larson doesn’t want to ‘overload’ with information for his IndyCar debut, reveals his plans for the open-wheel extravaganza

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Kyle Larson is gearing up for his double duty taking on the most grueling race in NASCAR and IndyCar on the same day to prove his mettle. His highly anticipated IndyCar debut at Indianapolis Motor Speedway has received full-on backing from his team, Hendrick Motorsports.

While the driver tested his Chevrolet-powered Arrow McLaren SP Dallara at Phoenix a couple of months back to get a feel for the car, the driver is yet to get the full-on IndyCar experience at the iconic track. Reflecting on his Indy preparations Dale Jr asked him the obvious, hoping to get-in more updates. To which Larson said, I’ve got to do a couple of tests by myself now and that’s been great. You know, just kind of just get me to focus on the car and…You know what I’m feeling behind the wheel, but you know, now I just, uh, I really want to get on track. with other drivers and…You’ll get behind them. You see, kind of how they do things, feel how the cars feel in traffic, the runs that are made, you know, in the draft, all those sort of things.” 

Furthermore, he mentioned the two-day testing session at the track later next month and shared his thoughts about the same, saying, That’ll be the first time I’m on track with other drivers so I’m sure it doesn’t get like super aggressive or anything but I’m sure there’ll be a time where I can get behind a group of cars and get to feel that. Yeah, still gotta work on all the little details though, you know, pulling it out of the pit stall, stuff like that getting all their controls to where I’m you’re comfortable and confident with you know where they’re at and and what they do. Um… because all those little details I think is gonna be the difference in you know, whether I run Top 10 or I run outside the top 20 so, I just got to prepare myself the best that I can and hopefully it all goes smooth.” 

He further mentioned that he is not a big fan of asking for help from his predecessor, saying that he doesn’t want to ‘overload’ himself with a whole lot of information but instead likes to keep things calm and cool for his big debut. Even though the driver opened up about not asking for help, he mentioned who he might consider reaching out to seek some advice.

Kyle Larson foresees himself leaning on Kurt Busch to help him with his upcoming ‘Double’

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Just after the HMS driver gave out his plans for the next month, Dale Jr popped another question, “Is there a driver in the series that you’re leaning on to help you with all this?” Though Larson initially said, he is not leaning on anybody, on second thoughts the driver named legendary Kurt Busch as the one who could help him out, saying, I really foresee myself kind of leaning on Kurt Busch a fair amount if he wants me to. He was my teammate at Ganassi(CGR) for a couple of years there so, and he’s had a great experience at the speedway and Indycars, so I plan on talking to him and anybody else, you know.” 

I don’t want to confuse myself with things. I don’t want to filter through what everybody’s saying so, Jimmy(Johnson) would be a good guy to talk to just because he’s done it most recently. But again, I don’t want to overload myself, either. I think it is to a point, you almost have to. Try and figure some things out on your own,” said the driver, mentioning his current mindset.

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It will definitely be interesting to watch Kyle Larson attempt this feat and as his practice session is witness, it might not be that hard to achieve.  

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Written by:

Kishore R

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Kishore is a NASCAR Writer at EssentiallySports. He actively covers live events and does detailed race analyses, helping fans understand the very nitty gritties of the sport. Using the right mix of storytelling and game expertise, Kishore can take his readers on a journey to see how a particular race was for some of their most loved drivers, like Kyle Busch and Chase Elliott.
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Edited by:

Shreya Singh