When scary wrecks take place, or when drivers are hospitalized because of an accident suffered during racing, people on the outside often think—why would people take risks like that? The answer is quite simple. It is their love for racing. Kyle Larson, for instance, loves racing so much that he dedicates himself to it all year round—even in between Cup Series races.

The NASCAR schedule is hectic with races taking place every weekend in different parts of the country. It is tough on the body, but also the mind because of the lack of stability and time to rest. But Larson’s love for racing exceeds all of that.

The question of consistency with Kyle Larson

However, there were some doubts concerning the amount of racing the Hendrick Motorsports driver was putting himself through. His performances had severely dipped and the team had seemingly raised questions over the lack of consistency. Despite that, he went ahead to reveal a jam-packed schedule in interviews.

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When asked by a fan about his team’s input on his dirt racing schedule, Larson cleared the air by answering, “My NASCAR team has no input on my schedule. Once everybody releases their schedule, I get like a 12-month calendar. I will plug in a bunch of races that I have as options for me […] I just highlight the one that makes the most logistical sense.” 

During the same interview with David Gravel, he pointed out, “Logistics kind of trumps everything, but also big races. I try to go race the race that day of that week that is the biggest. Pays the most, means the most, all that. But also is not flying across the country to get to the NASCAR race that weekend.” 

But he doesn’t see it as a burden. He probably thinks the year has too few days. “I have a lot of fun with it. It changes often… like I’ll get bored and I’ll pull up my schedule on my Excel sheet and change stuff here and there. I enjoy it.”

But with his Indy participation announced for 2024, he will have to get back to his competitive best in 2023.

The double deal with Hendrick Motorsports

There aren’t too many races like the Indy 500. Apart from the difficulty of the whole event, there’s a lot of prestige involved in just competing in the race—winning it would be an achievement for a lifetime.

Rick Hendrick believes Larson is the best among the four HMS drivers, and therefore his participation was announced for 2024. Larson said after the announcement, “Competing at the Indianapolis 500 is a dream of mine and something I’ve wanted to do for a very long time—since I was a child before I ever began competing in sprint cars.

“I’m grateful for the opportunity and am really looking forward to […] competing in both the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 and maybe even get a win or two that day.”

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Larson is aiming big; it’s a feat that only Tony Stewart has been able to bring home. But if there’s anyone in NASCAR who can do it, it probably is Kyle Larson.