Kyle Larson is a pretty calm, and even-keeled guy. I guess that comes with the territory when you’re one of the most talented and versatile racers on the planet. But at his Tuesday press conference announcing that he will officially attempt to complete ‘The Double’ in 2025 (an achievement, which was foiled this year by weather), Larson made a pretty stunning declaration.
The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion said that he was more worried about running his first race in a Dirt Late Model car, a race he wound up finishing fifth in, than he was running his first Indianapolis 500 earlier this year, a race where he qualified fifth, ran near the front all race and finished 18th after a late-race pit road speeding penalty.
“I don’t know. I think for sure that’s maybe more of a thought that’s from somebody who maybe doesn’t dabble in a lot of different disciplines, but for me, I was probably more nervous going from an open-wheel background to running a dirt late model for the first time,” Larson said when asked about his nerves when stepping outside of his comfort zone to run an IndyCar. “I feel like [the dirt late model] was more of, people wanted to see me fail in a way — just on the late model side just because obviously, you know, you always want to think late model guys are better than dirt sprint car guys. But I didn’t feel that way at all in doing this experience.”
Larson says the overwhelming support within the IndyCar and Indianapolis 500 community really helped ease any worry about the event, and bolstered his confidence heading into the Month of May.
“I felt like everyone wanted to see me do good, and that probably allowed me to have more confidence and be a little bit more relaxed about the time and what it might take to learn,” Larson explained. “But it was all fun, and I enjoyed the support for sure.”
The native of Elk Grove, California admitted that he did have some questions about what it would be like to drive an IndyCar prior to his test session at Phoenix Raceway in February. But once he got a chance to get behind the wheel, he says he felt comfortable right away.
“I think leading into never making a lap before, yeah, I didn’t know what to expect. But once I got in the car, I mean I immediately could tell it felt a lot like a Cup car,” Larson recalled. “Then, yeah, I wasn’t surprised about anything. Because to me it didn’t feel like I had to learn anything new. Maybe just restart the procedure, and stuff like that. You know, some buttons on your steering wheel, but even that’s not a big deal. The cars felt very similar, you’re just going faster. And it doesn’t even feel like you’re going that much faster because you have so much grip.
“It’s nice that the Next Gen cars have kinda transitioned more to what an IndyCar feels like. I think if this was 2020 or 2021, yeah, it would have been a different experience, and the learning curve would have been a little bit more. But yeah, it wasn’t a big deal.”
Pretty wild to think that a big-bulky NASCAR stock car could have a similar feel from behind the wheel as a nimble open-wheeled IndyCar. Or perhaps Larson is so versatile that no change in a car can deter him. Either way, Larson is expected to compete and compete well when he gets his second crack at the Indianapolis 500 next May.
