UPDATE: Wednesday, April 10, 2024 at 6:00 PM ET
Heavy rain hit the Indianapolis Motor Speedway around 2:00 PM ET on Wednesday, which brought an end to Day 1 of Open Testing for the 108th Indianapolis 500. Kyle Larson finished the day as the second fastest driver overall in the No. 17 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet entry. Josef Newgarden, who drives the No. 2 Chevrolet for Team Penske, was the fastest in the session.
Larson, who is making his debut start in the Indianapolis 500 this season as he attempts the Hendrick 1100, ran a total of 47 laps on Wednesday, and was focused on getting acclimated to picking up overall racecraft in the open wheel cars.
“Getting in some traffic and feeling the turbulent air,” Larson said. “The first time I got in traffic, I think my tires still had good grip, so I was surprised. It didn’t feel that different in traffic. Then the last time, I was building understeer, and Newgarden got by me and I was super tight behind him.
“I’m just trying to learn all that and process all that and knowing what I can do in the car to cope with that. I’m just trying to figure out any bit of racecraft today, which I know is tough. Just get notes in my head and all that.”
Larson and the other 33 drivers will return for Day 2 of Indianapolis 500 Open Testing, which is scheduled for Thursday at 10:00 AM ET. That session will run through 4:00 PM ET. The session will be streamed live on Peacock.
ORIGINAL STORY: Wednesday, April 10, 2024 at 11:58 PM ET
Kyle Larson impressed during the veteran oval driver portion of Day 1 of the two-day NTT IndyCar Series Open Test Session for the 108th Indianapolis 500 on Wednesday morning. Driving the No. 17 Arrow McLaren machine, Larson clocked in a lap time of 39.756 sec., which equates to a 226.384 mph circuit around the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Here is a video of the moment that Larson clicked off his fastest lap of Wednesday morning’s session:
Casually driving 226 mph. ?
That’s a P2 run for @KyleLarsonRacin. ?
pic.twitter.com/yA3RO13gZ4— Arrow McLaren IndyCar Team (@ArrowMcLaren) April 10, 2024
Larson’s lap, which came with drafting help from other cars on the track, was the second-fastest overall lap of the session trailing only Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden, who turned a 39.334 sec. lap (228.811 mph).
Just a rookie. pic.twitter.com/xJ4zfQWvcN
— No. 5 Team (@Hendrick5Team) April 10, 2024
It was an excellent start to the Indianapolis 500 experience for Larson, who will be a rookie competing in the iconic event for the first time this season. Larson was able to take part in the two-hour veteran driver test session on Wednesday morning by virtue of completing his Rookie Driver Orientation at Indianapolis Motor Speedway last October.
Larson also competed in an extended test session for Arrow McLaren at Phoenix Raceway back in February.
After the near-two-hour veteran driver session on Wednesday morning, the track was then opened for rookie orientation practice and refresher at 11:00 AM ET, which was halted due to rain drops just before Noon ET.
The track is currently scheduled to open back up to all competitors, including Larson, from 1:00 PM ET to 6:30 PM ET on Wednesday afternoon, but that is all dependent upon weather.
Even if weather continues to be a factor on Wednesday, Larson will have a chance to get even more familiar with his race car as Day 2 of the Indianapolis 500 Open Test is set to take place on Thursday, April 11 from 10:00 AM ET to 4:00 PM ET.
The 31-year-old Larson is set to become the first driver since Kurt Busch in 2014 to compete in the Indianapolis 500, Coca-Cola 600 double-header. Following competing in the Indy 500, Larson will hop in a plane and travel to Charlotte Motor Speedway for 600 miles in his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1.
Larson, who announced his bid to run the 2024 Indianapolis 500 in January 2023, will pilot special matching blue, orange, and white paint schemes on both cars during the Memorial Day race weekend. Larson’s double is being dubbed the “Hendrick 1,100”.
