It’s officially the month of May, which means Kyle Larson is ramping up preparations to make his second attempt at ‘The Double’, where he’ll compete in both the Indianapolis 500 (Indianapolis, IN) and the Coca-Cola 600 (Charlotte, NC) on the same day.
The Elk Grove, California-native attempted to do exactly that last season, but didn’t get the opportunity to turn a single lap in the Coca-Cola 600 before the event was called due to inclement weather.
This time around, Larson and Hendrick Motorsports have made some significant alterations to the program, with the NASCAR Cup Series serving as priority over the Indianapolis 500.
After speaking to members of the media at Texas Motor Speedway on Saturday, it appears those alterations aren’t just for Memorial Day Weekend, but will also apply to Indianapolis 500 qualifying, which coincides with the NASCAR All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro.
Last year, after putting his No. 17 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet into the Fast Six for Indianapolis 500 qualifying, Larson stayed in Indianapolis to make his final qualifying run before jetting to North Wilkesboro to compete in the NASCAR All-Star Race.
The 31-time NASCAR Cup Series race-winner did end up making it in time to take the green flag for the NASCAR All-Star Race, but did end up cutting it pretty close. This year, though, the Fast Six qualifying session starts an hour later, which would make it difficult to make it back to North Wilkesboro should Larson advance.
However, the 32-year-old driver said on Saturday that should he advance into the Fast Six in Indianapolis 500 qualifying, he would likely skip making that final qualifying run, taking a sixth-place starting spot, in order to make it to North Wilkesboro in time for the All-Star Race.
“I think that I would miss the Fast Six and go to the All-Star Race,” Larson said. “It’s important to race in it, there’s a lot of money on the line, so sure, it would be great to have an opportunity to get the pole, but I’d rather race for a million dollars, I think, and start sixth.”
Larson is a three-time winner in the NASCAR All-Star Race and swept the weekend in NASCAR’s return to North Wilkesboro Speedway in 2023, winning both the NASCAR All-Star Race and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event.
“But, we’ll see, you never really know how it’s going to go, got to make sure our car is even fast enough to worry about that anyways.”
