INDIANAPOLIS — Three decades or so ago, Kyle Larson would have had the right path to the Indianapolis 500. A California kid making his name on the USAC and dirt ranks. Sound familiar?
That was Jeff Gordon in the late 80’s. He forged a new path from Sprint Cars to stardom. He went to the southeast and to NASCAR country.
93 wins and 4 championships later, he made the right decision. That decision however, opened up a new door to a new world. It’s the path that drivers like Tony Stewart, Ryan Newman, Carl Edwards and others famously took.
Once upon a time, that USAC road led to Indianapolis. Now, it leads to Charlotte.
Still, it’s one that Jeff Gordon has always wondered, what if? On Thursday, Gordon was on hand at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway watching Larson pilot an Indy Car on these hallowed grounds.
“Yeah, hard not to really get excited for this opportunity for Kyle (Larson),” Gordon said after Larson completed his Rookie Orientation Program on a nice warm and sunny day in Central Indiana. “Somewhere deep inside wish I had gotten an opportunity.”
Gordon wanted originally to have that opportunity. But in those days, it was transitioning into the way it has been for decades since – how much money could you bring? Gordon brought a helmet and a youthful exuberance with dozens of trophies in hand.
CART owners of those days had their hands out. Gordon went south and the rest is history. Larson followed that same path. However, John Andretti in 1994 opened up a new path back. He forged a road from Charlotte to Indy.
He became the first driver to race in the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on the same day. No one else had attempted this feat before. Sure, NASCAR drivers have come to Indianapolis. Cale Yarborough, LeeRoy Yarborough, Junior Johnson, Neil Bonnett, Bobby and Donnie Allison, Curtis Turner and others showed up to do ROP just as Larson did. The only difference being, they didn’t also run the ‘600 on the same day.
Andretti is one of four drivers to race in both events on the same day. He finished 10th, 4 laps down at Indy in 1994 and 36th for the ‘600. Robby Gordon was the next successful driver to do so in 1997 finishing 29th here and 41st at Charlotte. Tony Stewart did so as a Cup rookie in 1999 finishing 9th at Indy and 4th at Charlotte. Gordon did it in 2000 (6th at Indy, 35th at Charlotte), 2002 (8th at Indy, 16th at Charlotte), 2003 (22nd at Indy, 17th at Charlotte) and 2004 (29th at Indy, 20th at Charlotte). Stewart tried it again in 2001 and was the only one to complete all 1,100 miles in finish 6th here after completing all 200 laps and then 3rd at Charlotte after running all 400 laps there.
It was 10 years before someone else tried to do the double. Kurt Busch successfully finished 6th as an Indy 500 rookie for Andretti Autosport in 2014 and was 40th (271 laps completed) later that night in Charlotte.
Now, nearly a decade after that feat, Larson is going to attempt the double next May. Before he could do so, he had to knock out his three ROP phases. Shortly after 11 a.m. local time, Larson hopped into the No. 6 Dallara-Chevrolet prepared by Arrow McLaren Racing and peeled out of pit lane to make his first laps in an NTT INDYCAR SERIES machine.
Phase 1 was 10 laps of 205-210 mph. He experienced what the trio of drivers who knocked out their ROP laps on Wednesday that it was harder to go through this phase than the others.
“I mean, it was harder to go slow,” he admitted. “It was hard to get yourself to run 205. When you’re running more throttle, it’s easier to kind of hit your target. So the slower the speed, it was just kind of hard for me to, like, figure out my timing. I would roll out on the straightaway, then I’d run wide open through one or two. I’d look at my dash. Okay, I think I’m okay for three and four, run some draw. I come off of four, I’m too fast, have to slow down a lot. Vice versa, I’m having to play catch-up on other laps, barely getting by.
“Once you went faster, you’re running more throttle, it’s easier to stay within that window.”
The reason being is due to these cars are setup to run fast at Indy. They’re not setup to run at those speeds. But, with how fast Indy is, you have to build up confidence before entering these corners are over 220 mph+.
Larson is okay with that process.
“I wanted to get up to speed. I didn’t want to take too long to get up to the 205 mark,” he said. “I didn’t want to get made fun of, Why did it take you so long? I did put pressure on myself to get your confidence built up here pretty quickly.
“Thankfully, after three or four laps, I was able to judge off the tach, we were in there. The ROP was nice because I was not ready to go flat for a while. Building up to that speed and pace and confidence was nice to do in ROP.
“Yeah, just going to feel what an INDYCAR feels like, be low to the ground, feel the acceleration through the gears was pretty crazy. All of that was eye-opening and an experience that I know for sure I’ll never forget. I look forward to kind of getting around cars, feeling how the dirty air affects things.”
Phase 2 is 15 laps of 210-215 mph The final phase was 15 laps over 215 mph. Larson breezed through those as he turned 72 laps on the day with a top speed of 217.898 mph.
“It was fun,” said Larson. “I guess mostly what I anticipated in a way, the speed and the grip didn’t feel thankfully scarier than what I thought it might. But just like how much the car wants to pull left, you have to fight it back to the right on the straightaways. All that was something I didn’t expect.
“The way the wheel was lighter, a lot lighter than the simulator, but still a little heavier than what I expected. Other than that, I thought it went really smooth.
“I think more of the pit road side of things is where I’ll have to work more on. Just the steering is so slow, you have to turn so far getting in and out. If you’re coming in around someone, leaving out around someone. Getting used to the steering at the slower speeds will be something to get used to.
“Then maximizing the apron, braking for pit road, stuff like that, is stuff I’ll have to really focus on and work on, maximizing potential.
“Overall it was a great day. Felt like everybody at McLaren did a really good job prepping me to make things easier to get up to speed. Thanks to everybody there.
“Yeah, glad to be through today and look forward to the open test in April.”
This speed rivaled the quickest Larson has gone in a race car. He says he remembers testing at Michigan in an ARCA car after the repave. At that time, ARCA had some big horsepower and he said he went around 220 mph into the first corner.
On Thursday, his top speed into the first corner at Indy was 221.187 mph.
“220 on paper is like crazy fast,” Larson said. “Obviously it is. But when you’re out there by yourself, this track is so smooth, it doesn’t feel like you’re going 220, or it doesn’t feel any different than going 195 at Daytona or something.
“I did look at the wall one time thinking, like, man, that would really hurt if I hit it (smiling). So things are obviously happening quickly.”
Larson said he expects running in a group will be a completely different scenario though.
“I think when you get around cars, you get passing… These INDYCARs make some big runs because the tow is so big. I think when people are blowing by you so fast on a straightaway or you’re doing the same with the tow that you get, I think that’s when the sensation is,” Larson said. “I think the sensation is more when you’re around other cars. And probably too when you go into qualifying trim, that’s when it’s going to be crazy. I think going another 20 miles an hour faster… 220 to 240-plus is a big difference in sensation. I’ll get to experience that next year.”
For Gordon and boss Rick Hendrick, seeing your NASCAR driver, one that’s 1 of 8 drivers left with a shot still to win this championship has to be nerve wrecking.
“Kyle, watching him in his craft, his element. I could tell he was a little bit nervous,” Gordon said. “My palms were sweating before he got out on track, as well. Immediately you just see it click when he made those first few laps and went into Kyle Larson mode of how do I get up to speed, go fast.
“I think some of my nervousness was in conversations with him, putting myself in the driver’s seat of what would I be going through right now when this is the very first time he’s ever been an INDYCAR, he’s going to go out there and go 220 miles per hour, only being here in a stock before that and a simulator.
“I think, Rick kind of alluded to this, but making sure we’re doing it right. We’re partnering with a great team to be sure this goes smooth and we’re aligned in a way that we can make it successful, as well.
“We know what Kyle’s capabilities are. We’ve seen him drive everything and anything, succeed at it. But this is different. We’re going to recognize that. He’s going to get a limited number of laps and experience before they’re ready to start qualifying and get him prepared to compete in this race.
“It’s exciting on one hand and nervousness on the other. But I’m certainly going to live vicariously through Kyle a bit, through this experience, and just see how excited he is about it. He clearly is.
“But I’m absolutely having a blast watching Kyle go through this process, seeing Rick here in Indianapolis, a part of an INDYCAR going around, being an owner and sponsor in this event. It will be his first time witnessing this event at the same time. I’m so excited to see it through that lens.
“There’s been a lot of discussions, a lot of planning, and today we’re really seeing it unfold in reality. Couldn’t be more thankful of INDYCAR, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, certainly Roger. What an amazing facility this is that he has.
“To go out there and see what Arrow McLaren did, as well, to just get Kyle up to speed and through the test was great. He doesn’t want to just come here and compete, he wants to come here and compete competitively.”
That’s something that not so very long ago, Rick Hendrick wouldn’t have allowed. Their stance was that they always paid handsomely and gave you great equipment to win championships in. As a result, he didn’t want his prized possessions risking injury in another car.
Whom could blame him? Racing is a dangerous sport.
“We always did not want them in anything other than a Cup car or Xfinity car,” Hendrick told me. “When I first started talking to Kyle, he convinced me that it made him sharper.”
He had a case. Larson before joining Hendrick Motorsports was an ace on dirt. He’s Picasso painting a masterpiece on dirt tracks. Plus, there’s something to be said for honing your craft in other forms of racing.
In a day-and-age of limited testing opportunities and just a handful of minutes in practice, racing on dirt is not only a way to keep Larson sharp, it’s his hobby. Some drivers hunt. Some drivers fish. Some golf. Larson…he races.
So Larson pleaded his case to Jeff Gordon to if you sign me, let me run dirt. Gordon talked to Mr. H. Hendrick changed his stance.
“I think for me, my dreams came true in the inaugural Brickyard 400, racing here in a stockcar. Of course, I wanted to race here in an INDYCAR early on, but the opportunity just was really never there,” Gordon admitted.
“When Kyle came onboard, he made it clear that this is something he’d like to do, and he’d like to do it before he feels like he’s outside of his prime, I guess, is the best way to put it.
“I got excited about that. I didn’t know how Mr. Hendrick was going to feel about that. I think between Kyle, myself, just the history of this place, it eventually kind of came together.”
However, Hendrick then saw a video of Larson that nearly ruined it all.
“One of the shows I watched, they had a clip on Kyle Larson crashes. I called him. He said, You weren’t supposed to see that,” Hendrick said.
But he relinquished that control and allowed Larson and all of his other drivers for that sake run extra races. It’s paid off in massivfe ways.
“I think it does make our guys — it helps them,” Hendrick continued. “William (Byron) has followed in his steps, run other cars. Chase (Elliott), too. Alex (Bowman) got hurt this year, a pretty bad example. Alex gets hurt in a car, he’s done racing those cars. Then Chase gets hurt on a snowboard. They’ve got to have a life.
“Jeff (Gordon) and I have talked about it. I think it does make him sharper to get in other things and drive ’em. I know one thing, he would be hard to handle if he wasn’t in those kind of cars. I’d have more problems with him, I think (smiling).
Larson joked: “Yeah, I might be skiing or snowboarding more often (smiling).”
Luckily he’s not. He was here knocking out his ROP. He’ll be back next spring for the open test. Then, when the calendar turns to May and the birds are chirping and the grass is turning back green, his No. 17 Dallara-Chevrolet will be on track hopeful of Indy glory on Memorial Day weekend.
“It didn’t really hit me till I saw him. We had the car here when we had the unveiling. But when you hear it and see it come by and he’s in it, it was goose bumps. It was goose bumps, it was pride,” Hendrick said of Larson turning laps here. “Happy for him because it’s on the bucket list for him. Probably Jeff and I, too.
“But, no, to hear it, see it, watch the speed when it came by, that brought it all to life.”
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