Kyle Larson surprised Arrow McLaren boss on curveball-filled Indy 500 test day

Kyle Larson will make his second attempt at the Double Duty this year, as he has continued his partnership with Arrow McLaren for the upcoming Indy 500 with the support of HMS. This meant that the 32-year-old would make his way to the Indy 500 open test, but was met with various curveballs, which the California-born driver glided over with ease, leaving team principal Tony Kanaan surprised.

The Cup Series champion's Double Duty attempt last year went in vain as weather led him to choose between racing at the Coca-Cola 600 or the Indy 500. While Larson decided to stick with the latter event, his result at the fabled race was not great due to his late-race speeding penalty.

Despite the setback last year, Larson has set his sights yet again on the double header. Moreover, the preparations for the Indy 500 race day began with an open test in April, which he attended with Arrow McLaren to get up to speed for the race next month.

However, the open test was filled with its hurdles, but Larson made his way past them. This flabbergasted 2013 Indy 500 winner and McLaren team principal, Tony Kanaan, said, via IndyCar:

"I think we all had today with all the curveballs we got, but as far as communication/radio and all the issues we all know. But I was not worrying, Kyle [Larson] was not worrying, everybody got a little excited for a long time because we were waiting for a long time and we thought we are going to run out of time.

"It was eight laps left on a full power run so I wasn't concerned but it's funny to see how calm Kyle was, which [was] completely unlikely of me in the same situation so always learning something."

Larson's debut Indy 500 attempt ended with an 18th-place finish, despite starting on the second row.

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What would winning the Indy 500 mean for Kyle Larson?

Kyle Larson at the NTT IndyCar Series Indianapolis 500 Qualifying - Source: Getty

The pit lane speeding penalty was a big blow for Kyle Larson. He had remained in the top 10 for the majority of the race, but the drive-through penalty came as a crushing fate for the aspiring driver.

Moreover, when asked about how he would feel after winning the Indy 500 in his second attempt at the elusive event, Larson deemed it would be unreal, and said, via McLaren:

"It would be unreal. Sure, I wouldn’t be out there if I didn’t think I could do it, but gosh, I don’t even know. That would take your status to a completely different level."

Meanwhile, Kyle Larson posted the 11th-fastest time during the first day of testing and would like to move up the ranks while the IndyCar grid readies up for the racing spectacle next month.