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Tony Kanaan has disclosed that he will not be able to replace Arrow McLaren's part-time driver, Kyle Larson, in case of rain if the driver takes a start at the greatest spectacle of motor racing, the Indy 500. The only option he will be left with is to retire their machine.
On May 26, 2024, Larson attempted to do Double Duty, entering the Indianapolis 500 for Arrow McLaren and the 2024 Coca–Cola 600 for Hendrick Motorsports scheduled for the same day. Unfortunately, he missed the NASCAR race due to the rain delaying the Indy 500.
In 2025, Larson will attempt the double again. However, this year, if the Indy 500 gets delayed, the 32-year-old will leave the race and fly to Charlotte for the NASCAR playoffs.
Speaking on the Dirty Mo Media podcast with Dale Earnhardt Jr., Tony Kanaan, who stepped into the role of Team Principal for Arrow McLaren ahead of the 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season, explained how Kyle Larson has his priorities clear in 2025. He shared that in case it rains after the start of the Indy 500 and Larson won't be able to continue, Kanaan will have to retire the car.
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"I really want him to do it. The biggest question I had for Jeff and Mr Hendendricks is if I'm starting this thing, what am I doing? Am I parking? Or am I going to go for I know what I want to do. Jeff says you're going to go try to win the thing. But if delays, I mean if he starts the race, and it gets delayed, by the rules, I cannot jump in that car, so that car is going to retire. If he starts the race and then it rains or gets out, and he needs to get out. That car is parked..."
"...by the rules, they won't let us do that. Whoever starts the car it's going to have to finish the race, otherwise the car is not finishing.
Tony Kanaan discloses his role in Kyle Larson's open-wheel career
Tony Kanaan also shared how he helped NASCAR champion Kyle Larson ease into open-wheel racing, i.e., IndyCar. Larson is on his way to attempt yet another Memorial Day double (Indy 500 and Coca–Cola 600) this year.
Arrow McLaren TP Kanaan took over the reins ahead of the 2025 season. It is noteworthy that he joined the team in 2023 to race in the Indy 500 for the final race of his NTT INDYCAR SERIES career. From his experience in different forms of motor racing, Kanaan has helped the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series Champion, Larson.
Speaking on the Dirty Mo Media podcast with Dale Earnhardt Jr., Tony Kanaan said:
“We'll go through it, but to me,” he said, “before, engineers, they were trying to—like—we need to give him all this information. I said, just relax. Let me talk driver. You guys stay out. What do you need? And even on the radio, I said to Kyle, ‘Look, we have the front bar and the rear bar…’”
“…I gave him the technical part, but I said don’t worry about it. If the car feels like that, ask. That was all I did— to filter out how we let him to deal with and understand the situation,” he added.
The No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet driver, Kyle Larson, drives full-time in NASCAR and part-time with Arrow McLaren in IndyCar.
