Cup Series star Kyle Larson set to drive HMS’ number 17 car in the Xfinity Series at Darlington

Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson is set to drive the number 17 car during the NASCAR Xfinity Series Race at Darlington this weekend.

In 2022, Larson competed in three races, two of which were with his Cup Series team, Hendrick Motorsports. The team had not competed in the Xfinity Series since 2009 prior to 2022.

Hendrick Motorsport announced in March that it will compete in four races in the number 17 Chevrolet Camaro, which will be sponsored by HendrickCars.com. William Byron finished second in the first race on March 25 at Circuit of The Americas.

Alex Bowman piloted the number 17 at Watkins Glen International on August 19, and Larson will take the wheel again at Darlington on September 2.

The last time Larson won an Xfinity race this season was with Kaulig Racing at Darlington in May. But this time, Kyle Larson and Hendrick Motorsport will be looking to catch their first Xfinity victory of the season.

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Kyle Larson on motorsports including in the Olympics

Kyle Larson shared his views after discovering that motorsports could be included in future Olympic games. It would be "life-changing" for the Hendrick Motorsports driver to be able to add 'Olympic gold medalist' under his name.

"An opportunity that none of us have probably ever dreamt was possible, you don't really know who the best race car drivers are in the world," Larson said to the media before the race at Daytona (via newsdaytonabeach.com).

When asked if he would like to compete with the best drivers in other motorsports fields like Max Verstappen from Formula 1, he said that might be a little difficult:

"That would be difficult, you'd have to have different types of competitions to see who's the best because there's so many different types of motorsports out there."

Motorsport is being suggested as a new Olympic sport for the 2028 Games. The Olympics which takes place every four years, will be held in Los Angeles, and the customary procedure of researching new sports to allow will continue.