"I didn’t want to get made fun of": Kyle Larson on the challenges of IndyCar after rookie test at Indianapolis Motor Speedway

NASCAR ace Kyle Larson took a detour from the Cup Series playoffs this week as he got his first taste of Arrow McLaren's IndyCar machinery at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. This was in preparation for his historic double duty in May 2024.

Larson will be attempting to start the Indy 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 on the same day next season. The #5 Hendrick Motorsports driver kicked off his journey this Thursday (October 12), when he participated in the Rookie Orientation program for the Indy 500 at the 2.5-mile oval.

The ROP is a 40-lap program aimed to help rookies ease into driving the single-seaters for the first time on the iconic speedway. It involves driving 10 laps between 205-210 mph, 15 at 210-215 mph, and 15 more at 215 or above.

Larson, a champion in NASCAR's highest level, was one among the rookies and wanted to hit the targets as quickly as possible while trying not to embarrass himself.

“I didn’t want to take too long to get up to that 205 mark, because I didn’t want to get made fun of, like, ‘Oh, why did it take you so long?’ So I put some pressure on myself like, ‘Get your confidence built up here pretty quickly'. But I was not ready to go flat-out for a while. Building up to that speed and pace and confidence was nice to do in ROP,” he was quoted by IndyStar as saying.

Kyle Larson completed a total of 72 laps in the test session as he progressed from his first lap at a speed of 187.421 mph to his highest at 217.898 mph by the day's end, passing the test.

The NASCAR ace was comfortable with the high speeds, but claimed Phase 1 was surprisingly difficult.

“When you’re running more throttle, it’s a lot easier to hit your target, but those slower speeds, it was hard to find my timing,” Larson said. “I’d roll out onto the (front) straightaway, and then run wide-open through Turns 1 and 2, and I’d look at my dash and think, ‘OK, I’m good for 3 and 4’, and then I’d run some more throttle and all a sudden realize, ‘Oh, I’m too fast'. And then I’ve got to slow down a lot – and vice versa. I had to play catch-up on other laps, too, and barely got by.”

The 2021 Cup Series champion has gotten off to a good start to his program and will resume his NASCAR playoff journey at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

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Rick Hendrick and Jeff Gordon confident in Kyle Larson's capabilities

Hendrick Motorsports owner Rick Hendrick was proud to see the project come to reality as he saw Kyle Larson drive around the Brickyard. HMS Vice President Jeff Gordon, who was also in attendance for the event, expressed his confidence in Larson's abilities.

“We know Kyle’s capabilities, and we’ve seen him drive anything and everything and succeed at it. But this is different,” Gordon said.

Kyle Larson will only be the fifth driver to start both races on Memorial Day weekend.