Kyle Larson made his Indy 500 intentions clear to Jeff Gordon before joining HMS

On Sunday, May 26th, Kyle Larson will compete in, attempt to finish, and win the Indianapolis 500. Larson has been preparing for the Indy 500 for a year with rookie orientation programs, testing, practice runs, and the more recent qualifying sessions.

However, Larson's intent to run in the 500 did not develop over the last year. It was a longtime goal, of which he spoke to Hendrick Motorsports before he joined them in 2021. Jeff Gordon recently revealed details of the same in a conversation with NBC Sports.

"Something that Kyle made me aware of earlier on in our discussions when he was coming to Hendrick, we were just talking about dirt racing and all the different types of racing that he does, his Cup career, and he brought up, 'One thing I would love to do before I age out of my prime or while I'm still in my prime is to do the Indy 500.' And that just always stuck with me," Gordon described. [1:15]

Gordon mentioned how there have been attempts at the Double before, but they've never experienced it at Hendrick Motorsports. Talking about himself, the former NASCAR pro mentioned that he never wanted to race the Double, but instead had his sights set on the Indy 500.

However, as soon as his NASCAR career "took off the way it did", that dream subsided into the background.

However, Larson talking to Gordon about wanting to run in the Indy 500 was one thing. Gordon taking it up to Rick Hendrick was another, as he later described.

Jeff Gordon had to convince Rick Hendrick to allow Kyle Larson to run in the Indy 500

Jeff Gordon took Larson's Indy 500 dream to Rick Hendrick. But Mr. H was initially skeptical about it, according to Gordon. However, the racing executive insisted on letting Larson run in the Indy 500, emphasizing, that Hendrick himself had never been to the IndyCar event.

"He started getting more and more interested the more we talked about it. He loves Indianapolis. It's something he has always watched and been drawn to. It just never seems to have been a reality because of his commitment to NASCAR and the schedule," Gordon described. [2:08]

Gordon continued, that conversations with Rick Hendrick about Kyle Larson running in the Indianapolis 500 began getting more and more substantial. The next thing they knew, Hendrick was in full agreement to pursue it.

That conversation and Gordon's persistence finally led Larson to this moment in the present, where he has now qualified to start in 5th place at the Indy 500. This position can not only help him achieve a competitive result, but may also result in a win in the prestigious race.