INDIANAPOLIS — This wasn’t just any rookie test for the Indianapolis 500, this was a big one — so big that even Rick Hendrick and Jeff Gordon were there.
Thursday afternoon was Kyle Larson’s highly anticipated Rookie Orientation Program for the 2024 Indianapolis 500, and it was complete with a film crew and many Hendrick Motorsports’ top officials.
They came to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to see, arguably one of the most versatile drivers in racing, take laps in an Arrow McLaren-prepared Chevrolet Indy car around the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway. And in true “Kyle Larson Mode” as Gordon calls it, the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion made it look easy.
In a rookie test that began at 11 a.m. (ET), Larson completed Phase 1 at 11:43 a.m. (ET) and Phase 2 at 12:25 p.m. (ET). At 1:18 p.m. (ET), Larson completed the third and final phase and was able to spend the rest of his time on the track running laps at speed around the world’s most famous race course.
Drivers must start ROP with 10 laps between 205-210 mph, following with 15 laps at 210-215 mph and finishing with 15 laps faster than 215 mph. His top lap was 217.898 mph in the Hendrickcars.com Chevrolet fielded by Arrow McLaren and Hendrick Motorsports, Larson’s NASCAR team and 10-time winners of the Brickyard 400 at IMS.
Larson turned 72 laps, with his fastest coming on his 65th trip.
“Getting to turn laps around here in an Indy car, getting to feel what that feels like, it makes it even more special,” Larson said afterwards. “I’ve gotten the chance to race here on the dirt track, I ran the road course, the oval.
“We get to thankfully come back on the oval in the Cup car. This place is just awesome. The golf course is amazing, too. Love playing golf here. It doesn’t get much better than this place.
“It was fun,” Larson continued. “I guess mostly what I anticipated in a way, the speed and the grip didn’t feel thankfully scarier than what I thought it might. But just like how much the car wants to pull left, you have to fight it back to the right on the straightaways. All that was something I didn’t expect.
“The way the wheel was lighter, a lot lighter than the simulator, but still a little heavier than what I expected. Other than that, I thought it went really smooth. I think more of the pit road side of things is where I’ll have to work more on. Just the steering is so slow, you have to turn so far getting in and out.
“If you’re coming in around someone, leaving out around someone. Getting used to the steering at the slower speeds will be something to get used to. Then maximizing the apron, braking for pit road, stuff like that, is stuff I’ll have to really focus on and work on, maximizing potential.
“Overall, it was a great day. Felt like everybody at McLaren did a really good job prepping me to make things easier to get up to speed. Thanks to everybody there. I’m glad to be through today and look forward to the open test in April.”
Arrow McLaren Sporting Director Tony Kanaan knows how to get around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The winner of the 2013 Indianapolis 500 and 2004 IndyCar Series champion worked with the NASCAR Cup Series star who is also one of the most acclaimed short track and sprint car racers.
“It makes my life easier when you have a superstar, so it makes me look good,” Kanaan quipped. “I woke up this morning, I was actually nervous. I didn’t know why. There’s no reason for me to be. It was an awesome day. I think the good thing is Kyle and I were teammates back in the day. We won the 24 Hours of Daytona together, so we knew each other. We fit in each other’s seat. It was seamless.
“I think we did what we were supposed to do today. It was a lot of information that I was trying to filter and tell people to stop talking to him about. He doesn’t have to worry about that. We’ll come back here in April and get on.”
Larson was so good and so smooth on Phase 2 of ROP that he went 15 for 15 on hitting the laps speeds of what he was mandated to hit in order to pass the phase, highlighting the comfort zone he had found.
“When you’re running more throttle, it’s easier to kind of hit your target,” Larson explained. “So, the slower the speed, it was just kind of hard for me to, like, figure out my timing. I would roll out on the straightaway, then I’d run wide open through one or two. I’d look at my dash. Okay, I think I’m okay for three and four, run some draw. I come off of four, I’m too fast, have to slow down a lot.
“Vice versa, I’m having to play catch-up on other laps, barely getting by. Once you went faster, you’re running more throttle, it’s easier to stay within that window.”
Larson received a great deal of advice, not only from Arrow McLaren, but from former NASCAR Cup Series drivers who have also competed in the Indianapolis 500 and in IndyCar in their careers.
“A lot of people have said the same thing, like trusting your instinct,” Larson recalled. “If something doesn’t feel right, at least during practice and testing, the couple weeks leading in, you’ve got plenty of time. If something doesn’t feel right, just pit. I think me even just feeling the car today, like, it feels so stuck, I can tell where your confidence could get too high, then you’re back into the wall the next corner.
“So, I think if you feel something, just pit. Tony Kanaan told me that. Danica Patrick was texting me last night, same thing. Kurt Busch, Jimmie Johnson. They’ve all said the same thing. I’ve got a lot of people I can talk to. I’m sure I’m going to be able to soak in more and more information now that I got to drive the car once.”
Larson has taken the next step in living out his dream of racing in the Indianapolis 500. He is also living the dream for Hendrick Motorsports Vice Chairman Gordon, one of the greatest drivers in Indianapolis Motor Speedway history with five Brickyard 400 wins.
At one time, Gordon was a USAC star from Pittsboro, Ind., destined for the Indianapolis 500.
But his career took him to NASCAR instead where he became a racing legend.
“I think for me, my dreams came true in the inaugural Brickyard 400, racing here in a stock car,” Gordon said. “Of course, I wanted to race here in an IndyCar early on, but the opportunity just was really never there. When Kyle came onboard, he made it clear that this is something he’d like to do, and he’d like to do it before he feels like he’s outside of his prime, I guess, is the best way to put it.
“I got excited about that. I didn’t know how Mr. Hendrick was going to feel about that. I think between Kyle, myself, just the history of this place, it eventually kind of came together. Yeah, this is definitely going to be living out a dream of mine through this experience. I’m equally excited to be a part of it in the capacity that I am, see it and hear about it through Kyle’s eyes and experience.
“We want to come here and make a mark. We also know this is one of the most competitive forms of motorsports and racing in the world, and it’s not going to be easy.”
Rick Hendrick has won 10 trophies as the winning team owner of the Brickyard 400 — the NASCAR Cup Series race that will return to the IMS oval in 2024. His trophy collection includes an incredible collection from the many NASCAR Sprint Cup Championships to countless Daytona 500 victories and other major races.
He was part of NASCAR’s Garage 56 entry at this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans.
But 2024 will be Hendrick’s first Indianapolis 500.
If Larson somehow won the race, where would Hendrick put a “Baby Borg” Trophy?
“That would go right in the middle. That would be something pretty special. I don’t even let myself go there, think about that. First, I want to make the race,” Hedrick said. “Just to say you could win this race, could win it, would win it, you might be able to build off of that, just that trophy and the car, because it would be that special.”