Kyle Larson had a rough time before preparing for the Indianapolis 500. He had a bad crash while racing at Kokomo Speedway, flipping his sprint car five times. Despite this, he quickly returned to Indianapolis Motor Speedway, hoping to put the incident behind him.
Unfortunately, the weather didn’t cooperate with Larson’s plans. The opening day at the Speedway was mostly rained out, and Larson could only complete two laps before the session was stopped. He’s aiming to become the fifth driver ever to compete in both the Indy 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 on the same day, following in the footsteps of Kurt Busch in 2014.
This year marks Larson’s first attempt at the Indy 500, driving for Arrow McLaren in partnership with Hendrick Motorsports. Although he’s been looking forward to this opportunity for over a year, rainy weather has been a constant obstacle every time he’s tried to practice at the Speedway.
Larson took part in a two-day open test in April but didn’t get much track time due to rain. On Tuesday, drivers had even less time before it started raining again. The whole day got canceled, but IndyCar added more Wednesday track time.
“This feels like a normal day for me here at Indy,” Larson joked. “I’d prefer to have a full day today, but I know there will be plenty of opportunities in the coming days. I don’t mind the rain as long as it’s not on qualifying day or the Indy 500.”
There’s still about 30 hours of practice time left before the race on May 26.
Larson, who has already tested for McLaren, is looking forward to getting several consecutive days in the Indy car. “I’m excited to start this experience and get some continuous time in the car,” Larson said. “The toughest part so far has been the long breaks between each time I’m in the car. I need to learn quickly in the next few days.”
