Kyle Larson kicked off what’s set to be a bustling May with a race on a small dirt track near the Missouri River. Despite starting outside the top 10 in his sprint car on Friday night, he managed to climb up to third place by the end.
His goal for the month is quite ambitious. He aims to achieve a feat only accomplished by Tony Stewart so far, known as “the double.” This involves completing every lap of both the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 on the same day. While others have attempted it before, including Kurt Busch in 2014, it’s known to be one of the toughest challenges in motorsports.
Larson expressed his excitement but also remained calm about the endeavor, stating that he’s been preparing for it for a couple of years. However, he’s fully focused on the tasks at hand, not yet thinking too much about Memorial Day weekend. There’s still plenty of racing to be done before then.
He hit the track again on Saturday night at Lakeside Speedway, driving his sprint car. Then, on Sunday, he aims to do better than last year’s race at Kansas, where Denny Hamlin took the win by bumping him out of the way on the final lap.
Larson’s schedule is packed. He has NASCAR’s throwback weekend scheduled at Darlington soon, and he’s set to race his sprint car at Kokomo Speedway in Indiana on May 13. The night before, he’ll practice for the Indy 500 in his Arrow McLaren ride.
“It’s starting to sink in what’s coming up,” Larson said. “You have to do rookie orientation for the first time, and when you get there, it hits you that you’re actually in an IndyCar right now. But since then, I’m just more prepared and ready to get started finally.”
Larson already secured a Cup Series win in Las Vegas back in March. He’s got five top-five finishes, leading the series in that category, including a second-place finish at Dover last weekend.
He’s led at least one lap in eight races, with his total laps led at 570, which is 35 more than any other driver.
Consistency has been key for both Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing in the Cup Series this season. Hendrick has won five races, while Hamlin secured Gibbs’ fourth victory at Dover last week. With both teams having eight wins each at Kansas Speedway, they’re expected to be strong contenders once again this Sunday.
Hamlin is eagerly anticipating another competitive race, especially after the intense battle he had with Larson during last year’s spring race at Kansas.
“It was a tough fight,” he reminisced. “We were the top contenders. Larson took the lead, and I remember closing in on him towards the end as he struggled with his car’s handling. But every race is different. We’re coming with a new car and tires this time. I’ll have to figure out the best approach to tackle the track and gain speed.”
