Indianapolis 500 Advance: Larson is poised for his attempt at history – Speedway Digest

Trotting down the grandstand steps after being introduced in Saturday morning’s traditional Indianapolis 500 Public Drivers Meeting, NASCAR champion Kyle Larson encountered a standing ovation, loud cheers and a steady line of high-five greetings indicative of being the crowd favorite that he absolutely is for Sunday’s 109th Running of the Indianapolis 500 (Noon ET on FOX).

The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion and current championship leader would love nothing more than to reward the support with a massive celebration in the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway Victory Lane where he celebrated last summer after winning NASCAR’s Brickyard 400 at the famous track.

Larson’s No. 17 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet lines up 19th on the 33-car grid Sunday for his second consecutive start in the Indianapolis 500; the first leg of a Memorial Day race “Double” that begins at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway and concludes eight hours away in NASCAR’s longest race of the season, the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway (6 p.m. ET on Amazon Prime, PRN and SiriusXM).

Last year the 32-year-old Californian finished 21st in a rain-delayed Indy 500 but by the time he got to Charlotte, the race had already started and was in a rain delay, ultimately called “official” before Larson was able to climb into his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.

This year, Larson is committed to making the start of the race in Charlotte. He’d sure like to arrive, however, fully-hydrated with whole milk – his choice – the beverage traditionally given to the Indy 500 race winner.

Larson’s second Indy 500 go-round on the famed 2.5-mile oval has been markedly different than his debut last year. He’s had a pair of crashes in practice in race preparation and instead of starting from the second row as he did in his debut, he’ll roll off from the seventh row.

However, after Friday’s “Carb Day” final practice, he said he was comfortable with his car and more prepared for what the big race will ask of him. He was among the fastest six drivers in both 10-lap and 20-lap speed.

With a controversy involving two of the fastest cars – Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden – the two-time defending race winner – and his teammate, 2018 winner Will Power, Larson’s quest has shared the big-type headlines. Those two former winners will have to start on the last row after failing inspection prior to pole qualifying last Sunday.

It’s indicative of a starting grid featuring plenty of bold headlines. The race will  showcase the first rookie polesitter – Robert Shwartzman – since 1983. And the season’s most dominant driver, three-time and reigning NTT IndyCar Series champion Alex Palou, who has won four of the opening five races, is starting from the second row trying to claim his first ever oval win in the sport’s biggest race.

Having a NASCAR champion like Larson in the race with a competitive team would normally dominate the pre-race talk, but there has been a lot going on. And Larson says that’s fine by him.

“I actually like that a lot,” a smiling Larson said of the other storylines.

“I feel like I get a lot of attention in everything that I do and race, and I don’t really like that because I feel like it takes away from the spotlight of others. This year has been better because I feel like I’ve kind of flown under the radar a little bit more. Not really under the radar, still obviously an important thing, and I have still gotten a lot of coverage. But last year I felt like it was crazy. It’s been good and I like that, more normal.”

Larson is the fifth full-time NASCAR Cup Series driver to attempt “The Double” joining the late John Andretti, Robby Gordon and NASCAR Hall of Famers Tony Stewart and Kurt Busch. Of them, Stewart is the only driver to complete all 1,100 laps – that 2001 effort including a sixth place at Indy and a third place at Charlotte – best all-time among those doubling-up.

But there is a lot of optimism and a lot of support for Larson’s effort Sunday.

Most of Larson’s No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports team – crew chief Cliff Daniels and most of his pit crew – came to Indy for Friday’s final two-hour practice, showing their solidarity for this milestone effort.

“Seeing the NASCAR Cup drivers doing it, it’s a really big deal and so awesome to be a part of,” said Eric Ludwig, the jackman on Larson’s Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.

“Kyle is just a racer through and through. Everything in his passion is just to race a car wherever he can, whenever he can and it’s just so cool to be a part of.”

It’s a common theme and one that Larson hopes to reward.

“He’s unique, he’s special, and we’re living in this moment where we’re getting to experience it and will be telling the next generation all about it one day,” NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. said of Larson. “And so hopefully he has a great experience at Indy, represents the NASCAR crowd well with a great run, and we’ll see what he does next.”