Could Kyle Larson be pulled from Indy 500 early? Or could he miss start of Coke 600?
With the potential for rain during Sunday’s Indianapolis 500, could Kyle Larson be pulled from his IndyCar ride to make it to Charlotte Motor Speedway to start the Coca-Cola 600 that night?
Or, what if Larson wins the Indianapolis 500? Would he stay for the ceremonies and miss the start of NASCAR’s longest race of the season?
Those are among the questions car owner Rick Hendrick faces heading into Larson’s bid to become the fifth driver in history — and first in the last 10 years — to compete in the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on the same day.
Kyle Larson’s busy day in Indianapolis and North Wilkesboro ends in top-five finish
Kyle Larson qualified fifth for next week’s Indianapolis 500 and finished fourth in the NASCAR All-Star Race.
IndyCar confirmed to NBC Sports that if Larson starts the Indianapolis 500, he cannot have a relief driver and that car will be done for the race. Should Larson leave Indianapolis before the start of the 500, his team could have another driver in the car.
Weather could be the main factor in what Larson does.
The early forecast by Weather Underground for Sunday’s Indianapolis 500 calls for about a 50% chance of scattered thunderstorms around the 12:45 p.m. start of the race. The chance of rain increases to more than 60% after 1 p.m.
Hendrick Motorsports has partnered with Arrow McLaren to run Larson in this year’s Indy 500. He’ll start Sunday’s race fifth. Coverage on NBC and Peacock begins at 11 a.m. ET Sunday.
Hendrick was asked Tuesday if he would be the one making the call on if Larson needed to leave for Charlotte.
“That's a tough question because we've talked about it many times, and we know we need to be at Charlotte for the points,” Hendrick said. “We're just going to let it play out, and then Kyle and myself and Jeff Gordon, we have (Jeff) Andrews, we'll make that decision Sunday.”
Asked how hard it might be to pull Larson from the car should the race have started, Hendrick said: “It would be very hard. It would be very tough. Would be very disappointing because of all the effort that everyone has put in, from Arrow McLaren to (Arrow McLaren CEO) Zak (Brown) and the crowd, our marketing people. We've got a tremendous amount of folks there at Indy, and he's in such a good position, it would be extremely hard.”
Larson has repeatedly stated that NASCAR is the priority because of the chance to win another Cup title.
In an exclusive interview with NBC Sports, the No. 3 Dallara-Chevrolet driver discusses his team’s front row sweep in Indy 500 qualifying.
NASCAR awards points only to the driver who starts the race in that car, which makes it key for Larson to be at Charlotte Motor Speedway in time for the start of that race.
Section 12.4.1.3.B of the Cup Rule Book states: “A driver will be credited only with Points earned in the vehicle in which he/she started the Race. A driver will not be permitted to receive Points for more than one vehicle in the Race. The starting driver will be credited with all Points earned by that vehicle in the Race.”
Section 12.4.1.G of the Cup Rule Book states: “If a driver change occurs after taking the green flag, only the driver of record will receive Stage Points provided the driver of record is eligible for Points in the Series. A win by the replacement driver will not count towards eligibility for the driver Playoffs.”
Atlanta tops NASCAR Power Rankings of remaining Cup races
Twenty-three races remain in the Cup schedule. NBC Sports will broadcast 20 of these races.
Larson enters the Coca-Cola 600 as the Cup points leader. He has 30-point lead on Martin Truex Jr. Denny Hamlin is next, 39 points behind Larson. Chase Elliot is 49 points behind Larson. The most points a driver can earn in the Charlotte race is 70 since it has three stages.
Should Larson miss the start of the 600, he won’t fall any further than fourth in the points after that event at most. That might not seem important but playoff points will be awarded after the regular season ends with the Sept. 1 Southern 500.
The regular season champion receives 15 playoff points. Second receives 10 playoff points, third receives nine playoff points, fourth receives eight playoffs points and all the way down to the 10th-place finisher at the end of the regular season receiving one playoff point.
As the playoffs have shown, every point matters, which is a reason why Hendrick cites the importance of points at Charlotte, thus helping Larson stay atop the season standings.
