Kyle Larson will attempt his Indy 500 debut next season, but internal (and very informal) lobbying already has happened at Arrow McLaren Racing for an even earlier IndyCar appearance.
While meeting with Larson last month at the GM Racing simulator (literally just down the road from Hendrick Motorsports headquarters), Felix Rosenqvist demonstrated Larson some nuances of driving a single-seater, open-cockpit vehicle while also making a friendly sales pitch.
“It was fun just showing him around the steering wheel,” Rosenqvist said recently at IndyCar’s preseason media event. “He actually got to jump in the car a little bit, and (we were) just talking about the race.
“He sounded very interested, especially in the road courses, actually. I tried to convince him to maybe try to do a road course as well. That would be fun.”
KYLE LARSON AT THE INDY 500: Answers, analysis about his 2024 shot at The Double
There are no other NTT IndyCar Series races scheduled for Larson beyond the 2024 Indy 500, but it’s likely the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion will attend (if not drive) a race this season.
During the Jan. 12 news conference to announce the Indy 500-Coca Cola 600 attempt of “The Double,” McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown said Larson likely would be testing before the end of the season and also would attend 2023 IndyCar races to sit in McLaren driver debriefs.
The Aug. 12 race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course is an obvious candidate because Larson already will be at the Brickyard for the Cup race the next day.
But there are three other IndyCar weekends that aren’t in complete conflict with NASCAR.
The May 13 race at the IMS road course will begin three hours after Cup qualifying ends at Darlington Raceway. IndyCar’s June 18 race at Road America is on the only off weekend in the 2023 Cup schedule. And the World Wide Technology Raceway Gateway race on Aug. 27 would take place the day after NASCAR’s regular-season finale at Daytona International Speedway.
That presents some opportunities for Larson to bond with his new IndyCar teammates, but he already has made an impact on McLaren’s IndyCar trio of Rosenqvist, Alexander Rossi and Pato O’Ward.
Rossi has some history with Larson as they came up through the go-kart ranks together nearly 20 years ago as prodigies from the same region of California.
Kyle Larson and Alexander Rossi go-kart competitors in May 2005 ? Teammates at Indy in May 2024 pic.twitter.com/NVLjHLvu7n
“It’s just a hell of a story, man,” Rossi said. “It’s really, really cool to be able to be witness, part of someone doing The Double. That’s such an amazing thing for any racing driver, to have the opportunity to do that. Obviously, I think he’s one of the elite racing drivers on the planet.
“He’s going to come in and have his own kind of opinion and experience to bring to the table.”
O’Ward met with Larson at the 2021 F1 season finale in Abu Dhabi (where the Mexican tested a McLaren and gave Larson a ride around the track in a McLaren 720S). Asked about having Larson as a teammate, O’Ward said “that’s sick. I kind of knew about it a little bit, but I think it’s so cool that he’s going to join us next year.
“I think he’s going to really enjoy it. Definitely going to be probably the quickest he’s ever going to go in his life. So I’m sure he will enjoy that. He drives so many different cars. He jumps into whatever opportunity that he wants to either experience or enjoy. The guy can wheel a race car. I’m excited to have him as a teammate. I met him a little bit two years ago in Abu Dhabi when he was there after he won the NASCAR championship. I was so happy to see him do so well on his comeback to NASCAR after the mishap that he had a few years ago.
“I’m a big fan of him. I feel like I can speak on behalf of the whole team; everybody’s really excited to have him around.”
Larson openly has talked about believing he can win in his debut, and Rosenqvist said the idea isn’t fanciful.
“He’s a great talent,” Rosenqvist said. “Actually I’ve heard a lot of people already betting for him to win the race. That’s kind of the expectation that he has. I think people truly believe he can do that.
“Again, it’s an opportunity to learn from someone that comes from a completely different environment. Already the little chat I had with him, 30 minutes, I felt like I learned something. It will be great to have him around.”
The last lap for Tony Kanaan in the NTT IndyCar Series finally will come May 28 as the veteran announced he will be retiring with the 107th Indy 500 after a quarter-century career.
The 2013 Indianapolis 500 winner announced Wednesday morning via social media that his final start will come at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
In a video that he posted, Kanaan walks the grounds of the Brickyard and says, “it’s been a wonderful journey, but it’s not done yet. I will still have the pleasure to drive through the bricks one more time. Thank you all, and I’ll see you on race day.”
??Tem sido uma jornada maravilhosa, mas ainda não acabou. Espero vcs para a última em Maio. • ?? Let’s do this one last time. See you all in May.@ArrowMcLaren @IndyCar pic.twitter.com/lC1iY4GhT0
He was announced last year as the driver of the fourth Dallara-Chevrolet entry for the Arrow McLaren IndyCar Team in the 2023 Indy 500. Last year, Kanaan finished third with Chip Ganassi Racing in his only IndyCar start of the 2022 season.
Kanaan will drive the No. 66 Dallara-Chevy in May for Arrow McLaren with primary sponsorship from Smart Stop Self Storage. The number is a nod to McLaren Racing’s history, commemorating the 1966 win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans by Bruce McLaren in the same year that the McLaren team entered its first Formula One race.
Fernando Alonso ran the No. 66 when he failed to qualify for the 2019 Indy 500. Mark Donohu won the 1972 Indy 500 with the No. 66.
During a Wednesday afternoon news conference at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Kanaan said he had no regrets, but “you’re never ready for this. As much as you don’t want to go, it’s there. You have to make smart, right decisions at the right time. I’d hate to be coming (to Indy) just to participate. Last year really was a good opportunity. I finished the race, and I was ready.”
Kanaan still said he expected to be “crying like a baby” during the prerace ceremonies for the Indy 500, which will be his 22nd start on the 2.5-mile oval.
“I’m going to miss it every day of my life,” Kanaan said. “I miss it now. But I think I’m fine. We’re kicking off the 100 days (until) Indy Friday and also kicking off the 100 days of crying Friday. I’m OK, I’m at peace with my decision and have a really good shot of winning this thing.”
The popular Brazilian ran four oval races with Ganassi (sharing the No. 48 Dallara-Honda with Jimmie Johnson) in a partial 2021 schedule that extended his career. Kanaan originally announced the 2020 season would be his “Last Lap” in IndyCar.
But the 2004 series champion’s plans for a celebratory lap to honor the fans were scuttled by the COVID-19 pandemic that limited crowds from attending races.
Kanaan since has joked often about his delayed retirement plans, noting at IndyCar’s preseason media event two weeks ago in Palm Springs, California, that six-time series champion Scott Dixon “makes fun of me until this day.
? @ArrowMcLaren @IndyCar #punishk_photo @NBCSports pic.twitter.com/8Bcz4N9jqS
“This is the last, last, last, last lap, the very last lap,” Kanaan cracked to reporters Feb. 1 when asked if he was hoping to race at Indy again in 2024. “So the answer honestly will be I think I will definitely make a decision, which is not just all up to me.”
At that time, Kanaan said he planned to decide on his future “when we cross the start-finish line on that Sunday. When I win — if I win — I’ll put everybody on the spot and I’ll say, I’m coming back. This is exactly what happened last year.
“Right now I think the focus is this 500. It wasn’t a mistake, but we announced something two years ago and then a great opportunity came with Jimmie’s (ride). I’m not going to put out there, ‘This is what I’m doing.’ It’s just let it be.”
In nearly 400 starts across the CART Champ Car and IndyCar Series from 1998-2022, Kanaan has 17 victories and 79 podium finishes.
His first victory was July 25, 1999 at Michigan International Speedway with Gerry Forsythe’s No. 11 Reynard-Honda. His most recent win was in the Aug. 30, 2014 season finale at Auto Club Speedway in the No. 10 Dallara-Honda for Ganassi.
Kanaan has continued to race in other series, such as the Superstar Racing Experience and stock-car races in Brazil.
Sad to see Tony Kanaan hang it up, but like Kevin Harvick, you can't really ask for a longer career
IndyCar has changed tremendously since Tony's debut in 1998. Of his 17 career wins, only 3 are at tracks IndyCar still races at (Indy, Texas, Iowa) https://t.co/q18BUQJO60