Kyle Larson is having what we call a busy month! Larson bagged the second win of the Cup series at Kansas Speedway, but there are many more to come. He is planning to make history by the end of the month and hoping to become the second driver to complete “double duty,” finishing 500 laps at Indy500 and 600 laps at Coca-Cola 600 on the same day. However, this is a risky attempt because it takes just one thunderstorm to ruin it all!
Kyle Larson talks about his “championship” priorities.
“Double Duty” was attempted for the very first time by John Andretti in 1994, and even he didn’t succeed. After him, Roby Gordon, Tony Stewart, and Kurt Busch attempted to endure this challenging task. But only one of these four could do that—Stewart. And if Kyle Larson can complete this feat, his name is going straight to the history books. But, but… there is a massive but here because, unlike the cars, Larson has no control over the weather. Hence, if the weather takes a toll, his plans could quickly become muddled.
Like, what if he starts the Indy 500 on time and it starts pouring and the time overlaps with the Coca-Cola 600? The situation is even more severe because, according to IndyCar rules, a backup driver cannot complete the race for the competitor who took the green flag. A reporter did bring up this at the pre-race interview at Darlington. Larson was pretty clear on his thoughts and where his priority lies.
He said, “Yeah, hopefully that doesn’t, you know, arise. But I’m not sure who it is to make that call, or I’m sure there’s a window of time that when it probably gets to a certain point, I have to leave, because the Coke 600 is the priority that weekend, and chasing another NASCAR championship is the priority.”
It is important to note that, to date, no driver has won both events on the same day. But given Larson’s track record, it won’t be a surprise if he manages to break this feat. Recently, he said, “I know I have a good shot to hopefully win at least the Cup race, and then you would love to have a good run in the Indy500. Just set a record or break a record; whatever you wanna call it, it’d be pretty neat.”
He further clarified that in case something unwarranted does happen, Tony Kanaan is there as a reserve to fill in. But one can’t help but wonder: with so much on his plate, what’s his mental health?
Larson on his mental health ahead of Coke-Cola 600
Larson has a jam-packed schedule for the month. When asked about his mental health, he said he is prepared for things like this because he races all the time. He said he is fully prepared because a lot of the time he would have a packed summer. From racing on a Sunday to flying for a sprint race one day to driving three hours to go race a dirt late model, He said, “So I think times like that probably prepare me for May more than anything. But I think having good people around you, too, and having good organized logistics help as well.
Bob Pockrass from Fox News asked him if his impromptu trip to Paris after his Kansas win was for some mental break. To which he replied, he was just crashing into an all-girls trip for his daughter’s birthday. His daughter wanted to see Taylor Swift, and he wanted to see Europe, so the plan aligned perfectly. But he added in, “It was a good time, good to kind of get sort of one little, I guess, last bit of relaxation maybe before a hectic couple weeks.
We hope Larson had a chance to catch his breath because this month is one of the most challenging ones for him. It will require skill and luck at the same time. What do you think? Will he make history at Coke-Cola 600? Let us know in the comments.
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