Larson is driving the No. 17 Arrow McLaren-Hendrick Chevrolet in the 108th running of the Indy 500 while also competing full-time in the Cup Series in the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro. He currently leads the regular season standings and is locked into the 2024 Cup Series playoffs via two wins.
Last weekend, he made the Fast 6 and qualified fifth in his Indy 500 debut. NASCAR delayed the start of its All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway by about 15 minutes to ensure he could make it to the track in time. But could that happen again at the 600 and how far is NASCAR willing to go to accommodate Larson?
With severe weather likely to impact the race in Indianapolis, the schedule on Sunday could be very fluid. Justin Allgaier is on standby for Larson at the Coke 600, but if things get tight, NASCAR could delay the start yet again. However, North Wilkesboro was an exhibition race, while Charlotte pays more points than any other Cup race on the schedule.
Joey Logano, a two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion for Team Penske, gave his thoughts on the potential for the delaying the start of the 600 to aid in Larson's attempt at 'The Double.'
“I think as long as it’s within reason," Logano said during a Friday press conference at Charlotte Motor Speedway. "There’s a lot of different things that go into this and, as a driver who has been in the sport for a long time, I see that there’s more to it than just me driving the race car. When you think about it, the start time for the race has been promoted for a certain time. Pushing it back a little bit, I’m sure, doesn’t really affect much. Pushing it back a lot does affect it a lot. Are we willing to give up ratings to get somebody here that chose not to be here to go race the Indy 500?"
It's an interesting question, and one that became an issue before. Robby Gordon, who completed 'The Double' multiple times, finished sixth in the 2000 Indy 500 but missed the start of the 600. This was because of a three-hour rain delay in Indianapolis, but NASCAR did not wait for Gordon. He arrived during the middle of the race and took over from P.J. Jones.
Continued Logano: "It’s really cool, but it was his [Larson's] choice to do that, so I don’t know at what point is out of reason to wait, but I don’t think we should wait very, very long by any means because I don’t want it to hurt the rest of our sport for somebody that showed up late for the race. I don’t think I can call in and say, ‘Hey, I’m stuck in traffic because I left my house late. Can you wait for me?’ It’s not gonna happen. I also think this is a different scenario because of the cool factor and how it is good for motorsports all the way through. I just think at some point there’s got to be a point where we’ve got to start the race. I don’t know exactly where that’s at.”
