Kyle Larson adds to legend status with big day at Indy, North Wilkesboro

Larson will be pulling the Memorial Day "double" next Sunday, running a total of 1,100 miles between the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600, the latter of which will take place at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway. He will become the fifth driver to achieve the feat, following John Andretti, Robby Gordon, Tony Stewart and Kurt Busch.

Indianapolis will serve as Larson's IndyCar debut, driving the No. 17 for the Arrow McLaren race team. This weekend was the first time he had ever gotten behind the wheel of one of its vehicles. Naturally, he advanced all the way to the final round of qualifying and will start fifth in the main event.

Then, after taking a quick flight to North Carolina to arrive at NASCAR's All-Star Race in time for the green flag, he had to start at the rear of the 20-car field on a track he had been unable to practice on all weekend. This was important because North Wilkesboro had been repaved ever since the 2023 event, which Larson won.

So all he did was charge his way up to third over the course of the 200 laps, even briefly challenging Logano and Denny Hamlin for the lead on the final restart before finishing fourth. 

There's no other way around it: Larson is, at least from a versatility standpoint, the greatest race-car driver in the world right now. He will drive anything, anywhere, at anytime. In addition to being the biggest NASCAR star of his generation, Larson is arguably the best dirt racer in America, where he often moonlights during the week and has won major events such as the Chili Bowl and Knoxville Nationals. He was also part of a Rolex 24-winning team for Chip Ganassi Racing in 2015.

Larson's awe-inspiring first impression in IndyCar is only the latest – and very likely not the last – accolade that Larson can add to his resume and for him, following that up with a spectacular drive through the All-Star field hours later on brand-new pavement that he was unable to practice on all weekend may as well be just another day at the office.