Kyle Larson, who did not take a lap in the Coca-Cola 600 earlier this year due to adverse weather, will have the opportunity to run the special No. 5 HendrickCars.com paint scheme Sunday at the Brickyard 400 (2:30 p.m. ET, NBC, IMS Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App). Dubbed the Fan Appreciation.
Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for this weekend, the hot rod wears the familiar blue and white of the HendrickCars.com brand and is accented with touches of orange to represent the partnership between Hendrick Motorsports and Arrow-McLaren as the organizations coordinated Larson’s attempt at the Indy 500-Coke 600 Memorial Day double.
Larson completed all 200 laps of the Indianapolis 500 despite an hours-long weather delay and finished 18th after a speeding penalty scuttled a promising run late in the event.
“I’m just excited to get back on the oval and I know that we’ll have a good shot,” Larson said Wednesday in a teleconference with reporters. “Our team does a great job. You’re gonna have to have good execution throughout the whole weekend.”
The 31-year-old veteran then took a plane and helicopter ride to Charlotte Motor Speedway, and he was all but ready to replace substitute driver Justin Allgaier in the No. 5 until rain stumped Larson’s attempt to race the remainder of NASCAR’s marathon race.
Heading into the first Cup Series race on the Indy oval since 2020 and first in the Next Gen car, Larson is among the favorites to win at 6-1 odds according to DraftKings and sits just three points below Hendrick teammate Chase Elliott for the regular-season points lead.
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