Kyle Larson claims he has driven an ARCA car as fast an IndyCar after the Indy 500 rookie orientation
Kyle Larson will be the first driver since Kurt Busch in 2016 to race in IndyCar.
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Kyle Larson (Via IMAGO)
Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson successfully completed his Indianapolis 500 rookie orientation program. He is set to make his Indy 500 debut next year and will become the sixth driver to attempt the double duty as he will be racing in the Coco Cola 600 just hours after the Brickyard event.
Rick Hendrick’s driver is set to race in the No:6 Arrow McLaren car, and his test was led by 2003 IndyCar champion and 2013 Indy 500 winner Tony Kannan, the sporting director of the team. He clocked in a top lap speed of 219.3mph on the 2.5-mile track. He completed 72 laps around the historic track and impressed his team with the pace he could establish.
While talking about the pace he could extract from the car on October 12th, he pointed out that he had driven an ARCA car at a similar pace. He claimed he had driven a car at 220mph during a test held at Michigan straight after the track was repaved. It was the time ARCA car’s horsepower wasn’t limited. Larson added that he didn’t feel like going 220 as he was alone at the track, and it is similar to going 195 at Daytona.
“I remember testing in Michigan, maybe an ARCA car right after they repaved it. That’s back when ARCA had big horsepower. I think we went like 220 into turn one at Michigan. So, I think we are about that today in IndyCar,” Larson said during a post-test press conference.
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Kyle Larson explained the struggles he faced during the test
Larson, while discussing his first experience behind the wheels of an IndyCar, admitted that he was caught off guard by the tendency of the car to get to the left in corners while turning right. He added that the wheel’s weight in the corner met his expectations, along with the grip and speed.
“It was cool getting to go that fast. I would say it was about what I expected as far as grip and speed felt. Obviously, there are little things that caught me off guard a bit, the way the car wants to pull left, down the straightaway you’re fighting it, and turning right. In the corners, though, the weight of the wheel was about what I expected,” Larson said (H&T: RACER).
The No:5 driver admitted that he needs to fix his pit-road game and learn how to learn the car quickly. Larson added, “The pit road stuff when I come back is what I’ll have to work on. You have to turn the wheel so far, so being quick with that is something I’ve got to get used to. I thought the day went great, and Arrow McLaren did a great job prepping me.”
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Justin P Joy
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