McLaren Racing announced on Thursday that they have formed a partnership with Rick Hendrick to field a car that will be driven by 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson at the 2024 Indianapolis 500.
The 30-year-old from Elk Grove, California, won four poles, three races, 13 top-five, and 19 top-ten finishes in the 2022 season. Furthermore, Larson won one pole, one win, three top-five, and three top-ten finishes in the Xfinity Series.
“I’m super excited. Competing at the Indianapolis 500 is a dream of mine and something I’ve wanted to do for a very long time – since I was a child before I ever began competing in sprint cars. To do it with McLaren Racing and Mr. Hendrick especially is a dream come true.
I’m grateful for the opportunity and am really looking forward to it even though it’s still about a year-and-a-half away. I’m really looking forward to competing in both the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 and maybe even get a win or two that day.”
Larson will enter his eleventh season in the NASCAR Cup Series and third with Hendrick Motorsports. He’s won 14 poles, 19 wins, 89 top-five, and 146 top-ten finishes in 295 starts. In addition, Larson is an accomplished dirt racer having won some of dirt’s biggest events like the Kings Royal, Knoxville Nationals, and Chili Bowl Nationals. In 2015, Larson, along with Scott Dixon, Tony Kanaan, and Jamie McMurray won the Rolex 24 at Daytona in the Prototype class.
Larson’s Chevrolet will be co-owned and sponsored by 14-time NASCAR Cup Series owner Rick Hendrick which HendrickCars.com will sponsor him. Additional details on the car number and livery for the HendrickCars.com Arrow McLaren Chevrolet will be announced on a later date. The partnership marks the first event as an NTT IndyCar Series owner for Hendrick.
“Having the opportunity to support Kyle, partner with an elite team like Arrow McLaren, and promote HendrickCars.com in one of the world’s great auto racing events is truly unique. All of us are competitors. Putting Kyle in top-level equipment and allowing ample time for him to prepare for such a difficult challenge was important.
It’s going to be very, very special to field a Chevrolet in the Indy 500 as a car owner. A collaboration like this was what we needed to make it happen, and fortunately, the stars aligned. We’re 100% committed to doing it right and look forward to working with Zak and his organization.”
Pending additional entries, Larson will become the fifth driver to run “The Double” on Memorial Day weekend. Kurt Busch was the last driver to do the double in 2014. In addition to Busch, Tony Stewart (1999, 2001), John Andretti (1994), and Robby Gordon (1997, 2000, 2002-04) have all competed in both the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on the same day.
“Adding Kyle Larson with a HendrickCars.com partnership to the Indy 500 lineup in 2024 is exciting for our Arrow McLaren team as well as for race fans. He’s a complete driver, known for racing anything on wheels, so I’m looking forward to seeing what Kyle can do in an NTT IndyCar Series car.
It’s been great working with Rick Hendrick and (Hendrick Motorsports vice chairman) Jeff Gordon to pull this together, so a big thank you to them for what’s to come in May 2024.”
