Kyle Larson secures Fast 6 position for Indy 500, complicates NASCAR All-Star Race picture

Kyle Larson, by his own talent, may have thrown a monkey wrench into his plans to make Sunday’s NASCAR All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway.

Larson finished in the top-6 of Fast 12 qualifying for the 108th Running of the Indy 500 and is now set to take part in pole qualifying, slated for 5:25-5:55 p.m. ET.

Now, why does this matter?

Well, in order for Larson to make it in time to race for the $1 million prize at North Wilkesboro, he has to leave Indianapolis Motor Speedway at a certain point. According to Jeff Gluck of The Athletic, the belief is that Larson will have to leave pit road at Indianapolis for his helicopter by 6:05 p.m. in order to make it to North Wilkesboro in time. From there, the plan is for Larson to catch a plane ride from Indianapolis to a North Wilkesboro airport and then helicopter over to the racetrack for the All-Star Race, which is scheduled to start at 8 p.m. ET. 

Hendrick No. 5 crew chief Cliff Daniels on Kyle Larson All-Star Race: ‘Either he makes it in time or he doesn’t’

Chad Knaus, Hendrick Motorsports vice president of competition, said Sunday that even if Larson wins the pole, he will still attempt to make it to North Wilkesboro. No. 5 Hendrick team crew chief Cliff Daniels said that a backup plan does not exist if Larson fails to make it in time. Simply put, if Larson doesn’t make it, they will not race.

“We had quite a few [backup plans] and I think it’s gotten a bit simpler now,” Daniels told Matt Weaver of Sportsnaut. “We were gonna try to work the [Justin] Allgaier angle and really try to abide by the fine print of the rule of having an eligible driver to even be able to start the All-Star Race if Kyle was gonna sub in. But basically, that isn’t really on the table anymore. So, our plans have gone from two or three layers really to one pretty simple layer. We’re an All-Star car, we’re gonna start in the back of the All-Star Race no matter what and Kyle is our driver and either he makes it in time, or he doesn’t.

“It’s a pretty simple one-step plan. We’re gonna do everything we can here to make sure our ducks are in a row. We’ll have the car ready for him. We have a helicopter waiting for him at the airport when he lands, so he’ll chop over from the airport over to here and do our job and make sure we’re ready and see how it goes.”