Hendrick Motorsports suddenly dominating one Indy 500 award?

After qualifying fifth for his first ever Indy 500 attempt, and his first ever IndyCar start, Kyle Larson is set to become the fifth driver to attempt the Memorial Day Double, first by competing in the "Greatest Spectacle in Racing" at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and then by flying to Charlotte Motor Speedway to compete in NASCAR's Coca-Cola 600.

No driver has attempted the feat since Kurt Busch pulled it off in 2014, and on only one occasion (Tony Stewart in 2001) has a driver run all 1,100 miles.

However, Larson isn't the only Hendrick Motorsports NASCAR Cup Series driver to attempt the Indy 500 in recent years.

Jimmie Johnson wins 2022 Indy 500 Rookie of the Year honors

After his initial retirement from the Cup Series, seven-time series champion and 83-time race winner Jimmie Johnson began competing in IndyCar in 2021. He only ran the road and street course races that year before taking on the full schedule, including the Indy 500, in 2022.

The Hendrick Motorsports legend was crowned Indy 500 Rookie of the Year, and there's no reason to believe that Larson won't be the winner of this year's award.

Based on the fact that Johnson won the award in 2022 despite crashing out of the race and thus finishing behind four other rookies, it's safe to say that, shy of a rookie driver not named Larson winning the race, Larson has effectively already clinched the Indy 500 Rookie of the Year Award.

The criteria used to give Johnson the award largely revolved around his practice and qualifying pace, and Larson is well ahead of where Johnson was two years ago. Johnson qualified 12th.

Let's not forget that Ed Jones, the 2017 third place finisher, was robbed of the award simply because that race also saw two-time Formula 1 world champion Fernando Alonso debut. Alonso did lead 27 laps after qualifying fifth, but he also did not finish the race.

All things considered, it would take something crazy for Larson not to win it.

So if the current trends continue, Hendrick Motorsports NASCAR drivers will have won the award in two of the last three Indy 500s.

And unlike Johnson's entry in 2022, Larson's entry is actually co-owned by Rick Hendrick, whose team partnered with the Arrow McLaren IndyCar team to make it possible. Larson's No. 17 car is officially the No. 17 McLaren-Hendrick Chevrolet.

Johnson now competes part-time in the Cup Series for Legacy Motor Club, which had been known as Petty GMS Motorsports before he became a part owner last year.

Tune in to NBC at 11:00 a.m. ET this coming Sunday, May 26 for the live broadcast of the 108th running of the Indy 500 from Indianapolis Motor Speedway. If you have not already had the chance to do so, begin a free trial of FuboTV now and don't miss it!