Potential Kyle Larson replacement confirmed for 2025

IndyCar team Arrow McLaren and NASCAR Cup Series team Hendrick Motorsports confirmed that their partnership is set to continue into 2025 and that Kyle Larson is set to return for a second Indy 500 attempt at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Memorial Day Weekend in May.

Larson attempted to become the fifth driver to pull off the Memorial Day Double this past May, but his attempt was cut short. The 108th running of the Indy 500 was delayed due to rain, and he opted to stay and compete in the legendary IndyCar race, rather than make it to Charlotte Motor Speedway in time for NASCAR's Coca-Cola 600.

After qualifying on the middle of the second row in fifth place, the driver of the No. 17 McLaren-Hendrick Chevrolet ran inside the top 10 before a late pit road speeding penalty dropped him down the order and he had to settle for 18th.

That decision made him late for the Coca-Cola 600, which was halted due to rain itself by the time he had arrived.

Because enough of the race had been completed for it to be classified as official, the Coca-Cola 600 was ended before its scheduled distance, and Larson never got to compete, making him the first driver in almost 30 years to make only one of two starts in a Memorial Day Double attempt.

In 2025, Larson is aiming to officially become the fifth driver to complete a Memorial Day Double attempt and first since his former teammate, Kurt Busch, pulled it off in 2014.

Only Tony Stewart has ever completed all 1,100 miles of the challenge in one day, doing so back in 2001.

However, there is a caveat to next year's attempt (or at least that's what Rick Hendrick has said to appease NASCAR).

After Larson missed this year's Coca-Cola 600, there were questions as to whether or not he would receive a waiver to remain playoff eligible, even though he had already won multiple races during the regular season to secure his playoff spot.

Following an unnecessarily long wait, that waiver was granted, but NASCAR was faced with the tough reality that they needed to make modifications to the system moving forward.

While the Indy 500 is the Indy 500 and nothing, no matter the series, should ever take a back seat to the most attended single-day sporting event in the world, there was concern that giving Larson a waiver would lead to other drivers competing in various races that might conflict with Cup Series events down the road.

Hendrick has said that the Coca-Cola 600 is the priority for Larson, meaning that if there is rain at Indianapolis again in 2025, he would not start the race. This statement comes after Larson lost out on this year's Cup Series regular season championship by just one point, a point he would have earned simply by competing at Charlotte.

Hendrick even implied that Larson would be pulled out of the car while leading, if any sort of a delay made it appear as though he would not make it to Charlotte on time, though that approach is highly questionable.

Who would replace Kyle Larson?

2013 Indy 500 winner Tony Kanaan made what was said to be his 22nd and final Indy 500 start in 2023. Given the fact that it was technically his fourth Indy 500 since his initial "Last Lap" tour was announced, many joked that Kanaan, who now serves as Arrow McLaren's sporting director, would find his way back into a car in 2024.

That did not happen, even amid speculation that he could be called upon to replace Larson in May. Due to the fact that he had not completed a veteran refresher test, he was ineligible to fill in behind the wheel of the No. 17 Chevrolet.

That didn't matter, of course, as Larson decided to stay and compete, at which point only Nolan Siegel, the rookie who failed to qualify for the race with Dale Coyne Racing, would have been allowed to take his place.

But with the Coca-Cola 600 being the stated priority for Larson in 2025, Kanaan is set to fulfill the requirement of a veteran refresher test, either in October or in April during the annual open test at the four-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) Speedway, Indiana oval.

And so Kanaan, who is set to turn 50 years old later this year, is officially Larson's backup driver for the 2025 Indy 500.

One thing to note is that if Larson is pulled out of the car during the race, Kanaan is not allowed to fill in for him. IndyCar has given no indication that they plan to change that rule. Each car must be driven by only one driver throughout the race; the driver who starts the race must be the one who finishes it.

The 109th running of the Indy 500 is scheduled to take place on Sunday, May 25, 2025. Will Larson make his second start in the "Greatest Spectacle in Racing", or will Kanaan complete a sensational return for a 24th that, not too long ago, everyone had only joked about becoming a reality?