Note: The Penske Entertainment editorial staff is looking back at the 10 biggest moments of 2023 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in this year-end series, with one installment appearing on the site per day in countdown fashion from Dec. 22-31.
The all-star lineup for the 2024 Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge was announced more than a year in advance, and it almost didn’t seem real. But it is.
Three men with NASCAR championships – Kyle Larson driving a Rick Hendrick-backed car with guidance from Jeff Gordon – will be part of an Arrow McLaren entry in the 108th Running of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Larson’s No. 17 Chevrolet with primary sponsorship from HendrickCars.com will race alongside the cars driven by NTT INDYCAR SERIES veterans Pato O’Ward, Alexander Rossi and David Malukas. Rossi won the “500” in 2016; O’Ward finished second in 2022.
Larson, Hendrick and Gordon will make their “500” debuts at IMS. Larson won NASCAR’s Cup Series championship in 2021. Hendrick Motorsports has fielded cars for 14 Cup Series champions, including four by Gordon. The Hendrick-Gordon pairing also won a record five Brickyard 400s at IMS. Hendrick-entered cars have won 10 Cup Series victories on Indy’s storied 2.5-mile oval.
“I’m super excited,” said Larson, who completed the Indy 500 rookie test in October. “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 Arrow McLaren, 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.”
Said Hendrick: “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.”
Pending additional entries, Larson will become just the fifth driver to run “The Double” on Memorial Day weekend by racing in the “500” and NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on the same day. His double will be the first since Kurt Busch raced in both events in 2014. Busch finished sixth at IMS.
John Andretti, in 1994, was the first driver to compete in both races on the same day. Robby Gordon tried it five times, Tony Stewart twice. Stewart’s 2001 effort was the most successful. He finished sixth at Indy and third in Charlotte, the only time a driver has completed all 1,100 racing miles.
