INDIANAPOLIS – It didn’t take long for “Fast Friday” to hit the 108eIndianapolis 500 to live up to its billing.
It didn’t take long for Kyle Larson to live up to his expectations as the most versatile driver in the world.
Just two minutes into Friday’s practice at the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway, when all cars are allowed to put the boost on their turbochargers, defending Indy 500 winner Josef Newgarden delivered eye-popping speed.
The No. 2 Shell Chevrolet for Team Penske reached a speed of 233.868 miles per hour. A few minutes later it was teammate Scott McLaughlin who pushed the speed to 373.932 mph in the No. 3 Pennzoil Chevy.
From there, the six-hour practice became a speed show for the biggest names in racing, including 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson.
He set the fastest lap yet at 4:00 PM Eastern Time at 374.271 mph in the No. 17 Hendrickcars.com Chevrolet for Arrow McLaren/Hendrick Motorsports.
Larson is a rookie in this year’s Indianapolis 500, but a superstar racer across America, including the biggest series in the United States, the NASCAR Sprint Cup.
With two hours left in ‘Fast Friday’ practice, Larson’s speed was the fastest, followed by Newgarden at 234.260 mph, Alexander Rossi’s 234.006, McLaughlin’s 233.932 mph and Team Penske’s Will Power 233.864 mph in the No. 12 Verizon Chevrolet.
An hour after setting the top speed, Larson’s speed was surpassed by Colton Herta’s 384.974 km/h lap in the No. 26 Honda entering the final hour of “Fast Friday”.
Surprisingly, Larson expected more from his first Fast Friday experience.
“It was less than I expected,” Larson explained to NBC Sports after his final run. “I expected it to feel like you were going a lot faster than before, but surprisingly I think when the balance is right and the grip is still there, it definitely feels faster, but luckily it’s not that scary fast .
“So that was good.
“I just think our balance was pretty comfortable, so I was happy with that.”
It was six hours of high-speed practice, with the crew switching off the aerodynamic package as much as possible. This means that downforce is removed and air resistance is reduced, allowing the car to cut through the air with minimal resistance and higher speed.
Rookie Nolan Siegel of Dale Coyne Racing with RWR discovered the limit when he lost control of his Honda in Turn 2, hit the wall hard, went airborne and landed upside down.
He was unharmed, but the car sustained significant damage.
However, Larson had a relatively flawless day.
“We had a run where we had to cut back a little bit, and the sun was shining and I thought, ‘Okay, maybe I can get the feeling of the back end getting closer to the limit,’” Larson explained. “But yeah, overall happy with the day, happy with the speed.
“It’s hard to say where you are right now because I feel like there’s a little drag on every run, but I think the good thing is that the balance seems comfortable so I don’t feel like I have a ton from understeer or tight, for the stock car racers listening, but I don’t feel super loose either, so it’s quite balanced, which is nice.
Larson was fit with the aero package trim for Friday, but will he feel comfortable with more trimming for pole this weekend?
“I don’t know,” he said. “I guess you just have to play it by ear and see how far off you are, or something like that. But the Penske cars seem very fast. Alexander Rossi, I feel like it seems fast. I feel like the McLarens might be the best after the Penske cars. So I think you just have to see where you are at speed and then adjust.
“But I don’t know, I felt like on that one run where I was closer to the limit, I could have made it a fourth lap. I don’t think it’s a nice feeling to be on the limit, in this place.
“Overall I thought it was a good day and good that it went smoothly. No weather delays or anything else appear. So just happy with today.”
The crew member tasked with deciding how much to change Larson’s car by removing downforce and drag for optimal speed is Hendrick Motorsports technical director Brian Campe, who serves as Larson’s race strategist at Arrow McLaren.
“I think we have recovered from yesterday; we were kind of in the background yesterday, out of order with the rest of the field on tires,” Campe told NBCSports.com. “Keep track of the time today, we’re back where we need to be. We started it at a conservative downforce level. We are happy with the balance of the car and the speed.
“But the lap average is different. Fast Friday is part of the differences.”
For a driver who has never experienced a “Fast Friday,” Campe says Larson has adapted quite well.
“The speed, when you see it through for Kyle and what the balance is, you really feel it on the last lap,” Campe explained. “He said he could feel the extra boost, but after changing the engine map he was so focused on driving the car that the speed didn’t really register.
“But he’s doing great.”
Campe used the first half of the day to complete three solid four-lap runs to simulate Saturday’s qualifying, which is the fastest four-lap average.
Those runs were intended to give Larson a feel for what each downforce step represents.
Later in the afternoon it was a chance to focus on the details of qualifying, shifting and gearing in preparation for the Indy 500 qualifying weekend.
Larson is trying to join John Andretti, Tony Stewart, Robby Gordon and Kurt Busch as the only drivers to compete in the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600 NASCAR Cup Series race on the same day at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
“You automatically know you’re part of history,” Campe said. “Everyone appreciates Kyle’s driving talent and it is very special to get the nod from Mr. Hendrick (Rick Hendrick, NASCAR team owner), Jeff Gordon (Vice Chairman of Hendrick Motorsports) and Jeff Andrews (President of Hendrick Motorsports).
Campe began his career in NASCAR with JR Motorsports in 2009 before moving to IndyCar to join Team Penske in 2010.
He achieved tremendous success in IndyCar as the Indy 500-winning engineer for Juan Pablo Montoya in 2015. He was a vehicle dynamics engineer at Team Penske until November 2021, when he returned to NASCAR in November 2021 as Director of Performance Development at Hendrick Motorsports.
A year and a month later he was elevated to technical director.
When Larson was able to convince Hendrick Motorsports to run this year’s Indy 500, Campe was the obvious choice to join him on the Hendrick Motorsports team. Campe is reunited with Arrow McLaren director Gavin Ward, who worked with Campe when he joined Team Penske in December 2017.
Ward remained with Team Penske until December 2021. Six months later he was Director of Trackside Engineer at Arrow McLaren, elevated to Racing Director in December 2022 and took over as Team Principal in October 2023.
“I definitely miss Indianapolis,” Campe said. “There’s no way you can’t miss Indianapolis after experiencing it. I miss the people and I miss the racing.
“I enjoy it and I do miss it.
“Kyle is doing great. We learn as a team every run.”
Campe wanted to give Larson as many laps as possible on Friday.
Another key part of Larson’s operations is Tony Kanaan, the 2013 Indianapolis 500 winner and Arrow McLaren sporting director.
“The more Kyle can learn, the faster he’ll be,” Campe said. “The traffic we put him in on Wednesday was the worst traffic he will see for the race, and Saturday and Sunday will determine where he starts and the traffic he ends up in.”
Hendrick Motorsports is fully committed to its first Indy 500.
“I spoke to everyone at Hendrick Motorsports before we left and wished us the best of luck,” Campe said. “They are working hard this week for North Wilkesboro and next weekend for the Coca-Cola 600.
“Thank you to Rick and Jeff and Chad Knaus for allowing us to take time off from our daily duties to run the Indianapolis 500 and we are extremely proud to represent everyone at Hendrick Motorsports. I’m blessed to be able to do it.
“I don’t know there’s anything more fun than this. This is at the top of the list.”
“Fast Friday” for some led to “Frantic Friday” for others. Alex Palou’s Chip Ganassi Racing entry had to undergo an engine swap from the Honda entry. Teammate and 2008 Indianapolis 500 winner Scott Dixon’s No. 9 PNC Bank entry also struggled to match the speed of the faster drivers.
“I think we’ll make the field,” joked Dixon. “But I don’t know where that will be.
“We’ll see where it all turns out.”
Instead of heading to the Brushy Mountains of North Carolina to prepare for Sunday night’s NASCAR All-Star Race, Larson will be at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway this weekend for the Indy 500 qualifying.
He will compete in Sunday night’s race, but if he enters the “Fast 12” or is at risk of competing in the “Last Change Qualifying,” Larson will skip Saturday night’s Heat Races in North Wilkesboro.
According to Larson, the Indy 500 qualifiers take priority.
But what would make this weekend at Indy successful for the NASCAR star?
“I’m not sure,” he said. “I think it would be kind of fun to do the Fast 12 and then whatever they call it, the Fast Six. I think that would be really neat.
“But being a rookie and all, I don’t know if that’s to be expected, but it would be pretty cool to get that and be in the first few rows of the race. I just want to get a good, smooth run and be the first to make the show.
“It would also be cool to be the best rookie in qualifying.”
