Larson May Prioritize NASCAR All-Star Race Over Indy 500 Pole Chance

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Kyle Larson is set to attempt his second consecutive Indianapolis 500 later this month, but unlike last year, Hendrick Motorsports has made it perfectly clear that the driver of the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet will prioritize the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway over the Indianapolis 500 this season.

However, Larson took things a step further on Saturday at Texas Motor Speedway as he indicated that he will also likely prioritize the NASCAR All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway over a chance at the Indianapolis 500 pole if he advances to the Fast Six qualifying session again this year.

Last year, Larson barely made it to North Wilkesboro Speedway in time to compete in the NASCAR All-Star Race after securing the fifth starting spot for his first Indy 500 start. This year, the Indianapolis 500 Fast Six qualifying session is slated to start roughly an hour later, which will potentially hamper Larson's ability to do both.

“I think that I would miss the Fast Six and go to the All-Star Race,”Larson said in a media scrum availability. “It’s important to race in it, there’s a lot of money on the line, so sure, it would be great to have an opportunity to get the pole, but I’d rather race for a million dollars [in the NASCAR All-Star Race], I think, and start sixth.”

It should be noted that Larson didn't definitively say that he would prioritize the All-Star Race over Indianapolis 500 Fast Six qualifying, but at this point, it seems by his answer that is the thought process behind the scenes for now.

Larson, who crashed in Indianapolis 500 Open Testing on April 24, continued by saying he and his Arrow McLaren team have to show the speed to compete for a pole position, or the question will be moot regardless.

“But, we’ll see, you never really know how it’s going to go, got to make sure our car is even fast enough to worry about that anyways,” Larson said.

Last year, the Indianapolis 500 was rain-delayed, but Larson remained at the iconic 2.5-mile speedway as he didn't want to miss out on his chance to compete in the legendary event. After competing near the front all race in the Indianapolis 500, Larson would be bitten by a late-race pit road speeding penalty, and would finish 18th.

After climbing from his No. 17 Arrow McLaren IndyCar, Larson would arrive at Charlotte Motor Speedway just past the halfway point of the Coca-Cola 600. While he wouldn't officially score points due to Justin Allgaier starting the race in the No. 5 Hendrick entry, Larson fully intended to finish his day behind the wheel of the NASCAR Cup Series car, but Mother Nature intervened.

Rain and lightning hit the 1.5-mile Charlotte Motor Speedway just before Larson could climb into the car to take over for Allgaier, and the race was called after 249 of the 400 laps had been completed in the event.

Following last year's Coca-Cola 600, NASCAR mulled the decision of whether to grant a Playoff Waiver to Larson, who willingly missed one of NASCAR's crown jewel events. Ultimately, the sanctioning body granted the Waiver, but at the conclusion of the 2024 season, NASCAR amended the rules for Playoff Waivers.

Included in a pre-season rule book update, if a driver misses a NASCAR Cup Series event, the driver will forfeit all current and future Playoff Points for utilizing the Playoff Waiver. The only exceptions included for this rule are driver medical, birth of a child, family emergency, and age restrictions.

While this rule update ensures that Larson will not miss the Coca-Cola 600, at the threat of forfeiting all of his Playoff Points -- a crucial component of advancing through the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs -- the NASCAR All-Star Race is an annual exhibition event, where championship points are not scored. Larson wouldn't be required to utilize a Playoff Waiver for missing the All-Star Race.