Kyle Larson divulges details of phone call with Tony Stewart about Indy 500 crossover

Kyle Larson is aiming to become the first driver since Kurt Busch to complete the double duty this year, but Tony Stewart remains the hallmark in the double duty realm for his performances in the decades prior. The Hendrick Motorsports driver revealed the details of his conversation with the only driver to complete the 1100 miles on a single day ahead of the race, and how the two caught up with each other.

The 54-year-old is a former IndyCar and NASCAR Cup Series champion. His passion for motorsports was evidently visible, and he took up the daunting task of completing the double duty on two occasions.

While his first attempt was a respectable one, his second attempt set the benchmark for years to come as he completed all 600 laps of racing on the same day with a P3 result at the Coca-Cola 600 and a P6 result at the Indy 500. Kyle Larson aimed to repeat history last year but had to ditch the stock car race owing to weather concerns.

However, this year's weather is understood not to throw such tantrums, and the HM driver is en route to complete the 1100 miles. Though racing drivers don't often take tips, the 32-year-old could benefit from the learnings of Tony Stewart as the paddock chatted around.

Moreover, the pair indeed had a small chat over the phone, and the 2021 Cup Series champion opened up on the conversation the two had as Stewart would be presenting the Indy 500 on Sunday, while Larson participates in the race:

"I talked to Tony on the phone the other day mostly just because he's getting in the broadcast booth on Sunday so he was checking in to see how things were going and what may be different than last year and stuff like that. It was good to catch up with him. I haven't talked to him in a while, so it was good to chat on the phone." (via ASAP Sports)

The 32-year-old qualified 21st for the race, a significant step back from his last year's qualifying run.

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Kyle Larson is satisfied with his starting position for the Indy 500

Kyle Larson at the INDYCAR 109th Running of The Indianapolis 500 - Source: Getty

Kyle Larson's qualifying attempt for the Indy 500 was a suboptimal one in comparison to his 2024 run. However, his 21st qualifying position soon changed to 19th position as two Team Penske cars were found to be running illegal modifications on the rear end of the car.

Despite the lowly starting position, the Arrow McLaren/HM driver was content with his result, and said (via McLaren):

"Obviously, we’d love to be in the Fast 12 again, but overall a good day with two runs in. I felt pretty balanced, but that comes with a compromise of a bit of speed. I had a bad restart last year and fell back toward this starting position, and we were able to fight our way forward. We’ll be ready to execute some good laps and have a good result."

On the other hand, Kyle Larson was not the slowest McLaren driver during qualifying, as Nolan Siegel secured a subpar 24th-place starting position.