Dale Earnhardt Jr. shared his honest thoughts about Kyle Larson's blunt take on the huge undertaking required to make a successful Double attempt. The Hendrick Motorsports star Larson made his second Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600 attempt in a single day on Sunday, May 25.
However, Kyle Larson had another forgettable attempt at the historic Memorial Day Double, crashing out after completing half the open-wheel race. He drove the #17 Arrow McLaren in partnership with the Rick Hendrick-owned organization. While that wasn't the end, a DNF in his NASCAR race at Charlotte added salt to the 32-year-old's wounds.
Although Larson entered the events with high optimism, his post-race thoughts caught NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Jr.'s attention.
"The Double is just a tough undertaking. The window of time is too tight. Even if I didn’t wreck, I don’t think I would have made it here on time and probably would have had to end that race short anyways... So I don’t really think it’s worth it," said Larson as per NBC journalist Dustin Long.
Despite not being able to mirror Tony Stewart, who is the only driver to complete the 1100 miles, Larson has kept his option to run the Indy 500 again, but has been open about the logistical struggles required to make it happen.
As a result, Dale Earnhardt Jr. applauded the "unreal" task done by the driver to make things in time. In a post on X, Dale Jr. wrote:
"What we don't see are the meet n greets, photo shoots, team meetings, travel, and more photo shoots, media requests... his plate is already full with those things in NASCAR and to add THE Indy 500!! It's a Herculean undertaking in May times 10. Unreal. 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼"
Nevertheless, Larson has shown dominance with three wins and most laps led (851) in the NASCAR premier division in the ongoing season. He will next be seen in action in the Nashville Superspeedway race on June 1.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. picks Xfinity champion who replaced Kyle Larson as the potential JRM's Cup prospect
During a recent fan interaction at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Dale Earnhardt Jr. sat in a conversation with his wife Amy and talked about the driver he would want for JR Motorsports' hypothetical entry in NASCAR's premier division. Dale Jr. revealed his star driver, Justin Allgaier, also a "good little friend", would be a great choice for JRM's Cup entry.
"Well, Justin [Allgaier] did a good job for us in Daytona. I think Justin is a Cup talent, Cup quality driver. So, if we did snap our fingers and and get a cup team tomorrow, I think Justin would be our driver," Dale Jr. said while responding to a question [via Bless Your 'Hardt on YouTube, 49:30 onwards]
He also talked about Allgaier replacing Larson in last year's Coca-Cola 600 race when the Hendrick star couldn't manage to start to race due to a delay to his Indy 500 stint.
"And last year when he subbed in for Kyle Larson in the #5, I mean, he drove that car past the leaders to get a lap back, which was really impressive. Good little driver and great friend of the company and so that would be pretty cool," added Dale Earnhardt Jr.
At present, Dale Earnhardt Jr's JRM is one of the strongest Xfinity teams. They have four Xfinity titles and 93 triumphs under their name.
NASCAR's second-tier series will return to action for the Tennessee Lottery 250 race on May 31.
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