Former Daytona International Speedway president John Cooper dies

John R. Cooper, a former president of Daytona International Speedway, passed away Wednesday at 84, International Speedway Corporation announced.

Cooper served as president of Daytona from 1987 -1990. Previously, he had served as president and CEO of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, beginning in 1979 and until he resigned in 1982.

Prior to that, Cooper was involved in the national sports programs for the Coca-Cola Company for two years.

Cooper also served as vice president of corporate development for ISC until July 1994 while also working on ISC’s Board of Directors from 1987 until April 2003, before being elected director emeritus.

NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France released a statement on Cooper’s passing.

“On behalf of NASCAR and the entire France family, I would like to offer my deepest condolences to the friends and family of John Cooper. John served in many motorsports roles throughout his life, including president of two of the most iconic race tracks in the world – Daytona International Speedway and Indianapolis Motor Speedway. But beyond any of his exemplary career stops, there was one role that was personally even more important – dear friend. John was a cherished confidant of both my father and my grandfather. My family has relied on his counsel – both personally and professionally speaking – countless times. We are all saddened by his passing, and will miss John dearly.”

Statement from Lesa France Kennedy, CEO of ISC

“The impact that John Cooper had on the International Speedway Corporation, Daytona International Speedway, NASCAR and the motorsports industry overall cannot be overstated. In addition to being a legendary voice of executive leadership, he also was a longtime friend and confidant to the France Family, starting with his close relationship to my grandfather Bill France Sr.

“John was one of only two people who have served as president at both Daytona International Speedway and Indianapolis Motor Speedway – and that represents only a portion of his career and achievements.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with John’s family and friends. We have lost a cherished link to our industry’s past.”

NASCAR America: Scan All Indianapolis

Take another look at the Brickyard 400 from Kyle Busch‘s victory and late-race restarts to Jeff Gordon‘s return to the track and Tony Stewart‘s suggestion that led to a memorable salute after the race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

NASCAR America: Justin Allgaier relishes Xfinity Dash 4 Cash bonus at indy

Justin Allgaier described racing JR Motorsports teammate Elliott Sadler for the Xfinity Dash 4 Crash bonus at Indianapolis. Allgaier finished fifth to win the $100,000 bonus last weekend.

“That last restart, we knew it was coming down to just the two of us,” Allgaier said. “Being on the outside, not being in the preferred lane and also racing a teammate, we knew it was going to be a huge challenge. Luckily enough, our car was just a little bit better, I think, than Elliott’s on Saturday.”

'SMOKE' CALLED TO FRONT OF LINE FOR INDY TRIBUTE

SPEEDWAY, Ind. -- Tony Stewart 's final NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start at Indianapolis Motor Speedway got off to an emotional start here Sunday as NASCAR and IMS officials, along with fans of the three-time premier series champion, paid tribute to Stewart during pre-race activities.

Stewart, twice a winner at the legendary 2.5-mile facility, is retiring from Sprint Cup competition at season's end. Sunday's Crown Royal Presents the Combat Wounded Coalition 400 at the Brickyard marked his 18th career start at the track.

Stewart, 45, led the field on the opening pace lap well ahead of even the pace car prior to the start of the race before falling back in line to his official starting position of third on the 40-car grid.

Earlier, additional room on the pre-race grid was provided to the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing team to accommodate up to 100 guests on hand to see Stewart make his final scheduled Brickyard start.

Stewart has 49 career victories, including Brickyard 400 wins in 2005 and '07. His 9.6 average finishing position at Indy is his best at any track in the series.

Stewart grew up in Columbus, Indiana, located approximately 50 miles south of the speedway, and he maintains his primary residence there. He has spoken often of what the track has meant to him through the years.

"You know, it means a lot," he said recently. "Some of the greatest race car drivers in the world, whether it was IndyCar, Formula 1, MotoGP, NASCAR, they've run and won at the Brickyard, so that in itself makes it special.

"I grew up ... in Indiana. I didn't move to Indiana. I didn't move away from Indiana. I'm the only NASCAR driver in the (Sprint) Cup Series that's from Indiana that still lives in Indiana, and I'm proud of where I was born. I'm proud to be back.

"I still live in the town I was raised in. I take a lot of pride in that. I think the state of Indiana takes a lot of pride in that, and that's what makes it a big weekend. I'm representing a lot of people around me, and I'm proud to do that."

Stewart made his first start at Indy in 1996, winning the pole and finishing 24th for team owner John Menard in the Indianapolis 500. He finished fifth the following year.

Stewart remains the only driver to complete all 1,100 miles of the Indy/Charlotte double held in May. He finished sixth in the Indy 500 in 2001, then flew to Charlotte Motor Speedway where he drove to a third-place finish in the Coca-Cola 600 .

GORDON GETS COMFORTABLE, KEEPS EXPECTATIONS 'REALISTIC'

SPEEDWAY, Ind. -- Jeff Gordon was all smiles walking on Indianapolis Motor Speedway's pit road following qualifying for Sunday's Brickyard 400. The crowd cheered its approval of his 21st-place qualifying effort. Mostly they were happy for the opportunity to see the four-time NASCAR champion at work again.

Gordon advanced to the second round of qualifying driving Dale Earnhardt Jr. 's No. 88 Axalta Chevrolet. And the five-time Indy winner will start his final race here from the 11th row filling in for Earnhardt, who is recovering from concussion-like symptoms.

"I felt really comfortable right there," said Gordon, 44, who was asked by team owner Rick Hendrick to come out of retirement and take the wheel for Earnhardt at Indy and at Pocono Raceway next week.

"I feel like today I am much calmer than I was yesterday," Gordon said. "Usually my heart's beating more for qualifying than for practice, but that wasn't the case today.

"So today, I feel more relaxed and comfortable in the car and I hope to feel the same way tomorrow. Tomorrow's challenge is going to be being around traffic and trying to get the balance of the car right and do that when you're by yourself as well as around other cars."

Gordon hasn't driven a Sprint Cup Series car since retiring at the end of the 2015 season and only had a pair of practice sessions Friday to prepare for qualifying and the race.

The team used his old seat and steering wheel in the car and Gordon only arrived from a family vacation in France mid-week.

"For the most part, all the work is done," Gordon said. "We did our practice yesterday, we did our de-brief with drivers and crew chiefs last night and we qualified today.

"Every time we're on track we're gathering information and learning. We'll continue to talk about it, but that's about all we can do moving forward. Those guys will be working hard on pit strategy for the race. But for the most part, the work is done for me other than thinking of some things I could tell Greg.

"The work all begins when the green flag drops."

While this will be the first time in Gordon's celebrated career he won't be steering the No. 24 Chevrolet for Hendrick, there was an unmistakable sense of excitement about the weekend's opportunity.

In what was originally his final Indy start -- last year -- Gordon scored his worst-ever finish of 42nd. In a sense, this time filling in for his good friend and former teammate Earnhardt also affords him the chance to improve that career note, too.

"My expectations are very realistic," Gordon said. "I'm approaching this the same way I've approached any race I've ever been in. I drive the car into the corner and the car gives me feedback and if it feels good, I drive it harder. If it doesn't feel good I find a way to manage it until we can make adjustments.

"My goal is to make the car go as fast as it can go. Each time on track I feel like I'm getting better. This is a steep learning curve, to be off the track this long and then just jump in here. But luckily, I have a great race car and a great race team that's going to help me get through it."

BUSCH PICKS UP COORS LIGHT POLE AWARD IN SEARCH OF BRICKYARD DEFENSE

SPEEDWAY, Ind. – A sweep at Indianapolis Motor Speedway is nothing new to Kyle Busch.

But this year, he started early.

With a lap at 184.634 mph (48.745 seconds) in the final round of Saturday's knockout qualifying, Busch claimed the pole position for Sunday’s Crown Royal 400 (3 p.m. ET on NBCSN, IMS, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Earlier in the day, the driver who swept both the NASCAR Sprint Cup and XFINITY Series races at Indy last year earned the pole award ahead of the heat races prior to Saturday afternoon’s Lilly Diabetes 250 XFINITY race.

But the Sprint Cup pole that completed the Saturday sweep was special, because it was the first for Busch at the vaunted Brickyard.

"I haven't been great at qualifying here, but the guys gave me a great piece this time around, and I'm real pumped about that," said Busch, who claimed his second Coors Light Pole Award of the season and the 19th of his career. "We're starting first in both of these (races), and hopefully we can end that way.

"It means a lot (to win the pole). It's definitely pretty special to be running the way that we're running and to have the success that we've had here the last couple of years at Indy, and I’d love nothing more than to try to win here again."

Busch’s No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota was .023 seconds faster than the No. 19 of teammate Carl Edwards (184.547 mph).

"I was happy with my lap," Edwards said. "I was surprised Kyle got me. That was a good lap for him – I mean, that was a good lap that he ran because I felt like my lap was pretty good – but, yeah, it's frustrating right now to be second because it's so close, and the pole position is obviously huge here.

"But by tomorrow, the race gets started and I think I'll be pretty happy with that starting spot, so just good job by all my guys."

Making his last appearance at Indy as a Sprint Cup Series driver, Tony Stewart earned the third starting spot with a lap at 184.328 mph and knew exactly where he had lost critical speed.

"I just wish I could do lap three (final round) one more time and not clip the apron in (Turn) 4," Stewart said. "I think we could have been on the pole."

RELATED: Stewart discusses his qualifying effort

Denny Hamlin qualified fourth, giving JGR three of the top four spots. Brad Keselowski in fifth has the top Ford. Ryan Newman , Kevin Harvick , Martin Truex Jr. , Jamie McMurray and Kyle Larson will start from positions six through 10, respectively.

The time trials were a disappointment for the Hendrick Motorsports drivers, who failed to place a car in the top 12.

Jimmie Johnson ran the fastest lap of the day in the first of three rounds, touring the 2.5-mile speedway in 48.435 seconds (185.816 mph). But the six-time series champion failed to advance beyond the second round, losing the 12th and final position to Kurt Busch by .008 seconds.

Johnson will start 13th, Chase Elliott 15th and Jeff Gordon , subbing for Dale Earnhardt Jr. , who is out with concussion-like symptoms, claimed the 21st spot on the grid.

"I felt really comfortable right there," said Gordon, who was 15th fastest in the first round. "I feel like today I’m much calmer than I was yesterday (in practice). Usually, my heart is beating more for qualifying than it is for practice, but that wasn't the case.

"So, today I feel more relaxed and comfortable in the car. I hope to feel the same way tomorrow. Tomorrow's challenge is going to be being around traffic, and also trying to get the balance of the car right and do that when you're by yourself as well as when you're around other cars."

Josh Wise failed to make the 40-car field.

Today’s Xfinity race at Indianapolis: start time, weather, TV/radio info and lineup

Today’s Lilly Diabetes 250 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway features the final Xfinity Dash 4 Cash event of the season. That means heat races. Each heat race will be 20 laps, followed by the main event, which will be 60 laps.

Here’s all the info you need for today’s race.

(All times are Eastern)

START: Rudy Juarez, a Lilly Diabetes guest, will give the command 15 minutes after the second heat race ends. The green flag will wave eight minutes after the command.

DISTANCE: The race is scheduled for 60 laps (150 miles) around the 2.5-mile speedway.

HEAT RACES: The first heat race is scheduled to take the green flag at 3:45 p.m. The second heat race is scheduled to take the green flag 23 minutes after the completion of the first heat race. Both heat races are 20 laps (50 miles) around the 2.5-mile speedway.

PRERACE SCHEDULE: The Xfinity garage opens at 7 a.m. The driver/crew chief meeting is at 1:20 p.m. Driver introductions are at 3 p.m.

NATIONAL ANTHEM: Country music artist Amanda Jo will perform the anthem at 3:31 p.m.

TV/RADIO: NBCSN will broadcast the race with its coverage beginning at 3 p.m. with Countdown to Green. Performance Racing Network’s radio broadcast begins at 8 p.m. and also can be heard at goprn.com. SiriusXM NASCAR Radio will have PRN’s broadcast.

FORECAST: The wunderground.com site predicts a temperature of 90 degrees at race time with a 6 percent chance of thunderstorms.

LAST TIME: Kyle Busch passed Ryan Blaney on the last lap when Blaney was slowed by a lapped car. Blaney finished second with Daniel Suarez third, Paul Menard fourth and Elliott Sadler fifth.

STARTING LINEUP: Qualifying at 11:40 a.m.

On the spot: Drivers need twice the help from above with navigating the Brickyard

From atop the iconic pagoda at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Rutledge Wood explains how teams need two spotters to help NASCAR drivers navigate the mammoth 2.5-mile track.

NASCAR to police pit road speeds with expanded timing zones for Xfinity race

NASCAR will employ additional timing zones on pit road for today’s NASCAR Xfinity race and if all goes well, those timing zones will be used in Sunday’s Brickyard 400, NASCAR confirmed to NBC Sports.

There will be 12 timing zones along pit road — up from six previously at Indianapolis Motor Speedway — for today’s Xfinity race. There will be a timing zone about every 3.5 pit stalls on average. Those are being added to limit drivers accelerating toward their pit stall and passing cars. That became a bigger issue after NASCAR penalized Martin Truex Jr. for passing Kevin Harvick on pit road during the Sprint Cup race at Kentucky Speedway earlier this month.

NASCAR experimented with the additional timing lines last weekend at New Hampshire and had no issues, leading to the use of the timing lines for today’s Xfinity race.

Here is the pit road chart with all the timing lines.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. returns to the Brickyard (in name only)

INDIANAPOLIS — He won’t be racing Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but Dale Earnhardt Jr.‘s name will carry on at the Brickyard.

After track workers removed a sign Friday afternoon (at the behest of Hendrick Motorsports) that listed Jeff Gordon as the replacement driver of the No. 88, Earnhardt’s name was above the team’s stall when the Sprint Cup garage opened at 8 a.m. ahead of Sprint Cup qualifying Saturday afternoon.

Gordon was 25th fastest Friday afternoon in the final Sprint Cup practice session but was fastest on his final lap and is optimistic about finding speed for qualifying.

“It was one of the most challenging days I’ve had in a race car to try to get comfortable, be consistent, have the speed and give good feedback,” he said Friday. “I still love this track, and I’m glad that we are doing this (At Indy) because I think that helps me have the confidence to be able to learn faster, but it’s tough. It was tough.  That first run I was like ‘wow’ I forgot how hard of work this is.”

Dozen Sprint Cup teams testing at Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Three former Brickyard 400 winners are among 12 Sprint Cup drivers scheduled to test Tuesday and Wednesday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Each Sprint Cup organization is allowed to have one team at the test.

Four-time Brickyard winner Jimmie Johnson is scheduled to test. Joining him are 2003 race winner Kevin Harvick and 2011 winner Paul Menard.

The test session is scheduled to run from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. each day. Temperatures are expected to be near 90 degrees each day with a low chance of rain.

The Brickyard 400 is July 24.

Scheduled to test are:

Trevor Bayne (Roush Fenway Racing)
Ryan Blaney (Wood Brothers Racing)
Clint Bowyer (HScott Motorsports)
Chris Buescher (Front Row Motorsports)
Kevin Harvick (Stewart-Haas Racing)
Jimmie Johnson (Hendrick Motorsports)
Matt Kenseth (Joe Gibbs Racing)
Kyle Larson (Chip Ganassi Racing)
Joey Logano (Team Penske)
Paul Menard (Richard Childress Racing)
Brian Scott (Richard Petty Motorsports)
Martin Truex Jr. (Furniture Row Racing)

Tony Stewart hot laps dirt track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Of course Tony Stewart was going to play in the dirt Tuesday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

The track — to honor Stewart’s final start in the Brickyard 400 on July 24 — built a 3/16-mile dirt track in the infield near the speedway’s Turn 3.

“I was dead set that I was not going to get in anything … (but) I’m addicted,’’ Stewart told reporters shortly before running about 20 laps on the dirt track. “I’m going to have to run a couple of laps.

“I always want to drive something like this. I want something that I’m in control of. I want something that I have to drive the car and the car is not driving me.’’

Stewart grew up about an hour south of the speedway in Columbus, Indiana, and starred on dirt tracks before moving to Indy cars and then NASCAR.

He twice won the Brickyard 400. He raced in the Indianapolis 500 five times, finishing a career-best fifth in 1997. He last drove in that race in 2001, the second and final time he ran in the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on the same day.

For as much as Stewart enjoyed running on the track Tuesday, he looked forward to what might happen in the future.

“If we get to actually watch a race here at IMS on a dirt track, that is going to be pretty awesome,’’ said Stewart, who owns Eldora (Ohio) Speedway and the Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions sprint car series. “They haven’t been able to do that for the first 100 years, but they can do it for the next 100.’’

Face-off: NBC Sports’ Nate Ryan and Dustin Long debate the season and what is to come

As the Sprint Cup Series heads for a weekend off, NBC Sports’ Nate Ryan and Dustin Long note what’s stood out to them in the season’s first 15 races and look ahead to what you might see later this year.

Here’s how they answered these questions about the season:

Who is more likely to win first — Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, Ryan Blaney or Austin Dillon — and where do you think they’ll win?

NATE: Chase Elliott, Indianapolis Motor Speedway: There would be a certain symmetry to the No. 24 Chevrolet returning to the winner’s circle at the Brickyard. This isn’t a sentimental pick, though. A case can be made for Elliott being NASCAR’s hottest drivers for the past three months. He was two rookie mistakes on restarts from winning at Pocono Raceway and Michigan International Speedway, two fast superspeedways that share a few characteristics with Indy, and the third time will be the charm for Elliott, whose predecessor, Jeff Gordon, won a record five Brickyards starting with the 1994 inaugural.

DUSTIN: Ryan Blaney, Kentucky Speedway. He won the most recent Xfinity race there last year, was a part of this week’s test there and the ties to Team Penske will help with the way the Penske cars have run well there before.

Which driver has stood out the most in the first 15 races?

NATE: Chase Elliott. He is having the greatest rookie season in a decade (11 top 10s rank third in the series behind Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch), and it was virtually impossible to predict. Though he stepped into a championship-caliber ride, he was coming off a disappointing defense of his 2014 Xfinity Series title and shouldering enormous expectations and pressure. Yet against stiffer competition, he has raised his game and raced with the poise and adaptability of teammate and six-time series champion Jimmie Johnson. Elliott, 20, keeps proving little fazes him.

DUSTIN: Kevin Harvick. He’s still fast and still one of the few that has shown the ability to regularly challenge the top Toyota cars. That he and crew chief Rodney Childers have been able to remain among the strongest cars since working together in 2014 says much for both.

What’s three things that have stood out to you so far this season?

NATE: 

1. The suddenly forceful youth movement in the Sprint Cup Series.

2. The direction of rules changes aimed at lowering downforce that are making an impact on improving passing.

3. Tony Stewart’s turbulent farewell tour that – much like the three-time champion’s mercurial career – seemingly has turned on a dime from sputtering to promising.

DUSTIN:

1. Chase Elliott’s performance. There was a lot of hype but he’s doing things few rookies have.

2. Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s inconsistency. He has four runner-up finishes, four finishes of 30th or worse, had handling issues in both restrictor-plate races and is 11th in the points — the worst he’s been at this point in the season since 2010.

3. Tony Stewart’s year. It started with his incident with a fan at the Chili Bowl in January to his sand dunes accident a couple of weeks later, missing the first eight races, his complaints about teams not securing all five lug nuts, which led to a fine and a rule change, and his quest to climb into the top 30 in points to have a chance at the Chase. It makes one wonder what is to come.

Name one driver outside the top 16 who you think will make the Chase.

NATE: Kyle Larson. A win is the safest route, but his team’s uptick in performance over the past month opens the possibility of making the playoffs on points if Larson can maintain consistency.

DUSTIN: Kyle Larson is the easy pick based on how he’s run in recent weeks.

Who is one driver people should be paying more attention than they might.

NATE: Trevor Bayne. The results indicate he is among the most improved drivers of 2016, but it will take a victory to slough off the nagging legacy of his 2011 Daytona 500 win as a one-hit wonder. Talladega showed he could erase that unwanted label.

DUSTIN: Kurt Busch. He’s run in that fifth-to-10th spot often, but his Pocono win shows he’s building speed to contend for more victories. With a series-high 13 top-10 finishes in 15 races, don’t ignore him.

Based on what you’ve seen so far this year, who would be your way-too-early pick to make it to the championship round in Miami.

NATE: Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, Jimmie Johnson, Carl Edwards

DUSTIN: Chase Elliott, Kurt Busch, Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch

Is Joe Gibbs Racing losing its grip on being the dominant team in the series?

NATE: It’s only a two-race sample size, but there could be some warning signs in Joe Gibbs Racing failing to record a top five in consecutive races after a year long streak of 35 straight. It was around this time last season that Hendrick Motorsports began a midseason swoon that lasted for nearly two months after winning six of the first 17 races. It’s also notable that JGR didn’t lead a lap at Michigan with a new rules package that could chart the course of teams’ fortunes through 2017. A familiar refrain in NASCAR is that success is cyclical, and sometimes the dominance can dip just as quickly as it arrived. Consider that JGR has won 18 of the past 36 races … but prior to that, had won only three of the previous 36.

DUSTIN: Yes, but it still is the strongest team in the garage. The team’s strength is shown in how it was newsworthy that JGR did not have a top-five finish in back-to-back races for the first time in a year. Teams are gaining, but Gibbs is still No. 1 at this point.

Which two drivers are most likely to butt heads?

NATE: Who has the most at stake and the most run-ins with rivals? Ryan Newman’s future at Richard Childress Racing remains uncertain, he is clinging to a provisional spot in the playoffs, and there have been recent flashes of his ornery side (namely with Joey Logano at Pocono). Keep an eye on Newman and any of the winless drivers he is battling with to make the Chase.

DUSTIN: I’ll take Ryan Newman and Denny Hamlin. Two hard-nosed racers looking to improve performance in the coming races. Newman needs it to assure a spot in the Chase; Hamlin needs to be more of a title contender.

Kyle Larson the day after runner-up finish: “I would have liked to be one spot better”

INDIANAPOLIS – Kyle Larson arrived at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Monday morning not to announce a shock participation in this year’s 100th Indianapolis 500.

And he didn’t have a win to hang his hat on either when he arrived, following arguably his near-miss of his elusive first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory. In Sunday’s AAA 400 Drive for Autism at Dover, he came second again after getting beat by Matt Kenseth.

Instead, Larson was in Indy to support fellow Chip Ganassi Racing Teams driver Charlie Kimball as Kimball’s Indianapolis 500 car number will change to match Larson’s No. 42, with Tresiba support.

Larson’s runner-up result was a needed one for he and his No. 42 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet team. Larson’s best result this year had been third at Martinsville in April.

“There were a lot of people cheering for you in Indianapolis,” Kimball told Larson before Larson spoke to the room of assembled reporters.

“Man, it was fun yesterday. But I would have liked to be one spot better, and I’d be happier,” Larson replied.

Larson did admit that improvements have come to his No. 42 team lately even though the results haven’t particularly shown it.

“I definitely think we’ve made some big improvements over the last month or so,” he said. “We started out pretty poorly at the first couple mile-and-a-halfs. We made a small step.

“The last couple races we’ve made pretty big gains. We just have to keep working hard. The cars and sport changes so frequently, it’s hard to keep up with it. We have to keep up with the ever-changing garage area.

“I’m proud of everyone at the race shop. It’s starting to show in results.”

Team owner Ganassi echoed the sentiments, noting the team hasn’t “turned the corner” as he was asked but instead made the incremental steps that have made the difference.

“You know, things are so close in racing today you don’t have to be very far off on the stopwatch because it’s such a matter of tenths and hundredths,” Ganassi said.

“I wouldn’t characterize it as ‘turn the corner.’ We think we’re closer to the sweet spot right now.”

Larson may be on site at Indianapolis race morning to support Kimball and the rest of the Chip Ganassi Racing team, which has four cars entered in the Indianapolis 500 this year with Kimball joined by Scott Dixon, Tony Kanaan and Max Chilton. It is yet to be decided whether he will or not.

“It’s cool to be here to support Charlie and Novo, and see him run the 42 car. This is a special event,” Larson said.

“Yeah, it’s gonna be fun to cheer him on as well as all the other CGR teammates. My cousin is a type-one diabetic. I believe he’ll be one of the 42 names on the car, so that’s special to myself and family. He’s had good runs here in the past. Hopefully, he ends a couple spots better than last year (Kimball finished third).”

Could Larson run the Indianapolis 500? It’s an age-old question that brought the same age-old answer.

“I wish I could be a part of it. Maybe talk Chip into sending me out for rookie orientation later,” Larson quipped.

“I’d love to do it someday. But you’ll have to ask the person sitting to my left; he’d make that call.”