“I’m Sure He’s Smiling”: Kyle Larson Readies an Emotional Indy 500 Tribute to Late Mentor

Holding first place in driver rankings with 486 stage points, Kyle Larson is out to conquer the season. Besides his spectacular outings in the NASCAR Cup Series, the Hendrick Motorsports driver is gearing up for a wondrous feat. The Double, or attempting both the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600 races on the same day, is not meant for the faint-hearted. And our star driver is preparing for exactly that.

Notably, years of progress went into this venture. However, the earliest instance of the HMS racer being potentially linked to IndyCar when was when a famous journalist, Robin Miller, had ecstatically praised Larson’s driving prowess. Additionally, this individual had also strongly recommended the #5 to run the Indy 500. However, unfortunately, while his wish to set to be fulfilled, the man himself is no more. And, three years after his demise, Larson finally got to pay a tribute to his late mentor.

Kyle Larson remembers IndyCar veteran

Robin Miller was an IndyCar journalist, broadcaster, and advocate, who was a class apart in the motorsport. He was known for his unfiltered candor while narrating stories from the paddock. Miller had a particularly strong relationship with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, ever since his father took him to the track in 1987. Writing for ‘The Indianapolis Star’, he cemented his status as IndyCar’s most respected voice.

So when Miller witnessed Kyle Larson racing in 2011, he was gobsmacked. Larson swept all three divisions in USAC’s biggest weekend. This convinced Miller that Larson was well worth IndyCar’s speedy projects, and campaigned for the HMS driver to enter the series. However, Miller’s wish materialized posthumously.

Kyle Larson recently spoke to the media about how he would have loved Miller’s presence. “Definitely, I was hoping that he would see me get to do this finally, someday. But year, unfortunately, he passed away. He’s always been a huge supporter of my career.”

Larson also reminisced about his first meeting with the IndyCar veteran. “I remember meeting him in 2011. I think in the Milwaukee Mile for the first time. Literally like ever since then, he’s just been on Kyle Larson’s bandwagon. You know, he really tried to push for me to run the Indy 500 someday, and do The Double.”

Even though Robin Miller is gone, he may be blessing Larson with speedy results. Kyle Larson concluded his monologue with an emotional tribute, saying, “I’m sure he’s smiling, you know, watching this whole experience go on, and he’s rooting for me still to do a good job.”

Evidently, Robin Miller had noticed Kyle Larson’s talent in racing with a good eye for the sport. This ability stems from a deep-rooted expertise in racing, hinging on the technical side.

Miller sanctioned the daredevil racing in the olden days

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Robin Miller was considered a link to the ‘golden era’ of technical innovation. Back in the day, drivers faced ludicrous dangers, and they had to work their way around the risks themselves. For Miller, this made cars more interesting. That is why he believed that today’s safety standards jeopardized the quality of racing, which was apparently better in the 1960s.

Miller said he missed the old innovative days. “Oh, I miss seeing some of the wacky designs they used to have here. I was clueless how they worked – everyone knows I’m a technical moron.” But this ingenious era faded away with crucial technical updates. “The homebuild specials disappeared quick when carbon fiber chassis arrived. The little guys couldn’t afford them: they had to start using the big teams’ cars from the year before.” In line with Miller’s concerns, NASCAR’s Cup cars are achieving higher parity by the day. 

Having said that, with the blessing of this motorsport expert, Kyle Larson is destined to do wonders in The Double. Are you excited?