Kyle Larson Snatches IndyCar Popularity Crown, Eclipses Rick Hendrick’s Historic Le Mans Project

Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson is going to be the center of attention this weekend. Larson will be attempting “The Double,” running in his debut race at the Indianapolis 500 and then competing in NASCAR’s longest race at Charlotte Motorsports in the Coca-Cola 600. However, it seems like his Indy 500 run has been the talk of the town for all the right reasons.

While he is indeed among the genuine contenders to win the historic race in his very first attempts, he is also making waves off-track in merchandise sales.

Kyle Larson’s merchandise has become a hot property for motorsports fans online

To commemorate Larson’s attempt at running the 1100 mile on Memorial Day weekend, the HendrickCars-McLaren driver released the KL17 collection. This collection included merchandise such as t-shirts, caps, tank tops, and more. While there was a buzz regarding the pricing of the items that were put on the merchandise online, it’s fair to say they are selling like hotcakes.

An update by Adam Stern from SBJ even stated that Kyle Larson is leading Indy Car merchandise sale. Moreover, online merchandise sales have leapfrogged the numbers previously set by the sale of the Garage 56 project.

The Garage 56 project was NASCAR’s first entry in the historic 24 Hours of Le Mans. It was the only special innovative class entry in the field, and Hendrick Motorsports became the first team to represent NASCAR and complete the 24-hour run in their first attempt in 2023. Jimmie Johnson was the man behind the wheel of the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, completing 285 laps or 2,413.1 miles.

Certainly, the Hendrick Motorsports boys are history-makers, and something similar will be on the cards as Kyle Larson prepares to kickstart his long and exhausting weekend of racing. However, an iffy forecast for Sunday morning in Indianapolis might force Larson and HMS’s hands to make a difficult call. That is potentially decided between the Indy 500 historic run or the points race at Charlotte.

Dark clouds looming over Larson’s double-duty attempt

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If he starts a delayed Indy 500 race, would he be able to make it in time for the Coca-Cola 600? Or rather, would he decide to stay at Brickyard and risk missing the start of the 600? This could also play into his playoff runs, as a driver needs to start in all 26 regular-season races. Hopefully, Rick Hendrick, will not have to make this tough call, considering that both events are important for the driver and the team.

Speaking about the possible weather infringement and how it could affect Larson’s run on the day, Rick Hendrick via NASCAR said, “Yeah, it doesn’t look too promising for Indy on Sunday, but I think for me where I sit, if it’s going to rain, I hope it rains all day. That way it can get pushed to Monday or something, and then Charlotte is not going to rain, I just hope it doesn’t rain. Again, it’s the weather. The forecast changes kind of every day.”

Well, that’s one smart way of looking at turning the ill weather in your favor. Hopefully, that is not the case this Sunday, as the motorsports fan would like to see Kyle Larson complete the historic double. And who knows? Maybe even win the Indy 500.