DARLINGTON, S.C. – Kyle Larson confirmed Friday afternoon at Darlington Raceway that schedule conflicts will prevent him from racing in the upcoming Driven2SaveLives BC39 presented by NOS Energy Drink at the new Indianapolis Motor Speedway Dirt Track.
Larson had originally filed an entry for the $15,000-to-win USAC P1 Insurance National Midget Series event, which will be held Sept. 5-6 on the quarter-mile dirt track now situated inside of turn three of the historic 2.5-mile speedway, but USAC officials confirmed to SPEED SPORT last week that Larson had removed his name from the mammoth, 118-car entry list that broke a 28-year-old USAC record.
The Elk Grove, Calif., native – who promotes an annual outlaw kart event at Cycleland Speedway in his home state – told SPEED SPORT following a Bojangles’ and Darlington School District media event that the scheduling to try and get back to Indianapolis after the conclusion of the Kyle Larson Outlaw Kart Showcase presented by BRANDT was simply too large of a hurdle to overcome.
“So I’m doing my go-kart race in California this coming week, and with it being on the West Coast, it kind of creates a logistical nightmare,” said Larson, who would’ve raced the Keith Kunz Motorsports No. 1.
“Flights are just … Sunday night, I’ll probably get home at 2 or 3 in the morning, and then I have a 7 a.m. flight to California, so I’ll probably get about an hour of sleep that night. Then, the go-kart race always runs late, and I’d have to be on a 6 a.m. flight on Wednesday to get to Indy for 4 o’ clock … so it would just be really rough to try it.
“I told Keith (Kunz) we’d skip it for this year and then see how it goes for next year.”
Even though he won’t be competing in the BC39, Larson will still be dirt racing during the days leading into Brickyard 400 weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
“I’m still going to get some racing in while I’m out West,” Larson confirmed. “I’m just going to stay out there. I’m gonna run a sprint car race in Oregon on Wednesday night and then race at Chico (Silver Dollar Speedway) on Thursday night, so it’s still racing, it just won’t be at Indy (for the BC39).”
Larson also pointed out that he’s felt the buildup towards the inaugural running of the year’s most-anticipated midget race, but that the emotions won’t reach a fever pitch until finale night on Sept. 6.
“The prestige around the event has already been really cool, but once you get all the cars rolling into the pit area and people start signing in, that’s when it’s going to really start feeling special,” said Larson. “Keep in mind; someone is going to put their name in the history books as the winner of the first USAC Midget race ever at (Indianapolis Motor) Speedway. It’s definitely a cool deal, and the fact that it’s on TV the next night makes it even more special.
“I’m looking forward to watching it; I wish I could be there, but scheduling just isn’t going to work out for me this year.”
Larson also advised fans to make sure they still attend the event, even though he won’t be on track.
“The event is going to be just as cool without me there, trust me!” Larson noted. “(Christopher) Bell might just win by half a lap now rather than a straightaway (laughter).”
