Rain delays opening day for Indianapolis 500 as Kanaan awaits approval to be Larson's replacement

The first day of practice for the 109th Indianapolis 500 has been delayed by rain, causing a disruption to Tuesday's schedule at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

The day was supposed to begin with a two-hour window for Arrow McLaren team principal Tony Kanaan to run a veteran refresher course in case he's needed to substitute for NASCAR star Kyle Larson, who is attempting to run both the Indy 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 on May 25. It will be Larson's second attempt at completing 1,100 miles on the same day; last year rain in both Indianapolis and Charlotte, North Carolina, prevented him from turning a lap at the 600.

The rain Tuesday in Indianapolis delayed all on-track activity, so IndyCar is expected to go to full field practice if weather permits. Kanaan will have to complete the refresher course at a later time.

But it's needed because NASCAR is adamant that Larson make the Coca-Cola 600 a priority. The Indy 500 was delayed by rain last year and Hendrick Motorsports made the decision to leave him at the speedway for the 500 and arrive late in North Carolina. But by the time he got to Charlotte Motor Speedway, the race was in a rain stoppage and never resumed.

It took NASCAR several weeks to decide whether or not it would grant Larson the waiver he needed to remain eligible for the playoffs, and this year NASCAR has made it clear he must be at the 600 or it will cost him dearly in his pursuit of a second Cup Series championship.

Larson was not discouraged by Tuesday's rain, even though the long-range forecast shows pockets of rain all the way into next week.

In fact, despite his non-stop racing schedule and run of NASCAR success - he's tied for the Cup Series points lead and tied with Christopher Bell with three wins so far this season - he said he's relaxed for the 500 and called it the "biggest event of the year."

"Every day is something really cool and just being part of it is special," Larson said. "Hopefully we can make the couple of weeks special and perform well on the track, get to the All-Star race, and then the 600 next week. I know we're going to have good cars for (the NASCAR races) so good times to be Kyle Larson."

He did say of all the different disciplines of racing he does, IndyCar is the most difficult because it requires the most work from him inside the cockpit.

"Everything besides the Indy car is really easy because I do it often," Larson said. "IndyCar is difficult to drive because there's so much more going on in the car. Sprint cars, I rarely touch, nothing matters. But the Indy car has so many adjustments. I feel like I am studying the wheel, staring at the wheel, and then they tell me to make an adjustment and I need to find it quickly, or hope it comes from memory. That part is what gets me."

Kanaan, meanwhile, is the 2013 Indy 500 winner but last raced the event in 2023 for McLaren. He then moved into a management role with the team and has since been promoted to team principal.

He said his wife noticed immediately it was a scheduled on-track day for Kanaan when she said "Good morning" and he grumbled a reply.

"She said 'I guess the race car driver is back,'" Kanaan said of his wife, Lauren.

Associated Press