![Donald Trump Daytona 500 Air Force One]()
Kyle Larson is no stranger to being blocked during a race...but could he be blocked from even getting to the track by a former president?
The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion and driver of the #5 car for Hendrick Motorsports is attempting to do the Memorial Day double next Sunday, making his IndyCar Series debut by running the Indy 500 on the same day as the NASCAR Cup Series runs the Coca-Cola 600.
Larson, who's inarguably one of the best drivers in the world in any form of motorsports, qualified an impressive 5th for his debut in the Indianapolis 500. But now that he's locked into the race, that creates a new set of logistical issues with making it to Charlotte Motor Speedway in time for the Coke 600 after finishing up in Indy.
Those logistics were on full display yesterday, with Larson having to both qualify his IndyCar and make it to North Wilkesboro Speedway for the NASCAR All-Star Race a couple of hours later.
Immediately after his final run in Indianapolis, Larson was shuttled to a helicopter outside of the track to take him to a waiting Hendrick Motorsports plane at the airport to fly him to North Wilkesboro. And an hour later, Larson landed at nearby Wilkes County Airport, where another chopper was waiting to shuttle him to the track - and to thunderous applause from the crowd.
He made it look easy yesterday, making it in plenty of time for the race (even without the 15-minute delay to the start time that NASCAR added to make sure that he made it on time). But next week could be more of a challenge, because you never know how long the race itself is going to take. Cautions, red flags, and even Larson going out and shocking the world with an Indy 500 win in his first series start are all things that could cause headaches when it comes to making it to Charlotte on time.
Or, the former president could be there and cause even more issues.
According to a report from Charlotte Motor Speedway GM Greg Walter, former president and current GOP candidate Donald Trump is currently making plans to attend the Coke 600 this weekend.
https://twitter.com/bobpockrass/status/1792650485234631032
And it's not the first time that NASCAR has welcomed Trump, with the former president attending the 2020 Daytona 500 and even taking some laps around the track in the presidential limousine before the race.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFF6c8KPBAI
And while I'm sure NASCAR welcomes the attention that it will bring to the sport and to the event, Larson is probably banging his head against a wall because of how much more difficult this could make things for him.
Of course the security required for an appearance from a former president and a current candidate presents its own logistical issues. The airspace over the racetrack will now be shut down, likely forcing Larson to have to land further from the racetrack ahead of the 6:00 PM eastern start time.
And that's not even counting the traffic backups that could come with Secret Service protection and presidential motorcades at the track.
The green flag is scheduled to fly at 12:45 for the Indy 500 (assuming there are no weather delays or anything, which would be an entirely other set of issues for Larson). And it usually takes about 3 hours to complete the 200-lap race: Last year's race was completed in 2 hours and 58 minutes, with the shortest race in the last decade clocking in at 2 hours and 37 minutes back in 2021 and the longest taking 3 hours and 13 minutes in 2017.
So assuming we're in that range, we have the checkered flag flying at 3:45 PM.
Larson made it from a pit road interview at Indy to North Wilkesboro Speedway (which is roughly the same distance from Indy as Charlotte) in an hour and 40 minutes, which would put him at the track at around 5:30 for the 6:00 start time.
Of course I'm assuming the plan for the Coke 600 was for Larson to fly into the Concord Regional Airport and then helicopter over to the track in time for the drop of the green flag. But with Trump in town, that may not be possible.
If Larson has to be chauffeured to the track from the airport, it's only a 12-minute drive - but that's on a good day, which this most certainly will not be with race traffic and Secret Service activity at the track.
Now, I'm sure that NASCAR and Hendrick Motorsports have already come up with a backup plan, probably even working with local authorities and even the Secret Service to get Larson to the track on time. And they may even be willing to delay the start of the race if he's cutting it close.
But if there's one thing we've learned about Larson, it's that getting somewhere fast isn't an issue for him - no matter what kind of challenges you throw his way.
https://twitter.com/NASCAR/status/1792334510643617934?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1792334510643617934%7Ctwgr%5Efacc04182692dab3a7303a4eb9c4dad28066bcda%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.whiskeyriff.com%2Fwp-admin%2Fpost.php%3Fpost%3D594523action%3Dedit
