IndyCar Introduces A Contingency Plan In Case Rain Ruins Kyle Larson's Attempt At Double Duty Again

Last year, Kyle Larson's attempt at pulling double-duty and racing in both the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 on the same day was ruined by rain, so hopefully, all goes according to plan.

But, if it doesn't and Larson has to dropout of the Indy 500 due to his NASCAR obligations, IndyCar has unveiled some new rules about potential replacement drivers.

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According to IndyCar, teams were told during a Team Manager call about he parameters for when a replacement driver would be permitted.

The first requirement on the list? A replacement driver is only an option if the primary driver is "participating in another marquee event with the driver’s principal racing series on Indianapolis 500 Race Day."

I mean, they may have just said, "Hey, Arrow McLaren, you guys are the only ones that can potentially use a replacement, and only for Larson!"

Of course, I guess this kind of boilerplate language just saves time in the future.

Furthermore, the replacement driver must be a veteran who is IndyCar-approved and who has passed a refresher course.

Teams will not be given any additional sets of tires for their new driver, but they will be allowed to make minimal setup changes.

They will also forfeit the starting position achieved by the primary driver, with the replacement driver starting at the back of the field.

It's good that IndyCar got this all sorted out well-before race day because it's been made clear publicly that Larson's focus will be on his NASCAR obligations, and if that means skipping out on a rain-delayed Indy 500, so be it.

Hopefully it doesn't factor in and the Indy 500 goes off without a hitch, giving Larson more than enough time to hop on a plane and rush down to Charlotte for the Coca-Cola 600.