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.