"As long as it's within reason" - Joey Logano shares his take on NASCAR accommodating Kyle Larson's Indy 500-Coke 600 double
Joey Logano shared his opinion on NASCAR going out of their way to support Kyle Larson's Double schedule. In last weekend's All-Star race, NASCAR postponed the start time to accommodate Larson, who had just come from qualifying for the Indy 500 the same day.
Such a scenario could once again present itself for the Coca-Cola 600 as the Hendrick Motorsports driver hopes to make it to the Charlotte Motor Speedway after his Indy 500, aiming to drive in both races within a span of 24 hours. It was regarding this that a journalist asked Joey Logano in a recent media interaction if he'd be okay with NASCAR pushing the race time again for Larson.
“I think as long as it’s within reason. There’s a lot of different things that go into this and, as a driver who has been in the sport for a long time, I see that there’s more to it than just me driving the race car. When you think about it, the start time for the race has been promoted for a certain time. Pushing it back a little bit, I’m sure, doesn’t really affect much. Pushing it back a lot does affect it a lot," Logano said. [10:45]
The 2x Cup champion wondered if NASCAR is willing to give up ratings for a driver who chose "not to be here" and instead race in the Indy 500. This is something Joey Logano is fine with but he pondered over the point where waiting for someone could become "out of reason."
"I don’t think we should race very, very long by any means because I don’t want it to hurt the rest of our sport for somebody that showed up late for the race," Logano added.
He claimed that there should be a point where the race has to start at Charlotte Motor Speedway. However, Logano wasn't sure what that point would be.
Joey Logano echoed NASCAR's take regarding helping Kyle Larson "within reason"
Speaking recently to SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NASCAR's Elton Sawyer revealed the extent to which the governing body is ready to support Kyle Larson's Double effort.
Sawyer claimed NASCAR is going to work closely with Speedway Motorsports, TV broadcast partners and Hendrick Motorsports, in order to get Kyle Larson from Indianapolis Motor Speedway to Charlotte Motor Speedway in time for the Coca-Cola 600.
Just like Joey Logano mentioned, Elton Sawyer claimed that NASCAR would do all of that "within reason." He revealed that NASCAR has "some minute-by-minute" schedules of things like when they do the command, when the green flag waves, and so on.
Sawyer added that they would "work closely together" to ensure that fans get to see Kyle Larson, one of the best drivers in NASCAR, take part in the Coke 600 after racing in the Indy 500.