NASCAR champion Kyle Larson set for racing series switch after official statement

NASCAR Cup Series star Kyle Larson's Hendrick Motorsports team has announced that he'll be driving in a different racing series for them.

The driver of the No. 5 car in the Cup Series will hop into the No. 17 Xfinity Series car this weekend to run double duty at Indianapolis.

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Astonishingly, that means that the 2021 champion will be running his third race of the year at the Brickyard on Sunday, having already put in several days there in practice, qualifying and the race at the Indy 500.

While this Double Duty is far less onerous than the one he tried to pull off in May, Larson could really do with the Xfinity Series race falling his way on Saturday.

Larson set for Double Duty...sort of

While he's locked into the playoffs and one of the leading drivers' championship points scorers of the year, the 32-year-old's recent form has been nothing to write home about.

Larson has rarely threatened for a win since he took the flag at Kansas more than two months ago, putting him right in with Christopher Bell as drivers who started the season well but have since faded somewhat.

A return to the Xfinity Series could well help him back into winning habits, having finished in the top three in eight out of his 11 races in the series since his 2021 Cup Series title – the other three results being a fourth-placed finish along with fifth at Darlington in 2022, where he got caught in a wreck to finish 38th and last two years later.

Did we mention that he won last year's Cup Series race at the track last year?

Hendrick Motorsports posted on social media about the move, writing: "The reigning Brickyard winner is doubling up! [Larson] will run the Xfinity race this Saturday in the No. 17 [Hendrick] Chevy."

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