INDIANAPOLIS -- No matter what he does during the Month of May next year, Kyle Larson's IndyCar story in 2024 will have far more memorable days, but Thursday, the NASCAR Cup series champ, who Arrow McLaren sporting director and 2013 Indianapolis 500 winner Tony Kanaan called a superstar and the best driver of his generation, laid the groundwork for what's to come.

Across 72 laps, 180 miles and nearly three hours from his install lap to his final cycle around the famed 2.5-mile oval at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Larson passed his three phase Rookie Orientation Program that now gives him clearance to practice and attempt to qualify for next year's 500 -- what Larson and Hendrick Motorsports hope will be his first of two races that day as the Cup series veteran attempts to complete 'The Double'. To become eligible for his first 500, he had to complete 10 laps running between 205-210 mph, 15 between 210-215 mph and 15 more above 215 mph.

Below is a lap-by-lap account IndyStar took throughout Larson's three-hour session Thursday, which marked his first on-track action in an Indy car with the Arrow McLaren crew he'll tackle his maiden 500 with May 26.

Phase 1: Slow speeds take some getting used to

Lap 1: Install lap...Larson cycled once around the track but came back in immediately to check his systems. He'd stay in pitlane nearly 15 minutes (until 11:29 a.m., nearly 30 minutes into his scheduled session) before turning a lap at speed.

Lap 2: 187.421 mph

Lap 3: 198.957 mph

Lap 4: 198.066 mph

Lap 5: 202.972 mph

Lap 6: 205.108 mph...Larson's first lap within the Phase 1 window.

Lap 7: 203.333 mph...Below the floor of the Phase 1 threshold, so it didn't count toward his progression.

Lap 8: 208.747 mph

Lap 9: 209.147 mph

Lap 10: 211.193 mph...Technically, this lap was actually too fast, so it didn't count toward his Phase 1 progress. Larson said at the end of the day (as most rookies do) that staying within the slowest window of the day proved to be the toughest part, because you're forced to drive the car slower than it's meant to. To do so, drivers have to gauge where they can run all-out and where to hold back, all so their lap times can fall within what's roughly a 1-second window. For reference, Larson's slowest qualifying Phase 1 lap time (205.108 mph) took 43.8793 seconds, versus his fastest one still in the window (209.983 mph) of 42.8606 seconds.

Lap 11: 205.427 mph

Lap 12: 208.649 mph

Lap 13: 208.937 mph

Lap 14: 209.983 mph

Lap 15: 207.961 mph

Lap 16: 208.673 mph

Lap 17: 208.829 mph...Larson's 10th lap between 205-210 mph, meaning he completed Phase 1.

Lap 18: In-lap at 11:43 a.m. ...Unlike his final two phases, Larson knocked out Phase 1 in a single 'go' on-track.

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Phase 2: Larson finds comfort at higher speeds

Lap 19: Out-lap at 12:01 p.m. after an 18-minute break.

Lap 20: 212.078 mph

Lap 21: 213.393 mph

Lap 22: 214.251 mph

Lap 23: 213.709 mph

Lap 24: 213.408 mph

Lap 25: 214.038 mph

Lap 26: In-lap at 12:08 p.m. for a 10-minute break.

Lap 27: Out-lap at 12:18 p.m.

Lap 28: 212.686 mph

Lap 29: 213.875 mph

Lap 30: 214.091 mph

Lap 31: 213.581 mph

Lap 32: 214.241 mph

Lap 33: 214.247 mph

Lap 34: 214.395 mph

Lap 35: 214.356 mph

Lap 36: 214.917 mph...Larson finished a perfect 15-for-15 on laps at-speed within the 210-215 mph window, moving him onto Phase 3.

Lap 37: In-lap at 12:26 p.m. for a 12-minute break before starting Phase 3.

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Phase 3 and beyond: Possibly the fastest speeds of Larson's life

Lap 38: Out-lap at 12:38 p.m.

Lap 39: 213.658 mph

Lap 40: 215.619 mph...Larson's first lap above the 215 mph-mark, meaning his first lap that would count towards passing Phase 3. He wouldn't fall below this mark for laps at-speed for the remainder of his on-track session.

Lap 41: 215.898 mph

Lap 42: 215.963 mph

Lap 43: 216.054 mph

Lap 44: 216.138 mph

Lap 45: 216.091 mph

Lap 46: 216.191 mph

Lap 47: 216.157 mph

Lap 48: 216.081 mph

Lap 49: 216.003 mph

Lap 50: In-lap at 12:48 p.m. for a 25-minute break. At this point, Larson needed five more laps above 215 mph to complete his ROP.

Lap 51: Out-lap at 1:13 p.m.

Lap 52: 216.993 mph

Lap 53: 217.764 mph

Lap 54: 217.619 mph

Lap 55: 217.581 mph

Lap 56: 217.517 mph...Larson's 15th lap above 215 mph during Phase 3 officially cleared him through the Indy 500 ROP, making him eligible to attempt to qualify for the 108th Indy 500.

Lap 57: 217.427 mph

Lap 58: 217.307 mph

Lap 59: 217.330 mph

Lap 60: In-lap at 1:21 p.m. for a 10-minute break.

Lap 61: Out-lap at 1:31 p.m.

Lap 62: 213.248 mph

Lap 63: 217.583 mph

Lap 64: 217.816 mph

Lap 65: 217.898 mph...This marked Larson's fastest lap of the day. He said afterwards he remembers a test day at Michigan International Speedway in an ARCA car where he believes his speeds at the end of the straightaways were in the 220s -- which he also did Thursday -- so he was uncertain if this was the fastest he'd ever driven. If not, it was certainly close.

Lap 66: 217.876 mph

Lap 67: In-lap at 1:36 p.m. for a 7-minute break.

Lap 68: Out-lap at 1:43 p.m.

Lap 69: Quick in-and-out (pit simulation)

Lap 70: Quick in-and-out (pit simulation)

Lap 71: Supposed to be quick in-and-out for pit simulation, but Larson's car went into anti-stall mode and shut off. Team rolled him back into his pit stall at 1:48 p.m. for 5 minutes to diagnose the issue.

Lap 72: Back out for one final lap (not at-speed) at 1:53 p.m. to close his session.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Kyle Larson's lap-by-lap speeds from NASCAR champ's ROP for Indy 500