Defending NASCAR champ Kyle Larson wants to race in the Indy 500 but only under the right conditions

• Kyle Larson wants to race in the open-wheel showcase, the Indianapolis 500, in the next few years.
• He is already arguably the best all-around race car driver on the planet.
• However, Larson doesn't want to do it just for the sake of doing it. He wants a chance to win.

Seven-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson will run in his first Indianapolis 500 this year, and if Kyle Larson has his way, he will follow in Johnson's footsteps in the next few years.

Larson, the defending NASCAR champion, is already arguably the best all-around race car driver on the planet. However, he has yet to prove his talents in open-wheel cars or take on "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing."

During a recent appearance on the "12 Questions" podcast, Jeff Gluck of The Athletic asked Larson about the Indy 500. Larson does want to enter, but only under the right conditions.

"I would love to race the Indy 500 someday," Larson told Gluck. "To me, it is the biggest race in the world, and I want to do it, for sure. But I want to do it with a great team, and I want to do it where I feel like I am prepared and can prepare because I don't want to go and just do it to say that I did it."

Larson added that his feelings on how to approach the race have changed as he has gotten older.

"I think maybe 10 years ago, I would have wanted to do it to say I did it," Larson continued. "But now I want to do it and know that I have a shot to win. I want to be with a great team. I want to be able to go test. Heck, I would like to go race before the Indy 500, somewhere, whether it is a road course or an oval, just to get familiar with pit stops and procedures for restarts."

Larson, who is 30, conceded that his window for racing the Indy 500 while still in his prime is closing, and he will want to race in the next few years.

"I feel like that window of doing it and feeling like you're in your prime to do it is sometime in the next three, four, five years," he told the podcast. "But it is definitely on my bucket list of races."

Larson has already mastered many different types of racing

Earlier this season, former NASCAR champion Brad Keselowski spoke about what makes Larson so special as a driver, while explaining what makes stock car racing's highest level so challenging.

"I look at a guy like Kyle Larson, and I think what makes him special is that he can win, realistically, at four out of the five types of tracks," Keselowski told Insider, referencing the five track types: superspeedways, intermediate tracks, short tracks, road tracks, and dirt tracks.

"And that's pretty impressive. Most of the drivers say, 'I can win at two. I can win at three.' But to be able to win at four out of five, that's pretty good."

What makes that comment even more astounding is that Larson's one weakness at the time was considered the superspeedways — like Daytona and Talladega. Later in the season, Larson was in contention at Talladega, and his performance was so good that it appears he is ready to master the superspeedway.

After that, the only challenge left might be open-wheel racing, and he has his sights set.