Kyle Larson takes laps — and learns — in a '94 Chevy

• Brickyard 400%3A 3%3A30 p.m. on July 26%2C NBC Sports

The only car on the track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway is a 1994 Chevrolet Monte Carlo clunking its way around the oval. It's pretty obnoxious for a vehicle with barely 700 miles on it, and a driver accustomed to more of a baritone hum out of his ride, but reigning NASCAR Rookie of the Year Kyle Larson hardly seems to mind.

He's rattling along in the pace car from the inaugural Brickyard 400 — a car only two years younger than him — with the windows down, more focused on his lines in and out of the turns than whatever it is making the Monte Carlo mimic a maraca.

"Turn 2," he says speeding into it, "is the hardest here."

It's just a publicity day at IMS but on the oval Larson is still taking in lessons. In a few weeks he'll return to Indianapolis for the 2015 Brickyard 400. On Tuesday he arrived in Indianapolis for only a few hours; driving a couple of laps, grabbing a cheeseburger at Workingman's Friend near the Speedway and touring the IMS Museum with Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Scott Dixon before flying to North Carolina.

Yet while he's coasting around the track none of the day's events seem important. Not that Larson doesn't have a deep appreciation for all of the racing history; he's desperately trying to place himself somewhere in it. After a meteoric rise to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Larson's starting to grapple with the pressures that come with it. He's 22-years-old and looking to succeed in stock car's top circuit. A victory July 26 at the Brickyard 400 (3:30 p.m., NBC Sports) would help him do so.

"I've been a little bit disappointed this season," Larson said. "But we're all working harder than ever. We haven't really been meeting those expectations yet."

Larson is 18th in the Sprint Cup standings with five Top 10 finishes and one Top 5 finish. The shine of his rookie season is wearing off. Last year he finished in 17th with eight Top 5 finishes and 17 Top 10 finishes. It was the third consecutive year Larson raced in a new series. At each stop he took home Rookie of the Year honors. Now there is no more moving up. And to be a top Chip Ganassi driver will mean producing different kinds of results.

"You've got to step your game up because they are the best drivers in the United States for stock car racing," Larson said. "It just comes down to working hard."

Tuesday is not so much a workday. The most intense thing Larson will have to do at IMS is making sure the '94 Monte Carlo doesn't fall apart.

At Workingman's Friend, among gathered media and IMS officials, he would seem out of place if not for his Target Ganassi T-shirt. He slumps his small frame in his seat, a contrast to how he carries himself behind the wheel. While others are gossiping and joking around him, Larson behaves like any other 20-something, buried in his phone and texting away. He's not being rude so much as he's making himself comfortable.

When someone pipes up about the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500 next year, Larson quips that he'd love to run it, but should probably worry about winning a Sprint Cup race first.

"Some are affected by racing in a series or fame," Dixon said. "(Larson's) just really down to Earth. He's probably the most laid back of people that I've seen, but it definitely works out well for him."

It's the other parts of being a professional driver that he's still adjusting to: the commitments off the track that take him away from working on his skills and the job itself keeping him away from family and friends. Last week's race at Sonoma allowed him to head back home to Elk Grove, Calif., up the road and relax with friends, but those breaks don't come often.

"You're busier for sure," Larson said. "It's fun but you have less time to get stuff done. I'm definitely more of an adult now for sure. You have to grow up pretty quick when you get to the cup series."

When Larson joined fellow Ganassi drivers Tony Kanaan, Jamie McMurray and Dixon for the 24 Hours of Daytona, it was that sense of growing up Dixon wanted to help instill. He figured the laid-back attitude would transfer to the car. Instead, when Larson got behind the wheel, Dixon noticed a change, a seriousness that overcame Larson and helped propel Ganassi to victory.

"To see him when he gets in the car, the switch changes," Dixon said. "He's got huge talent and he's going to go a long way."

The first step in realizing that potential could come via a victory in Indianapolis at the end of July. Which is what Larson was trying to visualize as the Monte Carlo held together for a few laps Tuesday. He could see the line he'll take into Turn 2, and where he'll look to make his passes after restarts. And if he pulls off his first Sprint Cup win at the Brickyard, maybe he can return for the Indy 500 next May. Larson has made it clear that he doesn't want to be known for just one style of racing.

After touring the IMS Museum he can say with confidence what he hopes to accomplish in his career, and as the words come out Larson's not slouching or sounding laid back. This is more definitive.

"I want to be known as a guy that was competitive in every type of race car he ever got in," he says. "I just want to be known as a real racer."

Follow Star reporter Blake Schuster on Twitter: @Schustee.