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For Liquid Death, sports was just the ‘next frontier’ for its marketing

Sports marketing has long been flooded with beverages. Sports drinks, alcohol brands, and Big Soda are historically dominant in the space, and with prebiotic-soda brands claiming their piece of the pie, it’s only getting more competitive. Liquid Death is one such brand that’s recently started throwing its hat—or should we say can—in the ring. The […]

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Sports marketing has long been flooded with beverages. Sports drinks, alcohol brands, and Big Soda are historically dominant in the space, and with prebiotic-soda brands claiming their piece of the pie, it’s only getting more competitive.

Liquid Death is one such brand that’s recently started throwing its hat—or should we say can—in the ring.

The canned-beverage brand became a Nascar sponsor last spring, kicking off a string of sports partnerships that today include pro football, baseball, and soccer teams. This year, there was a Super Bowl ad, and last month, the brand inked a wide-ranging deal with the Madison Square Garden family of entertainment venue companies, landing Liquid Death iced teas and sparkling waters at MSG, Radio City Music Hall, and the Beacon Theater in New York, as well as at Sphere in Las Vegas.

It’s all aimed at helping Liquid Death build its reputation beyond water, Ryan Heuser, SVP of experiential marketing, said.

“Sports was the next frontier for us,” Heuser told Marketing Brew. “Gen Z and…millennials at a younger level are not consuming alcohol at events, or in general, as [much as] they had traditionally, and so we know that there’s a place for us…within the stadiums and arenas.”

Start your engines

With Live Nation as an investor and partner, Liquid Death has roots in the music and entertainment space, but it wasn’t until 2024 that the brand officially expanded to sports. When Liquid Death was preparing to release its iced-tea product, the team realized that the beverage “overindexed with Nascar fans,” Heuser said.

“Nascar fans are second to none when it comes to being passionate about their sport, but also being passionate about supporting the brands that support their favorite teams, and Nascar in general,” he said. “We saw a ton of success at tracks.”

Partnering with Nascar provided Liquid Death with more than just a place to sell its drinks. There have been fan engagement opportunities, including sampling at races, Heuser said, as well as the use of Nascar IP for other activations, like Liquid Death’s “Pro Drivers” campaign, in which it selected three people to join the “Liquid Death Pro Drivers” team, sponsoring them—as opposed to actual pros—with branded car wraps, $30,000 contracts, a year’s supply of iced tea, and customized merch.

Spread your wings

In terms of traditional sports TV advertising, Liquid Death jumped into the deep end this year, running its first national Super Bowl ad after an experiential stunt last year and a regional ad in 2022. Heuser declined to share specific figures, but he said the 2025 Super Bowl campaign resulted in a sales lift. The brand’s football efforts are continuing: Less than a month after the game, Liquid Death signed a multiyear deal to become the official iced-tea partner of Super Bowl champs the Philadelphia Eagles.

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Heuser said he’s regularly in talks with teams across leagues, and the Eagles stood out for reasons beyond their championship rings (and retired center Jason Kelce’s podcast). Part of the reasoning was local pride: Liquid Death’s founder, Mike Cessario, is from outside of Philly, for one, and the area continues to be a “priority market” for the company, Heuser said. Beyond that, anyone who knows an Eagles supporter knows they’re often “passionate fans from the day they’re born until the day they die,” he said.

After seeing success with Live Nation and Nascar events and locking in the Eagles sponsorship, Heuser and his team went even bigger on in-person sports and entertainment experiences by partnering with the Madison Square Garden portfolio. It was an opportunity that he said represents an exciting and changing business landscape.

“Traditionally, some of the bigger brands have locked up [non-alcoholic beverage sponsorships] across the board for years and years,” Heuser said. “But we’re starting to see great opportunities…for other brands to come in.”

Just for kicks

Since Liquid Death is working with some of the biggest teams and venues in the country, it may come as a surprise that the brand typically doesn’t do individual athlete deals, according to Heuser. For now, he said, there’s just no need. “We’ve been really lucky where we have a lot of interesting celebrities or athletes who are just either fans of the brands or friends of the brand,” he said.

Tony Hawk, for instance, is an investor in the company, and as part of that relationship, he worked with Liquid Death to release a limited number of skateboards painted with his blood. They sold out almost immediately, Heuser told us. (Liquid Death has, however, partnered with the wife of a retired pro athlete, Kylie Kelce.)

Now, Heuser has his eye on the ball—the soccer ball, that is. Liquid Death is the jersey sponsor of USL Super League team Brooklyn FC, a partnership that Heuser said allowed the brand to work with a women’s team for the first time while simultaneously letting it “put a toe in the water” with soccer. Now that he’s had a taste of the sport, he’s eager for more, especially considering Liquid Death is looking to grow among Latino men.

“We know that Latino men index very high as soccer fans, and so I would be lying if I said I didn’t have one eye looking into the world of soccer,” Heuser said. “It’s not to say that we are going to make any moves, that we’ve had any conversations yet, but it’s definitely something that’s on [our] radar.”





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British MotoGP: Bezzecchi wins after Quatararo fail, red flag drama | Motorsports News

Aprilia’s Marco Bezzecchi takes first MotoGP win in 20 months after leader Fabio Quartararo exits with a technical issue. Marco Bezzecchi has won a chaotic British Grand Prix for Aprilia’s first victory of the 2025 season in a race that was initially red-flagged for an oil spill as riders crashed or retired while in the […]

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Aprilia’s Marco Bezzecchi takes first MotoGP win in 20 months after leader Fabio Quartararo exits with a technical issue.

Marco Bezzecchi has won a chaotic British Grand Prix for Aprilia’s first victory of the 2025 season in a race that was initially red-flagged for an oil spill as riders crashed or retired while in the lead, including pole-sitter Fabio Quartararo.

The victory was a first for Aprilia since the Grand Prix of the Americas last year. LCR Honda’s Johann Zarco came second on Sunday and Ducati’s Marc Marquez pipped Franco Morbidelli to finish third and extend his lead in the riders world championship.

Both Alex Marquez and his brother Marc crashed while leading before the race was restarted for an oil spill while Yamaha’s Quartararo took the lead at the second time of asking before being forced to retire on lap 12 due to a technical issue with his bike.

Bezzecchi’s victory was his first since the 2023 Indian Grand Prix, and the Italian also became the 11th different winner at Silverstone in the past 11 races.

“It’s amazing. It has been a really tough time for me in this past month. …  Aprilia trusted in me, and we worked really hard,” Bezzecchi said.

“The team made a wonderful job. … I was waiting for a day like this since my last win.”

On the first start, sprint winner Alex Marquez had a perfect launch to take the lead from Quartararo, but just as he leaned into turn one, he lost control and crashed, allowing Marc Marquez to take the lead.

The elder Marquez also lost control, however, and crashed out of the lead – but the Marquez brothers earned a reprieve when the red flag came out for an oil spill in the final sector after Franco Morbidelli and Aleix Espargaro collided and crashed.

Fabio Quartararo in action.
Monster Energy Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo, right, exits the race after a mechanical failure during the MotoGP British Grand Prix [Adrian Dennis/AFP]

Race restarted

Since three laps had not been completed, all riders were eligible for the restart. Quartararo took the lead from Francesco Bagnaia and streaked away to a full second’s lead on the opening lap.

Both factory Ducatis suffered on lap three at Copse corner when they went wide as Marc Marquez and Bagnaia dropped to ninth and 10th place.

Bagnaia’s race ended on the following lap when he crashed while Bezzecchi moved up to third behind Pramac Racing’s Jack Miller.

Behind them, Marc Marquez was a man on a mission as he methodically picked his way through the pack, and by lap 11, he had moved up to fourth.

Yamaha’s dreams of taking the chequered flag went up in smoke as Quartararo signalled he had a problem with his bike, and the Frenchman relinquished his lead of nearly five seconds as his ride-height device had failed.

Quartararo stopped by the side of the track, hopped off his bike and sank to his knees with his head on the tarmac as the shell-shocked Yamaha garage looked on.

“When I saw Fabio with a technical problem, I even thought about a victory,” said Zarco, the first Honda rider to take back-to-back podiums since Marc Marquez in 2021.

Bezzecchi held on to win, though, while Marc Marquez swapped places with VR46 Racing’s Franco Morbidelli several times on the final lap before taking third in a photo finish.

“Today we were lucky because I made a mistake,” said a fuming Marc Marquez, who now leads his brother by 24 points in the world championship.

Marco Bezzecchi in action.
Aprilia Racing team’s Marco Bezzecchi leads during the MotoGP British Grand Prix [Adrian Dennis/AFP]



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Coca-Cola 600 start time, TV, live stream, lineup

Kyle Larson to race Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600 Kyle Larson talks hydration, preparation, and the physical toll of racing the “Memorial Day Double” The NASCAR Cup Series rolls into Charlotte Motor Speedway Sunday evening to close out the most exciting day in motor sports. Following Formula One’s Monaco Grand Prix and IndyCar’s Indianapolis 500, […]

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The NASCAR Cup Series rolls into Charlotte Motor Speedway Sunday evening to close out the most exciting day in motor sports.

Following Formula One’s Monaco Grand Prix and IndyCar’s Indianapolis 500, the Coca-Cola 600 takes center stage for NASCAR’s annual Memorial Day weekend event and the series’ longest race of the year at 600 miles.

All eyes will be on Kyle Larson, who is attempting the motor sports double for the second consecutive year. Larson will begin his day at Indianapolis, where he starts 19th in the Indy 500 in the No. 17 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. Following his afternoon at Indy, he will immediately fly to North Carolina and hop into his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet for the Coca-Cola 600, as he seeks to become the first driver since Tony Stewart in 2001 to race 1,100 total miles and complete the Indy-Charlotte double.

Larson won the Coca-Cola 600 in 2021 en route to his first Cup Series championship. Can he do it again this year? Here’s all the information you need to get ready for the race:

What time does the NASCAR Coca-Cola 600 start?

The Coca-Cola 600 is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. ET Sunday at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina.

What TV channel is the NASCAR Coca-Cola 600 on?

There is no national TV broadcast for Sunday’s race. Amazon Prime Video is broadcasting the 2025 Coca-Cola 600, the first of five consecutive NASCAR Cup Series races on the streamer. Prime will air a pre-race show at 5 p.m. ET.

Will there be a live stream of the Coca-Cola 600?

The race can be live streamed on Amazon Prime Video.

How many laps is the Coca-Cola 600?

NASCAR’s longest race is 400 laps around the 1.5-mile track for a total of 600 miles. The race will feature four segments (laps per stage) — Stage 1: 100 laps; Stage 2: 100 laps; Stage 3: 100 laps; Stage 4: 100 laps.

How will Kyle Larson get from Indianapolis to Charlotte for the Coca-Cola 600?

As soon as Larson’s day is done in the Indy 500 – pending any possible weather delays – the Hendrick Motorsports driver will immediately board a helicopter at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and then get on a plane to fly to Charlotte. Another helicopter will take Larson to Concord, North Carolina, for the race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Who won the Coca-Cola 600 last year?

Christopher Bell led 90 of 249 laps, including the final 18, in the rain-shorted race on May 26, 2024. Bell was declared the winner under red-flag conditions with Brad Keselowski finishing second and William Byron third.

What is the lineup for the NASCAR Coca-Cola 600?

(Car number in parentheses)

  1. (19) Chase Briscoe, Toyota
  2. (5) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet
  3. (24) William Byron, Chevrolet
  4. (17) Chris Buescher, Ford
  5. (16) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet
  6. (42) John Hunter Nemechek, Toyota
  7. (54) Ty Gibbs, Toyota
  8. (4) Noah Gragson, Ford
  9. (48) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet
  10. (20) Christopher Bell, Toyota
  11. (47) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet
  12. (45) Tyler Reddick, Toyota
  13. (7) Justin Haley, Chevrolet
  14. (2) Austin Cindric, Ford
  15. (71) Michael McDowell, Chevrolet
  16. (22) Joey Logano, Ford
  17. (84) Jimmie Johnson, Toyota
  18. (21) Josh Berry, Ford
  19. (10) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet
  20. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota
  21. (12) Ryan Blaney, Ford
  22. (9) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet
  23. (38) Zane Smith, Ford
  24. (8) Kyle Busch, Chevrolet
  25. (99) Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet
  26. (3) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet
  27. (43) Erik Jones, Toyota
  28. (60) Ryan Preece, Ford
  29. (41) Cole Custer, Ford
  30. (88) Shane Van Gisbergen, Chevrolet
  31. (35) Riley Herbst, Toyota
  32. (23) Bubba Wallace, Toyota
  33. (87) Connor Zilisch, Chevrolet
  34. (34) Todd Gilliland, Ford
  35. (6) Brad Keselowski, Ford
  36. (51) Cody Ware, Ford
  37. (44) Derek Kraus, Chevrolet
  38. (66) Josh Bilicki, Ford
  39. (77) Carson Hocevar, Chevrolet
  40. (1) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet



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Lando Norris wins F1 Monaco GP to close championship gap on Piastri | Motorsports News

Lando Norris wins at Monte Carlo for first time, leading home Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and current drivers’ standings leader and McLaren teammate, Oscar Piastri. Lando Norris celebrated his first Monaco Grand Prix win from pole position and slashed McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri’s Formula One drivers’ championship lead to just three points in a race more […]

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Lando Norris wins at Monte Carlo for first time, leading home Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and current drivers’ standings leader and McLaren teammate, Oscar Piastri.

Lando Norris celebrated his first Monaco Grand Prix win from pole position and slashed McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri’s Formula One drivers’ championship lead to just three points in a race more about strategy than speed.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc finished runner-up in the home race he won last year, with Piastri third and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen fourth – all four finishing in the order they started.

The Sunday afternoon race featured two mandatory pit stops for the first time, but hopes of more action around the cramped harbourside circuit fell short.

Drivers through the field played a waiting game, with Verstappen holding off his final stop until the penultimate lap and those behind biding their time while keeping out of trouble. Norris ultimately lapped all but four cars.

The win was the Briton’s second in eight races and first since the Australian GP season opener in March, as well as McLaren’s first at Monaco since 2008.

“Monaco baby!” Norris shouted over the radio as the chequered flag finally fell.

“The last quarter was stressful with Leclerc behind and Max ahead, but we won in Monaco,” he said.

“This is what I dreamed of when I was a kid, so I achieved one of my dreams.”

Lando Norris in action.
Lando Norris, centre, locks his brakes as he leads Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, right, into the first corner at the start of the Monaco Grand Prix [Andrej Isakovic/AFP]

Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton was fifth, with Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar sixth and Haas’s Esteban Ocon seventh.

Liam Lawson scored his first points of the season for Racing Bulls in eighth place, and Williams completed the top 10 with Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz.

Mercedes had a dismal afternoon in the Mediterranean sunshine, after a nightmare in qualifying, with George Russell 11th and Italian rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli 18th and the last car still running.

The virtual safety car was deployed on the opening lap when Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto went into the tyre wall at Portier, the turn before the tunnel, as Antonelli passed on the inside.

Bortoleto made it back to the pits and continued.

Alpine’s Pierre Gasly was the first retirement, the Frenchman crashing into the back of Yuki Tsunoda’s Red Bull car at the tunnel exit on lap nine and limping back to the pits with the front left wheel hanging off.

“Is he an idiot? What is he doing?” exclaimed Tsunoda.

Gasly, who said he had no brakes, almost took out Argentine rookie teammate Franco Colapinto as he careered through the Nouvelle Chicane.

Aston Martin’s double world champion Fernando Alonso was the second retirement, pulling off on lap 38 with a smoking car to continue his scoreless run for the season.

The Spanish Grand Prix is the next race on the F1 calendar and will take place on Sunday, June 1.

Lando Norris in action.
Norris crosses the finish line to win the Monaco Grand Prix [Gabriel Bouys/AFP]



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As Kyle Larson aims for ‘the Double,’ other IndyCar and NASCAR drivers ponder motorsports marathon

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — NASCAR star Kyle Larson will be taking another shot at “the Double,” one of the most grueling feats in all of motorsports, when he tries to complete every lap of the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday. INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — NASCAR star Kyle Larson will be taking another shot at […]

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INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — NASCAR star Kyle Larson will be taking another shot at “the Double,” one of the most grueling feats in all of motorsports, when he tries to complete every lap of the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — NASCAR star Kyle Larson will be taking another shot at “the Double,” one of the most grueling feats in all of motorsports, when he tries to complete every lap of the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday.

Tony Stewart is the only driver to have successfully pulled it off, and that was nearly 25 years ago.

But while attempts have been scarce since John Andretti first tried it in 1994, that doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of ambitious drivers interested. Defending Indy 500 winner Josef Newgarden, Team Penske teammate Scott McLaughlin and reigning IndyCar series champion Alex Palou all expressed some desire to give it a go this week.

“Gosh, we could have a huge laundry list of people that should do it,” said Newgarden, who is aiming for an unprecedented third straight Indy 500 win. “You could ask the majority of the field (and they) would want to do the double. It’s so much fun.”

Yet it’s also a massive undertaking, which is why Stewart still stands alone, and not just on the driver who has to complete 1,100 miles around Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Charlotte Motor Speedway — tracks some 550 miles apart. It also takes some serious financial support, the backing of teams in both IndyCar and NASCAR, tremendous logistical help, and plenty of luck that the weather cooperates, cars hold up mechanically and the driver is able to avoid any wrecks.

Two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch, whose brother Kurt completed the Indy 500 in 2014 but failed to finish the Coca-Cola 600, is among those who have tried to put together a deal to attempt “the Double” but haven’t quite pulled it off.

“It’s just very difficult to get that lined up,” Newgarden said. “Doing what Kyle (Larson) is doing right now, it’s harder than it looks. What I mean by that is just putting the program together. You would have a lot of people doing it if it was simple, I can promise you that. I think Kyle Busch has spoken publicly about trying to get something off the ground. That’s Kyle Busch. It should seem like it’s pretty likely for him to put a program together. It was quite difficult.”

So who else could be in line to try?

Ryan Blaney has contemplated it, and he presumably would have plenty of synergistic support given that Team Penske has established NASCAR and IndyCar programs. But it would take the convincing of team owner Roger Penske, who also owns the IndyCar Series, Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Indianapolis 500 — a race he has won a record 20 times.

“I would love to see Blaney do it at some point,” Newgarden said.

Six-time IndyCar champion Scott Dixon, who drives for Chip Ganassi Racing, was close to a deal years ago when that team still had a NASCAR program. Dixon pointed out that there are also conflicts of interest to overcome, such as when an IndyCar driver whose team is powered by Honda has the chance to drive a Cup Series car that might have a Chevrolet engine.

“It’s not an easy thing to do,” Dixon said. “Really admire the people that do it.”

Dixon paused, before telling Palou sitting next to him: “Alex, you should do it.”

“I would love to do it,” he replied. “I would do it.”

McLaughlin, another Team Penske driver with extensive stock car experience, was asked about trying to tackle both Memorial Day weekend races. Before jumping to IndyCar, McLaughlin was one of the most dominant drivers in the history of the Supercar Series in Australia and New Zealand, winning 56 races and three series championships.

Those races take place on road courses, though, and the Coca-Cola 600 is on the Charlotte oval. So, McLaughlin said, all those years of stock car experience Down Under might not translate so easily to a Cup Series car.

“The only reason you’d think that is is if it was road course-to-road course,” he said. “But I think the oval is a completely different kettle of fish. If I was to do ‘the Double,’ I would like to do an (oval) race before Charlotte.”

Larson’s attempt is once again a joint effort of Hendrick Motorsports on the NASCAR side and Arrow McLaren on the IndyCar side.

He had high hopes of completing all 1,100 miles last year, but rain wreaked havoc with his schedule. Larson managed to finish the rain-delayed Indy 500, then do the entire helicopter-plane-helicopter trip to Charlotte, only to be greeted there by more rain upon his arrival. It ultimately washed out the rest of the NASCAR race before he ever got a chance to turn a lap.

The forecast for Sunday? A bit chilly but most likely dry.

“I feel like the Hendrick aviation side does a really good job with logistics and working with motorsports to make sure all the timing’s right on everything and everything operates smoothly,” Larson said. “Yeah, we had the weather delay for the Indy 500 last year, but aside from that, the travel side of it was all smooth. So, as far as I know, nothing is different this year.”

___

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

Dave Skretta, The Associated Press







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Schedule, TV channel for busiest race day

Daytona Motor Mouths: Indy 500, Coca-Cola 600 arrive for Kyle Larson The guys review the NASCAR All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro and preview Kyle Larson’s double attempt of the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600. Memorial Day Weekend is a big weekend of remembrance in the United States. For obvious reasons. Over the years, the Sunday […]

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Memorial Day Weekend is a big weekend of remembrance in the United States. For obvious reasons.

Over the years, the Sunday of the weekend has also become known as the year’s biggest day in auto racing. The most popular racing circuits in Europe (Formula One) and the United States (NASCAR) are joined by the world’s oldest continuous style of racing (Indy-cars) and America’s longest-running auto race — the Indy 500, dating back to 1911.

Watch NASCAR race live on Amazon Prime Video

It all begins fairly early in the morning and, depending on delays for weather, overtimes or the always-possible “Trouble in Turn 4,” stretches close to bedtime. 

Here’s how to catch it all, from breakfast to lunch to dinner to nightcaps …

F1 Monaco Grand Prix: Time, TV channel

8:30 a.m.: Coverage starts on ESPN.

Indianapolis 500: Time, TV channel

10 a.m.: Coverage starts on Fox.

12:45 p.m: Race starts.

Coca-Cola 600: Time, TV channel for NASCAR race

6 p.m.: Coverage starts on Prime Video.



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As Kyle Larson aims for ‘the Double,’ other IndyCar and NASCAR drivers ponder motorsports marathon – WFTV

INDIANAPOLIS — (AP) — NASCAR star Kyle Larson will be taking another shot at “the Double,” one of the most grueling feats in all of motorsports, when he tries to complete every lap of the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday. Tony Stewart is the only driver to have successfully pulled it off, […]

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INDIANAPOLIS — (AP) — NASCAR star Kyle Larson will be taking another shot at “the Double,” one of the most grueling feats in all of motorsports, when he tries to complete every lap of the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday.

Tony Stewart is the only driver to have successfully pulled it off, and that was nearly 25 years ago.

But while attempts have been scarce since John Andretti first tried it in 1994, that doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of ambitious drivers interested. Defending Indy 500 winner Josef Newgarden, Team Penske teammate Scott McLaughlin and reigning IndyCar series champion Alex Palou all expressed some desire to give it a go this week.

“Gosh, we could have a huge laundry list of people that should do it,” said Newgarden, who is aiming for an unprecedented third straight Indy 500 win. “You could ask the majority of the field (and they) would want to do the double. It’s so much fun.”

Yet it’s also a massive undertaking, which is why Stewart still stands alone, and not just on the driver who has to complete 1,100 miles around Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Charlotte Motor Speedway — tracks some 550 miles apart. It also takes some serious financial support, the backing of teams in both IndyCar and NASCAR, tremendous logistical help, and plenty of luck that the weather cooperates, cars hold up mechanically and the driver is able to avoid any wrecks.

Two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch, whose brother Kurt completed the Indy 500 in 2014 but failed to finish the Coca-Cola 600, is among those who have tried to put together a deal to attempt “the Double” but haven’t quite pulled it off.

“It’s just very difficult to get that lined up,” Newgarden said. “Doing what Kyle (Larson) is doing right now, it’s harder than it looks. What I mean by that is just putting the program together. You would have a lot of people doing it if it was simple, I can promise you that. I think Kyle Busch has spoken publicly about trying to get something off the ground. That’s Kyle Busch. It should seem like it’s pretty likely for him to put a program together. It was quite difficult.”

So who else could be in line to try?

Ryan Blaney has contemplated it, and he presumably would have plenty of synergistic support given that Team Penske has established NASCAR and IndyCar programs. But it would take the convincing of team owner Roger Penske, who also owns the IndyCar Series, Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Indianapolis 500 — a race he has won a record 20 times.

“I would love to see Blaney do it at some point,” Newgarden said.

Six-time IndyCar champion Scott Dixon, who drives for Chip Ganassi Racing, was close to a deal years ago when that team still had a NASCAR program. Dixon pointed out that there are also conflicts of interest to overcome, such as when an IndyCar driver whose team is powered by Honda has the chance to drive a Cup Series car that might have a Chevrolet engine.

“It’s not an easy thing to do,” Dixon said. “Really admire the people that do it.”

Dixon paused, before telling Palou sitting next to him: “Alex, you should do it.”

“I would love to do it,” he replied. “I would do it.”

McLaughlin, another Team Penske driver with extensive stock car experience, was asked about trying to tackle both Memorial Day weekend races. Before jumping to IndyCar, McLaughlin was one of the most dominant drivers in the history of the Supercar Series in Australia and New Zealand, winning 56 races and three series championships.

Those races take place on road courses, though, and the Coca-Cola 600 is on the Charlotte oval. So, McLaughlin said, all those years of stock car experience Down Under might not translate so easily to a Cup Series car.

“The only reason you’d think that is is if it was road course-to-road course,” he said. “But I think the oval is a completely different kettle of fish. If I was to do ‘the Double,’ I would like to do an (oval) race before Charlotte.”

Larson’s attempt is once again a joint effort of Hendrick Motorsports on the NASCAR side and Arrow McLaren on the IndyCar side.

He had high hopes of completing all 1,100 miles last year, but rain wreaked havoc with his schedule. Larson managed to finish the rain-delayed Indy 500, then do the entire helicopter-plane-helicopter trip to Charlotte, only to be greeted there by more rain upon his arrival. It ultimately washed out the rest of the NASCAR race before he ever got a chance to turn a lap.

The forecast for Sunday? A bit chilly but most likely dry.

“I feel like the Hendrick aviation side does a really good job with logistics and working with motorsports to make sure all the timing’s right on everything and everything operates smoothly,” Larson said. “Yeah, we had the weather delay for the Indy 500 last year, but aside from that, the travel side of it was all smooth. So, as far as I know, nothing is different this year.”

___

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing





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