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.”
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