CONCORD, N.C. — Kyle Larson is doubling down when it comes to attempting “The Double” and has a much better idea of what to expect this time around.

While it may not be any less challenging than last year, the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion who drives for Hendrick Motorsports is optimistic about the rare opportunity to make motorsports history by joining an exclusive club.

Larson is set to drive in two long races Sunday that will require some air time in between to travel from Indiana to North Carolina: IndyCar’s Indianapolis 500 and the Cup Series’ Coca-Cola 600. Competing in the famed open-wheel race and the longest race of the year on the stock-car circuit was a task he set out to accomplish last May but never had a chance to complete after weather disrupted the plan.

Rain delayed the start of the Indy 500, putting Larson well behind schedule in his quest. He finished 18th at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, then didn’t make it to Charlotte Motor Speedway until 249 laps had been completed on the 1.5-mile oval in Concord, North Carolina. He was set to jump in the Hendrick No. 5 Chevrolet and take over for replacement driver Justin Allgaier, but lightning and heavy rains forced officials to call the race.

Larson never turned a lap at Charlotte.

While the 32-year-old Californian is used to a hectic schedule — he often competes in sprint cars at dirt tracks between NASCAR obligations — the point of all that is, well, to race.

“Last year wasn’t as fun and exciting as people might think,” Larson said. “I was super bummed because I knew I wasn’t going to be able to race in both. I didn’t get to enjoy the pre-race stuff or anything, but hopefully this year it goes better with the weather and I can just enjoy the whole experience.”

The forecast for Sunday at both race sites looks a little more promising, although there’s still a small chance of rain at Indianapolis (Fox coverage begins at 12:30 p.m.) and the possibility of a thunderstorm at Charlotte (Amazon Prime Video’s first foray into NASCAR is set for 6).

If rain were to delay the start of the Indy 500 again, Larson’s attempt might be all but over.

Winning a Cup Series race essentially locks up a spot for the playoffs, and Larson already has three victories this year with the regular season just past its midpoint. However, NASCAR rules also stipulate that drivers must take part in every points race to reach the postseason.

Larson received a waiver from NASCAR last year due to missing the Coca-Cola 600, but the process was a bit drawn out because waivers into the playoffs have normally been granted for reasons such as absence due to illness or injury. Hendrick Motorsports has made clear this year that the Cup Series race is the priority for Larson, with the team unwilling to risk the possibility of missing out on a title shot for one of the favorites.

Jeff Gordon, the NASCAR Hall of Fame driver who is now a vice chairman at Hendrick, said the team has a “concrete plan” to have Larson at Charlotte in time for driver introductions, about 45 minutes before the race.

“He will be here by 5:45 p.m.,” Gordon said emphatically.

“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.”

At the Indy 500, he will start on the seventh row at 19th overall in 33-car field, driving the Chevy-powered Arrow McLaren No. 17 car through an alliance with Hendrick. At the Coca-Cola 600, provided he makes it on time, Larson will be in much better position after qualifying second Saturday at Charlotte to join pole-sitter Chase Briscoe of Joe Gibbs Racing on the front row.

Only a handful of elite drivers have dared to take on the epic motorsports crossover. Tony Stewart set the standard for “The Double” in 2001, when he finished sixth at the Indy 500 and third at the Coca-Cola 600, becoming the first driver to ever complete all 1,100 miles.

Stewart remains the only member of the club, but Larson will make at least one more attempt to join him, a feat that could require more than eight hours in a race car Sunday.

“I love to race,” said Larson who won the Coca-Cola 600 in 2021 on his way to the Cup Series championship. “I love to compete in big events, and I love to try new things to challenge myself. I try to stay focused on making this the best experience I can and getting my car to drive the best it can while also enjoying the moment.”

Easier said than done, but Larson knows that better than most.

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

Jimmie Johnson will complete his 700th NASCAR Cup Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the Coca-Cola 600 Sunday, the racetrack that was the site of his series debut in 2001.

Johnson will start 17th in his No. 84 Carvana Toyota, becoming the 21st driver in NASCAR history to start 700 premier series races.

“It’s wild how my first start just coincidentally comes the same place as my 700th start,” Johnson said. “It means a ton to me. I’m a numbers guy, and to have these numbers play out – literally on their own, is really special.”

Johnson, the seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, is competing in just his second start of 2025.

The 49-year-old driver has participated in select races since 2023, earning a third-place in the Daytona 500 this year as his highest finish in his part-time NASCAR racing era.

Johnson confirmed to the media Saturday at Charlotte the milestone start will not be his final NASCAR race.

No driver has ever won in their 700th start.

Richard Petty was the first driver to reach the milestone start in 1976, starting first and finishing fourth at Michigan.

Jeff Gordon’s third-place finish at Darlington in 2013 is the highest a driver has scored in start No. 700.

Prior to Johnson, Kyle Busch was the most-recent driver to hit the seven-century mark, finishing 25th at Indianapolis in 2024.

Denny Hamlin is set to be the next driver to make his 700th start, which will happen next week at Nashville Superspeedway.

The Coca-Cola 600 is scheduled for Sunday, May 25, at 6 p.m. ET.

Dominic Aragon is currently the editor-in-chief for The Racing Experts.

From Grants, New Mexico, USA, Aragon started watching NASCAR in 2004 and has been covering the sport since 2009. Aragon is a 2012 graduate of Grants High School and a May 2016 graduate of the University of New Mexico with a B.A. in Mass Communications & Journalism. Aragon has worked in local and national media, as a musician, and an educator. He is co-author of the 2024 book “All of It: Daytona 500 Champion Tells the Rest of the Story” with racer Geoff Bodine.

Aragon, his wife Feliz, and son Christopher currently reside in Grants, New Mexico, USA.

You can reach Dominic at daragon@theracingexperts.net.

Driving the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, Chase Briscoe has collected yet another pole position in a NASCAR crown jewel event. He already earned pole for the season-opening Daytona 500, and now he’ll lead the field of 40 for the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday.

“I haven’t seen it yet, (but) I felt okay kind of everywhere,” Briscoe told NASCAR on Prime. “I felt like it wasn’t the most perfect lap by any means, but it was good enough. Just super excited to get the results on Saturday. I feel like we deserve it with Bass Pro Shops Toyota. This is obviously a great opportunity to lead the field to the green for 600 miles … Looking forward tomorrow and seeing if we can keep it up there.”

Watch: Chase Briscoe captures second pole of 2025 at Charlotte

Briscoe is just the tenth driver to earn pole position for both the 600 and the Daytona 500 in the same year, saying of the achievement: “It’s pretty wild to be honest, just thinking back – I never thought I would get to run a single Truck race, not only to be able to now lead the field to two crown jewel events. It is pretty special. Daytona was really, really neat. I don’t know if I quite savored the moment as much, because it was absolute chaos on that Sunday, but tomorrow will be really, really special, just being able to take it all on it a little bit more, just knowing what to expect. I’m excited.

“This is a race I’ve watched ever since I was a little kid, and to be able to start on the front row and lead the field to green is cool. Honestly, for me, being such an Indy 500 diehard, it’s pretty neat that the guy that I’m starting beside is racing the Indy 500 on Sunday. It is definitely a cool day for sure.”

Larson near the front

Kyle Larson, Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

Photo by: James Gilbert / Getty Images

Kyle Larson will join Briscoe on the front row, missing out on pole position by just 0.020s. Larson will be attempting the rare ‘Double’ on Sunday, starting 19th in the Indy 500 before he heads to Charlotte to try and complete 1,100 miles of racing in a single day.

William Byron will start third, Chris Buescher fourth, and A.J. Allmendinger fifth. John Hunter Nemechek, Ty Gibbs, Noah Gragson, Alex Bowman, and Christopher Bell filled out the remainder of top ten.

Making his 700th career start, NASCAR legend and four-time Coke 600 winner Jimmie Johnson will start 17th.

In the session, Carson Hocevar spun exiting Turn 4, putting him at the back of the field for the race. He had shown speed in practice, posting the fastest single-lap speed. Tyler Reddick also had a brush with the wall on his qualifying lap. 

Ross Chastain, who crashed in practice after cutting a left-rear tire, did not make an attempt and will start 40th (last) on the grid.

Photos from Charlotte – Practice & Qualifying

Kyle Larson watches with his crew as he waits for is turn during qualification for the Indianapolis 500 auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Saturday, May 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

By DAVE SKRETTA AP Sports Writer

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

CONCORD, N.C. — Kyle Busch will remain with Richard Childress Racing through next season, the team announced Saturday at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

The team stated that it picked up the option on Busch’s current contract. RCR also confirmed it will have two Cup cars next season.

The announcement comes a day after Hendrick Motorsports stated that William Byron had signed a contract extension through the 2029 season.

Two-time Daytona 500 winner is ranked second in the points heading into Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600.

Busch, a two-time Cup champion who turned 40 years old earlier this month, is in his third season with RCR. He has three Cup victories with the team. All came in 2023.

Busch is 17th in the points, the first spot outside a playoff spot, entering Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600.

Joshua Altman provides a detailed glimpse into the four-part docuseries that recently made its debut on Amazon Prime.

Childress is excited about retaining Busch.

“He and I are both alike in one area,” Childress said Saturday at Charlotte Motor Speedway. “We don’t like to lose. We want to win races. I still think that Kyle will win him a championship and we want it to happen at RCR and that’s our plan. We’ve got a lot of new things coming.

“This car is a lot different. It’s so engineering driven. We’re stepping our engineering up more and I’m excited about the future and where we can go.”

Austin Dillon praises what kind of a teammate Busch is.

“I feel like he gives you what you expect, which is that he’s a hard worker,” Dillon said. “He’s a fiery. He wants the best for the cars. He wants to get to victory lane constantly and will push everyone to figure out how to make that happen, even himself on the track.

“But as far as being in the meetings with him after practice and, you know, on Monday’s and the debriefs, he’s very helpful. You know, he asks good questions at the right time about what your car is doing and he provides information that you can make your car better off of.

“So from that standpoint, you couldn’t ask for a more helpful teammate when it comes to his knowledge of the game and what he is providing from an informational standpoint.”