John Andretti tried. Kyle Busch tried. Robby Gordon tried, then tried again, and again, and again, and again.
Tony Stewart is the only driver to succeed, in 2001, on his second attempt.
In 2024, Kyle Larson gave it a try, but success eluded him. He’s already announced his plan to try, try again in ’25.
It’s the famous NASCAR double. Five drivers have made a combined 10 attempts, but only one has finished both the Indianapolis 500 and Charlotte Coca Cola 600 on the same day.
Indy is the race that even non-fans have heard of—the most famous race on the schedule that’s named after it—the Indy Car circuit. Charlotte’s race is the longest on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule.
Since 1974, both races have been held on the same day—Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, in cities separate by 430 miles. In 1992, the NASCAR race at Charlotte Motor Speedway was moved to prime time, allowing race fans to watch both in their entirety.
Watching wasn’t quite enough of a challenge for some drivers, who began planning for a way to run both races, despite the distance between them, the time crunch and the additional challenge of competing in two entirely different types of cars.
Simply qualifying for both races can be a problem. In 1995, Davy Jones didn’t even get a chance to put himself on the list of drivers to attempt the double after he failed to qualify in Charlotte. Larson’s bid this year was complicated by Indy qualification, which took him until the Sunday before the race.
The attempt takes endurance just to complete the 1,100 laps, skill in both specialties in order to finish on the lead lap. Then it takes an organized, precise team to get from point A to point B on the tight schedule both races require.
In May, Larson needed a cart to take him from the Indianapolis infield to a helicopter pad, which flew him to the airport. A 55-minute private jet flight got him to Charlotte, followed by another copter and cart to get him to the Charlotte pits. He did a test run a week earlier, going from test runs in Indy to the All-Star race in North Wilkesboro.
On that day, it took him three hours to get from his Indy car to track in North Carolina. It allowed him to work out some kinks in the routine.
“I’ve made that flight from Indianapolis to Charlotte a number of times,” he said. “That’s no big deal. The dry run was more good for things we can clean up on logistics. I didn’t have my fire suit in Indy. So, I had to change when I got here. So, having my 600 suit on the airplane, so I can change and get out of sweaty (clothes) would be nice.”
Even when all of that works out for a driver, there are plenty of places for dumb luck to intervene. Only three of the 10 attempts saw a driver finish both races with cars that were still running. A combination of engine trouble and weather scuttled the other seven runs at the elusive goal.
That’s what happened to Larson in May. Storms delayed the start of the Indy 500 by four hours, then cut the Charlotte race short. Larson’s attempt was almost more costly than that: In addition to missing out on his goal, Larson’s failure to start the 600 could have made him ineligible for the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. After a week of post-race debate, NASCAR finally agreed to give him a waiver to allow him to compete.
Still, the stakes of things going wrong in this quest are high enough to cause some to doubt the wisdom of future attempts. Larson, however, is ready to give it another shot. In September, he made it official, releasing a statement confirming he was going to try the double again in 2025.
“I really enjoyed the Month of May in Indy and racing with Arrow McLaren, but I was really disappointed with missing the Coca-Cola 600 with the No. 5 Hendrick team,” Larson said. “I appreciate the second opportunity because we have unfinished business. I really want to complete all 1,100 miles, and I think we have the opportunity to battle for the win in both events.”
We like his chances, which is why Kyle Larson is our look-ahead choice for comeback of the year in 2025.
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