Kyle Larson will be the fifth driver to race in both the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on the same day when he lines up for the NASCAR Cup Series race on Sunday night.
Larson is the first driver since Kurt Busch in 2014 to attempt the double and only the second since Robby Gordon’s last attempt in 2004. The Indy 500 is the first IndyCar race of Larson’s career and his time in an IndyCar has gone well so far .
The 2021 Cup Series champion and current NASCAR Cup Series points leader qualified fifth for the race in his Arrow McLaren entry and will start on the second row of the grid. That starting position gives Larson a decent chance to score the best Indy 500 finish of any driver who ran both races on the same day. No driver has finished better than sixth at Indianapolis before racing at Charlotte.
Here’s how the other four drivers who did the double before Larson fared in their attempts. With the Indianapolis 500 starting at 12:45 PM ET and the Coca-Cola 600 starting around 6 PM, Larson should have about two hours to get from Indianapolis Motor Speedway to Charlotte Motor Speedway via a private jet flight booked via helicopter flights .
John Andretti (1994)
Running both races on the same day became possible in 1992 when Charlotte Motor Speedway installed lighting on the track. The 600 used to be held in the afternoon and the races often did not even take place on the same day. Drivers like Donnie Allison and Lee Roy Yarborough previously ran both races in the same season.
Andretti, an IndyCar veteran, was a newcomer to the Cup Series in 1994 when he became the first driver to do both on the same day. He finished the 500 four laps down in 10th before rushing to Charlotte. Andretti finished 36th in the 600 after his car suffered an engine failure 220 laps into the 400-lap race.
Robby Gordon (1997, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004)
Gordon became the second person to attempt the double after Davy Jones failed to qualify for the 600 in 1995. Gordon is the only driver to complete the double more than twice and has a pair of top-10 finishes in the Indy 500 as result. attempts.
Gordon’s first double attempt came with an asterisk when the 500 was rained out and pushed to Monday before finally being forced to Tuesday. In 2000, rain delayed the 500 again and P.J. Jones started the 600 ahead of Gordon as he finished sixth in the 500. Gordon got into his Cup Series car during a mid-race pit stop.
2002 was the first year that Gordon was able to start both races on the same day and achieve a top-10 position in each race. He placed eighth at Indy before finishing 16th in the 600. He finished a lap down at Charlotte, completing 599 of a possible 600 laps. That year ended up being Gordon’s best dual effort. A gearbox problem saw him finish the 500 in 22nd in 2003, and in 2004 he completed just 27 laps at Indy before the race was halted by rain.
Tony Stewart (1999, 2001)
Stewart is the only driver to finish in the top 10 in both races on the same day and the only driver to complete all 600 laps.
In 1999, Stewart finished ninth at Indianapolis, but was four laps down. After arriving in Charlotte, he placed fourth in the 600, finishing in the first round.
Two years later, the former IndyCar champion finished sixth in the 500 while driving for Chip Ganassi Racing, completing all 200 laps. He then improved on his 600 finish by one spot when he took the checkered flag in third and on the first lap later that evening.
Kurt Busch (2014)
Busch matched Stewart and Gordon in the Indy 500. After starting twelfth, Busch dropped back a bit before working his way through the field to finish sixth and tie Stewart and Gordon for the top Indy finish for a driver who did the double.
However, the 600 did not go as planned. After starting from the back, Busch powered his way into the top 20 before his engine developed a problem on lap 271 and he was forced to retire from the race after completing more than 900 miles.
