INDIANKeynote USAOLIS (Keynote USA) — Only four drivers have attempted one of the most grueling days in motorsports: the 1,100-mile Memorial Day weekend doubleheader.
Kyle Larson is trying to become the fifth to race the Indianapolis 500 and NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 on the same day, and the 31-year-old Californian believes he can do it.
He qualified fifth for Sunday’s 500, which starts around 12:45 p.m. ET. The plan is to complete the display in the No. 17 Arrow McLaren car and then fly to Charlotte, North Carolina, for its more familiar No. 5 Chevrolet for NASCAR’s longest race starting at 6 p.m.
Previous missions have been derailed by weather delays, total rainfall, mechanical problems and late arrivals, all of which derailed an inflexibly tight schedule. Only one driver, Tony Stewart, has finished on the lead lap in both races on the same day.
The weather could again pose a major obstacle for Larson, the first driver to attempt it since Kurt Busch in 2014. The current forecast in Indianapolis calls for a strong chance of rain on Sunday.
The race has not been rained out since 1997, when it took three days to run, ruining Robby Gordon’s first chance at the double. A look at previous efforts:
Juan Andretti
Total double attempts: one (1994)
At Indianapolis: started 10th, finished 10th
At Charlotte: started ninth, finished 36th
Total laps completed: 416 (196 of 200 at Indy; 220 of 400 at Charlotte)
The summary: The nephew of racing great Mario Andretti and cousin of former IndyCar driver Michael Andretti added his chapter to the family legacy as the first to attempt what once seemed unfathomable. The term “double” soon became synonymous in both the open-wheel series and Cup Series, and has continued to resonate even after Andretti’s death in January 2020. The soft-spoken Andretti even dropped the long ” family feud” between his uncle and four-time Indy 500 winner AJ Foyt, teaming up with Foyt on race day. Andretti achieved a top-10 finish at Indy in Foyt’s No. 33 Ford before traveling to Charlotte, where a faulty crankshaft relegated him to 36th. Andretti made five more Indy starts between 2007 and 2011, but never again. try the double.
robbie gordon
Total double attempts: five (1997, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004)
In Indianapolis: they started 12th, 4th, 11th, 3rd and 18th; he finished 29th, sixth, eighth, 22nd and 29th
In Charlotte: started on the 28th, 42nd, 12th, 38th, 20th; finished 41st, did not start, 16th, 12th, 20th
Total laps completed: 1,926 (669 in five starts at Indy, 1,257 in four starts at Charlotte)
The summary: The five attempts and total laps completed are records in the double history, although rain wreaked havoc on Gordon’s hopes. His first opportunity fell through in 1997: he was able to run in the 600, but the 500 was completed the next day, so he’s not a true same-day double. A rain-delayed start at Indy three years later forced him to miss the start of the Coca-Cola 600, giving PJ Jones the start and credit for all laps completed at Charlotte. Attempt number 4, in 2003, failed when Coca-Cola’s scheduled 400 laps were reduced to 276 laps. In 2002, he came within one lap of completing the 1,100 miles. A mechanical problem just 88 laps into the 2004 Indy 500 ended his fifth and final attempt.
Tony Stewart
Total double attempts: two (1999, 2001)
In Indianapolis: started 24th, seventh; finished ninth, sixth
In Charlotte: started 27, 12; finished fourth, third
Total laps completed: 1,196 (396 in two starts at Indy, 800 in two starts at Charlotte)
The bottom line: The three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion grew up in Indiana, dreaming of winning the 500. But he made only five career starts, two of them after he left open-wheel racing for the Cup Series. He still found success on the track in his adopted home and on Memorial Day weekend. “Smoke” completed all but four laps combined in the four dual races, posting top-10 finishes in each. In 1999, he became the first driver to complete 600 laps in one day and is still the only one to accomplish that feat.
Kurt Busch (2014)
Total double attempts: One (2014)
In Indianapolis: started 12th; finished sixth
At Charlotte: started 28th; finished in 40th place
Total laps completed: 471 (200 at Indy, 271 at Charlotte)
The point: Busch became the newest driver on the roster when he teamed up with Michael Andretti’s IndyCar team a decade ago. The month started relatively well. Busch qualified on the fourth row of the 11-row field and started in the middle of the pack in Charlotte. But after tying the 500’s top spot by a driver doing double duty, Busch’s quest ended with a blown engine at Charlotte. He told reporters that the attempt would be a “memory I will have forever.”
___
Keynote USA Auto Racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
Keynote USA
For the Latest Sports News, Follow @Keynote USA Sports on Twitter.