Larson Locked In For Second Try At Memorial Day Double

Kyle Larson (Joe Skibinski/Penske Entertainment photo)

SPEEDWAY, Ind. – Cue Double Duty, take two.

After rain scuttled his efforts to complete the famed Memorial Day Double one year ago by racing both the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600 in the same day, 32-year-old Elk Grove, Calif., native and NASCAR Cup Series standout Kyle Larson is ready to do it all again.

It’s Larson’s second consecutive attempt at the double, an 1,100-mile Sunday gauntlet that only five drivers – John Andretti, Tony Stewart, Robby Gordon, Kurt Busch, and Larson – have ever attempted.

Larson aims to make history by becoming the second driver to complete all 1,100 miles, joining Stewart, who accomplished the feat in 2001.

He’ll start his day Sunday at the 109th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge with Arrow McLaren, in partnership with Hendrick Motorsports. After that, he will fly to Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., to drive the No. 5 Chevrolet for Hendrick in the Coca-Cola 600 miles as the sun goes down.

Larson attempted to match Stewart’s perfect double attempt in 2024, but Mother Nature had other ideas. Rain delayed the start of the Indy 500, and that same storm eventually followed Larson to North Carolina, cutting short the Coke 600 before he could take over from Justin Allgaier during the race. who managed to

Notably for the latter, Allgaier scored a 13th-place effort in his first Cup Series start since the fall Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway race in 2022.

The lead-up to this year’s Indy 500 has been quite challenging. Larson has experienced two crashes, including one during practice last Friday. Although he made the race somewhat comfortably, Larson isn’t being considered a favorite to strike gold during Sunday’s ‘500’, despite his immense talent.

Larson's ambition of completing all 1,100 miles depends on a tight logistical timeline, which could easily be complicated if potential weather affects the ‘500’ schedule, hindering the 2021 Cup Series champion's hope of finishing both races.

Kyle Larson (17) leads a pack of cars during practice for the 109th Indy 500. (Joe Skibinski/Penske Entertainment photo)

With a 12:45 p.m. ET green flag set for the Indy 500, and the race taking roughly three hours to complete, Larson only has a window of roughly two hours to get from Indianapolis to Concord in time for the scheduled start of the Coke 600.

That includes travel by both helicopter and charter jet en route to CMS. Larson’s goal is to be prepared for any challenges that may arise, which includes possible rain, as it derailed his 2024 double attempt.

“I mean, that sort of stuff is out of my control,” Larson told Motorsports Hotspot Wednesday, during a pre-race video call with reporters, regarding the possibility of rain affecting one or both events on Sunday. “So, you don't focus on it, because it's like I said, it's out of your control. I just have to do all the practice laps and then, hopefully, the weather stays away and we’re ready to go for the races.

“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 [that] everything operates smoothly,” he added. “We had the weather delay for the Indy 500 last year, but aside from that, the travel side of it was all smooth.

“As far as I know, nothing is different this year. It’s just getting the weather to cooperate.”

The best news for Larson as of Thursday morning is that the forecast for Sunday has cleared considerably, with only a 10 to 15 percent chance of rain throughout the morning and afternoon as opposed to the morning showers that were a concern at the start of the week.

A 32-time Cup Series winner, including three times already this season, Larson has made significant progress in both racing formats – but particularly in Indy car racing.

Though some might think the transition from the lightweight, open-wheel IndyCar chassis to the heavier, nearly two-ton Cup Series stock car would be a drastic one, Larson noted feeling similarly in both types of cars, despite the differences in their on-track performance.

Kyle Larson in action at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May of 2024 ahead of his first Memorial Day Double Duty attempt. (HHP/Jacy Norgaard photo)

“There’s way more similarity between the two cars and two series, even though there is a difference. So, that’s the most surprising thing I think for myself and for everybody, is really that the learning curve was not much [to me],” explained Larson. “The [Indy] cars feel somewhat similar to a (Cup Series) Next Gen car, and all that. The race procedures, pit stops, restarts and all that are a little bit different, but as far as just making laps, it’s not different at all.”

Starting 21st in Sunday’s Indy 500, Larson will have to work his way forward from further back than his second-row start a year ago. He’ll qualify for the Coke 600 Saturday afternoon at Charlotte.

“I watched a lot of the race from last year over [Tuesday] night and some onboard [camera] stuff. How you pass or how you move forward is being aggressive on starts and restarts and then, having good pit stop exchanges, maybe having some strategy work out in your favor, and all the normal things of really any other race,” Larson explained. “That’s not different. But, for me, there are a lot of drivers out there [including shock polesitter Robert Shwartzman] that have never raced on an oval, so they’ll all be learning as well. It’s not like I’m the only one out there that’s trying to learn.

“There’s going to be a lot of learning going on, and that’s what you guys saw for me last year, but hopefully … I can use the little bit of experience I have to try and get me toward the front.”

Larson looks to make his mark on history in his second go-round of Double Duty, as well as maintain his regular-season point lead on the Cup Series side later Sunday.

But while Larson has a chance to do something special in the realm of auto racing, it’s not something that’s weighing on his mind entering Memorial Day weekend.

“I don’t really think about any of that a whole lot,” said Larson of the historical significance of what he’s trying to achieve. “I really just love to race and I try to do the best job that I can. Usually, if you’re doing a good job and you’re prepared and all that goes into that, the accolades and stuff that go along with [the preparation] will naturally come. In my mind, the same goes for this weekend. If I can just do a good job and get some good finishes and show that we were capable of running up front with these guys, I think that would say a lot.

“I think there are more positives to be made from the results this weekend than negatives. I think if I have a bad race or whatever, I don’t think it matters as much as if you have a good one and what that potentially does for you.”

Coverage of the 109th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge begins live on FOX at 10 a.m. ET, with radio coverage from the IndyCar Radio Network and SiriusXM IndyCar Nation, channel 218.

The Coca-Cola 600 follows on Prime Video at 6 p.m. ET, with radio coverage from the Performance Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.

Additional reporting by Motorsports Hotspot Editor-in-Chief Jacob Seelman.