You can’t keep a good racer down, and that includes Kyle Larson. The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion announced on Tuesday along with Arrow McLaren that he’ll attempt “The Double” again in 2025, racing at the Indy 500 as well as the Coca-Cola 600 later that same day. It’s been done before, but not since Kurt Busch pulled it off in 2014. No driver to compete in both back-to-back has won either race, though Larson hopes to change that.
Larson famously tried to complete The Double in 2024, but it didn’t pan out. What’s more, looking at the stat sheet tells an incomplete story; he finished P18 at the Indy 500 and didn’t start at the Coke 600 later that evening. Truth is, understandable rookie mistakes knocked him out of the open-wheel competition and prolonged rain delays meant he didn’t make it to Charlotte in time for the NASCAR green flag. Larson laments his luck but is optimistic it’ll go better next year:
“I really enjoyed the month of May in Indy and racing with Arrow McLaren, but I was really disappointed with missing the Coke 600 with the No. 5 HendrickCars.com 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.”
Tony Stewart managed the most successful attempt at The Double in 2001. Like Robby Gordon before and Kurt Busch after him, Stewart tied the best Indy 500 finish of qualified drivers with a P6. After hopping on a plane and climbing into the cockpit of a tin-top, the wheelman affectionately nicknamed “Smoke” snagged a third-place result in the Coke 600.
Larson stands as good a chance as anyone at matching that mark or beating it in 2025. He was fast at Indy in his only attempt, qualifying for the middle of the second row in P5. On the NASCAR side, Larson won the crown-jewel Coke 600 back in 2021. He has the talent, but as he found out earlier this year, that isn’t enough.
One stipulation is that Larson must give NASCAR and the Coke 600 priority. That means if it rains in Indy, forcing long delays, Larson will have to abandon his 500 bid to head for Charlotte. Maybe this will rule out any drama like Larson faced this year by not obtaining a waiver to skip the Cup Series race.
Here’s hoping we get to see one of today’s best drivers compete in both big races.
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