There is probably no man faster than Hendrick Motorsports star Kyle Larson.
Larson, who drives the No. 5 car for famed owner Rick Hendrick, is one of the greatest talents in NASCAR history. At just 31 years old, he has already earned a spot on the list of NASCAR’s greatest drivers with 25 wins and a Cup Series title. Larson has 170 top-10 finishes in 344 top-class races.
Open-wheel racing, however, is a different story: Larson is one of the most talented stock car drivers of all time, but it’s unclear whether his skills will translate to the Indianapolis oval.
Larson isn’t the first NASCAR driver to try his luck at the famous event, but he is one of the few drivers to have attempted to compete in both the Indy 500 and the Coca-Cola 600, one of NASCAR’s premier events.
Larson will become the fifth driver to attempt a Memorial Day weekend double race, in which racers attempt to run at both the Brickyard and Charlotte Motor Speedway on the same day.
MORE: Will Kyle Larson make the Indy 500?
Here’s what you need to know about the other Indy 500 and NASCAR double winners who came before Larson.
The double history of the Indy 500 and NASCAR
Larson is not the first to attempt such a feat: Four other drivers have attempted both open-wheel racing’s premier battle (where tanks race at speeds approaching 250 mph) and the Coca-Cola 600 (the longest race on the Cup Series calendar) on the same day. Of those three, only three-time Cup Series winner and 1997 IndyCar champion Tony Stewart has completed the 1,100-mile race on the same day.
John Andretti (1994)
Andretti ventured into uncharted territory by choosing to compete in both races on Memorial Day in 1994. An IndyCar veteran, Andretti had signed a contract to compete full-time in the Winston Cup Series prior to the 1994 season, but remained interested in competing in the Indy 500.
Andretti was the first driver to qualify for both events, and he had some impressive runs at the Brickyard, working his way up the grid to third, but lost steam in the closing stages and ultimately finished in 10th place.
As soon as the race finished, Andretti went to his local airport and hopped on a plane to the Queen City. He arrived at the Coca-Cola 600 on time and lined up for the green flag with his competitors, but was forced to start 38th after missing the pre-race drivers’ meeting.
Andretti was unable to break away from the pack at Charlotte: he crashed with engine failure, dropped out of the race on lap 220, and finished 36th.
Tony Stewart (1999, 2001)
Stewart is perhaps the closest thing motorsports has to a dual-sport star, winning championship titles in both IndyCar and NASCAR’s top division, and he combined both worlds in 1999, his first year as a full-time Winston Cup driver.
Driving a Joe Gibbs-owned TriStar Motorsports Pontiac, Stewart powered through the mud and overcame a 24th-place starting position to finish the day in the top 10. He then raced to Charlotte and finished 4th in his first Coca-Cola 600. Pretty impressive, right?
Well, Stewart took his racing career to new heights in 2001. This was the second year he tried double duty. Despite driving for Joe Gibbs Racing in the Cup Series, Stewart took the reins for Chip Ganassi Racing at the Brickyard. He piloted an open-wheel car to a sixth-place lead-lap finish at Indianapolis. A few hours later, in an entirely different state, Stewart came out of the trenches to claim a third-place finish at Charlotte. He remains the only driver to finish on the lead lap in both races.
Robby Gordon (1997, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004)
Gordon tried five times to win both the Brickyard and Charlotte. The former IndyCar veteran moved to the Winston Cup Series in 1997 and took the opportunity to try and pull double duty for the first time. But it didn’t go as planned. Rain delays pushed the Indy 500 back to Monday and Tuesday, costing him his chance at a record-breaking win.
But that didn’t matter: Gordon would compete in the two rival races four more times, but he never managed to complete the 1,100-mile pilgrimage.
Kurt Busch (2014)
Busch is the most recent Cup Series regular to attempt the feat, finishing sixth at Indianapolis despite falling as far back as 20th, then hopping on a plane to Charlotte and arriving in the Queen City with plenty of time to spare. Busch was forced to start the Coca-Cola 600 from the rear after missing the drivers’ pre-race meeting. He showed plenty of speed on the long runs and came close to a top-15 finish, but an engine failure ultimately cost him his long race.
