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After his attempt to perform “The Double” failed due to rain in 2024, Kyle Larson reprized it the following year.
Larson aimed to become only the second person to complete the Indy 500 at Indianapolis and the Coke 600 at Charlotte on the same day, joining Ton Stewart in 2001, having already become one of five drivers to attempt it.
However, Larson crashed on lap 92 of the Indy 500, effectively ending the dream (rain delayed the start of the Indy500 by 45 minutes, so he probably wouldn’t have made it to Charlotte in time, anyway).
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IndyCar driver Kyle Larson competes in the 109th running of the Indianapolis 500 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Indiana on May 25, 2025. (Marc Lebryk/Imagn Images)
Due to the accident at Indianapolis, Larson was able to catch a flight to Charlotte, but he also crashed during that race. It was the first time since 1997 that a driver failed to finish both races.
It’s just a long day. It’s just a very long day. It starts really early in Indy, your first appointments are at 8:30, 9:00 in the morning or something like that. When you think about from that time to when that Coke 600 is ready at the end of the night, it’s probably 11:15 p.m. at the earliest. It’s just a really long day at work,” Larson told PK Press Club Digital.
“So for me it takes more mental stamina than anything else, but it’s still really cool to compete in two of the biggest races in the world, with the pageantry that goes with it and all that.”
Larson’s journey to trying doubles will be featured in an Amazon Prime Video documentary, “Kyle Larson vs. The Double,” which will be released next week.
“It’s a cool experience, first of all, but I think also, just to give the fans an inside perspective of what it takes to prepare for the Indy 500, to learn something new, but also what it takes to try to be ready to compete in 1,100 miles of racing in one day with the Indy 500 and the Coke 600,” Larson said of the documentary.
“Also to show people my educational background and my love for racing and all that, but also to show how hard it was, the stress, the emotions, everything that came with trying to finish it and not being able to. I think it captured everything you need for a good movie, the drama and the emotion and everything else.”
Granted, Larson didn’t want to experience all those emotions watching it, but he’s glad he did.
“Honestly, it was really cool for me to relive it and see where I was in all of that. You forgot how stressed I was. So it was just good to relive that…” he said.
Kyle Larson hits the wall in turn two during the Indianapolis 500 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis on May 25, 2025. (Jamie Gallagher/AP)
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“It was cool to see my family videos from when I was really young to my kids, because they filmed me for about three years before that,” Larson continued. “So even seeing my kids as smaller versions of themselves right now, seeing how different their personalities are now than they were back then, it’s great. There have been some memories that weren’t the most fun to experience at the time, but I had no problem reliving them because it was cool.”
“It was a lot of fun and a lot of interest and it was part of closing a deal and a business deal that was a great experience for me and for Hendrick (Motorsports) and for Kyle and being able to document all of that,” added Jeff Gordon, who is featured in the documentary as a co-owner of Larson’s team. “It’s only been done a few times. It shows you why because it’s a very difficult thing. It takes a lot of things to really all line up. It’s very easy for them not to, as a lot of people will witness through this documentary. But at the same time, I’m so happy that we were a part of this and Kyle’s journey and that we documented it.”
So, is the double possible for the future? Unlikely.
“Just 30 minutes of rain can derail everything, so it was just tough to deal with. You never say never to try to do the Indy 500 again someday, but as long as I’m a full-time NASCAR driver, I just won’t be able to (attempt the double),” he said. “And if I never get to race the Indy 500 again, that’s totally fine with me, too.”
Kyle Larson waits for the start of practice for the Indianapolis 500 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis on May 23, 2025. (Michael Conroy/AP)
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But Larson was rewarded after going through hell on back-to-back Memorial Day weekends.
“I was rewarded with a Brickyard and a championship,” said the reigning NASCAR Cup Series winner.
