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“The Double” has not been finished since 2001, despite several valiant attempts since then, but Kyle Larson is looking to add his name to history books.
The Indy 500 is expected to start at 12:45 p.m. at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, five hours and 15 minutes before the green flag was released in Charlotte, in North Carolina, for Coca-Cola 600.
The flight between the two tracks is about an hour and a half, but Larson wants to brave it.
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Kyle Larson speaks to media members during the Nascar Playoffs Media Day at the Charlotte Convention Center in Charlotte, in North Carolina, on September 4, 2024. (Jim Dedmon-Imagn images)
“The main thing why I like to run. I like to challenge myself, you learn in a way the new cars and all that. And I like to participate in the biggest races in the world. So, to do two in the same day, it’s pretty cool,” said Larson in a recent interview with PK Press Club Digital.
“For me, I want to do it while I am in my peak. I am only 32 grew up by doing, and seeing the caliber and the level in which they run, because it would be different from what we, the guys of Nascar, see and feel on a road route.”
Kyle Larson famous after winning a Nascar Cup Series car race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday March 3, 2024 in Las Vegas. (AP photo / Ian Maule)
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Five pilots, including Larson, tried the feat, and some were able to exercise the two races. However, Tony Stewart, who finished sixth in Indy and third at Coke 600 in 2001, remains the only driver to complete the 1,100 miles. The last person to run the two races is Kurt Busch, who finished the Indy 500 in sixth in 2014, but the engine failure in Charlotte cost him the completion of this race.
Larson tried double last year, but the rain delayed Indy 500, and this same storm prevented him from participating in Charlotte later in the day, despite going to the track.
“I had fun last year, it helped me prepare for this year. There are still a lot of good from last year, even if I could not run both. I hope that the time remains good, as it seems that it should be, we can have everything in time, and do good work in the races too and get in advance.”
For beginners, Larson has a main objective: “finish all laps”.
“But then you look where the bar is,” he continued, mentioning Stewart’s accomplishment. “You are like” I want to beat that. “If you can win one of the two, it would be great.
Kyle Larson, Center, famous in Victory Lane after winning a Nascar Cup Series car race at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, in North Carolina, Sunday, October 13, 2024. (Photo / chuck burton)
“Winning the Indy 500 would be more difficult, but it can certainly be done at the same time. The fastest car, the best driver, does not always win the race. If you just perform the details of the best that you can and do not make mistakes, you can have the opportunity to win at the end. If we can just do a good job, the results can take care of itself and we can have a great day.”
It would be almost impossible to win both, but Larson knows which he prefers.
“I won the 600, I would take the Indy 500,” he said. “But if I can win one of the two, it would be incredible.”
