NASCAR’s most successful organization, Hendrick Motorsports, will be attempting what is called the “Double Duty” during the upcoming Memorial Day weekend. The challenge involves completing both the Indy 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 in a single stretch on the same day. The list of drivers who’ve done this insane feat is pretty short, and the only one who has completed all 1,100 miles of both the races is Tony Stewart.
Advertisement
Stewart’s versatility when it comes to reaching the redline is renowned across motorsports. He has never been confined by boundaries and has contested in almost every discipline there is to professional car racing. Through these abilities and achievements, Stewart has found himself a staunch admirer in Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) driver and 23XI Racing co-owner Denny Hamlin.
In an interview with Frank Fleming from Barstool Sports at the Martinsville Speedway, Hamlin revealed the reasons behind his affinity for the 3X Cup Series champion. He said, “Tony to me is one of the greatest versatile drivers that we’ve ever seen. He’s driven IndyCar and won championships [1997]. Moved over to NASCAR, won championships. That is extremely hard to do.”
The JGR icon noted that young drivers are presented with the choice of which racing discipline to take up in their careers. The techniques used in different disciplines such as NASCAR and IndyCar vary a lot, and this makes it an uphill task to shift gears between them and still be successful. “He is so talented that he was able to do both,” Hamlin continued with hearts forming in his eyes.
Hamlin compares himself to Tony Stewart and draws a key verdict
Conversing with Fleming about Stewart being the only one to complete the “Double Duty” successfully, Hamlin couldn’t help drawing a comparison. He said that Stewart was gifted with a talent level beyond any that he was ever granted with and yet couldn’t reach 50 NASCAR wins – a feat that he has accomplished. Hamlin has posted 53 wins in the Cup Series as against 49 by Stewart.
Hamlin is one of the only 15 drivers in NASCAR to reach 50 wins and unsurprisingly, he takes great pride in it. At 43 years of age, he is still actively on the hunt for the Cup Series championship and has proven that he can still get it by notching two victories in the 2024 season already. Should he be able to get his hands on the ultimate trophy before retirement strikes, there wouldn’t be a lot separating him from Stewart on the legacy scale.
