Three-time NASCAR Cup champion Joey Logano has no interest in joining the likes of Kyle Larson, Kurt Busch, Tony Stewart, and several others in trying his hand at auto racing’s so-called “Double,” namely, racing the same day in both IndyCar’s Indianapolis 500 and later that evening in NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte, N.C.
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“(It’s) not for me,” Logano said on a recent episode of The Speed Freaks.
Logano’s answer is somewhat surprising as his NASCAR team owner, the legendary Roger Penske, also owns the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, which plays host to the Indianapolis 500 on the last Sunday of every May.
“For Roger, he can go after it, but for Joey, it’s not in the cards,” Logano said. “Larson does it and he’s an amazing talent. For me, I don’t know if I’m as talented as he is. I’ve gotta work really hard to be good at this. There’s some drivers that can just jump in things and go. I have enough talent where I can go, but I don’t know if I can go win.”
“And if I can’t put myself in a position to win, I don’t want to do it. And I feel I’d be taking something away from my Cup car to do that. So for me, I don’t want to do that. Nothing against what Larson is doing, it’s great. I think it’s cool for all of motorsports that he’s doing that, but it’s just not my type of thing.”
Larson attempted the “Double” last year. While he was able to finish 18th in the Indy 500, due to a weather delay that pushed the finish of the event into later in the day, Logano was unable to make it to Charlotte in time for the NASCAR nightcap.
While Logano Isn’t Interested in the Indy 500, A few Others Are
Fellow NASCAR Cup star Christopher Bell, who won three races in a row earlier this season (Atlanta, Austin, and Phoenix) and is currently fifth in the standings, is giving thought to racing in the fabled Greatest Spectacle In Racing.
“(The Daytona 500) and Indy are like the two events that you have global worldwide, like casual fans that don’t really watch racing watch those two races because that’s what they know about.”
“So yeah, I mean that that’s definitely circled on my list to do,” Bell mentioned.
And let’s not forget Kyle Busch, who has expressed interest several times in running the Indy 500 like his older brother Kurt did in 2014. Kyle even has team owner Richard Childress’ blessing to follow in the footsteps of Busch’s older brother.
The elder Busch was the last driver to run both races on the same day, finishing sixth in the Indy 500 (and also earning the race’s Rookie of the Year honors), but unfortunately finished 40th in the Coca-Cola 600, retiring after 271 of the race’s 400 laps due to engine failure.
