While many people are cheering for Kyle Larson to become only the second race car driver in motorsports history to complete The Double — finishing both the Indianapolis 500 and NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 — one significant question remains: what happens if Larson falls short?
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The Elk Grove, California native was a strong favorite to become the only driver other than Tony Stewart (in 2001) to complete The Double last year. He did well in the 500, finishing 18th and earning Rookie of the Year honors.
But weather delays pushed back the finish of the 500 into late afternoon before the checkered flag finally fell. As a result, Larson was unable to get to Charlotte in time to compete in the 600 — which also was impacted by weather that cut the race 151 laps short of its scheduled 400 laps.
NASCAR team owner Rick Hendrick, Arrow McLaren IndyCar team boss Zak Brown and numerous corporate sponsors have spent millions of dollars betting on Larson’s performance in The Double — both last year and this year.
After last year’s failure, those same backers obviously are hoping for a strong return on investment this year, particularly since Mother Nature stopped Larson from doing The Double.
But doing well in both races isn’t the only pressure Larson is facing. If he performs poorly or is unable to complete one — or worse, both races — it’s likely that we won’t see another NASCAR driver attempt The Double anytime soon.
Don’t forget, when Larson did The Double last year, it was the first time in a decade since the last driver to attempt it, Kurt Busch, in 2014.
If Larson can’t finish the Indy 500 or Coca-Cola 600, or both, it’s likely the few NASCAR drivers that potentially might attempt The Double in the future may decide against it.
We’re particularly talking about other young guns like Christopher Bell or Tyler Reddick. There’s only one guy we can see potentially following in Larson’s Double shoes anytime soon, but it would depend on aligning himself with strong and deep-pocketed NASCAR and IndyCar owners, and that’s Kyle Busch.
Larson has already said that this year’s Double effort will likely be the last time he tries to do it. The planning, logistics, splitting practice and qualifying for both races is a very difficult thing to do.
If Larson can’t do it, and he’s arguably the best and most versatile driver currently in NASCAR, why would any other driver think they could out-do Larson?
While doing The Double is pressure enough on Larson, he also has the future hopes of any and every current Cup driver riding on his shoulders. If he comes up short, it’s likely that we won’t see another driver attempt The Double for a long, long time — if ever again.
