With Sunday’s NASCAR race at Kansas Speedway now in the rearview mirror, the attention of many — not just in NASCAR, but motorsports fans of all types — will shift over the next two weeks to Kyle Larson’s second bid at “The Double.”
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Of course, “The Double” is that mind-boggling feat where a driver races in the Indianapolis 500 in the morning and early afternoon, then hops on a plane to Charlotte to compete in the Coca-Cola 600 that same evening in the NASCAR Cup Series.
That’s a total of 1,100 miles — and of the roughly dozen drivers who have attempted it, only one has completed the task: Tony Stewart in 2001.
Larson completed the 500 in his rookie attempt last year, finishing 18th and earning the race’s Rookie of the Year honors. But rain delayed the start to the 500 and Larson was unable to get to Charlotte in time to drive in the 600.
On Sunday’s Inside The Race podcast with co-host Todd Gordon, veteran NASCAR crew chief Steve Letarte made an interesting observation. He compared Larson’s bid to former two-sport great Deion Sanders’ own version, which was referred to as the “Double Play.”
It was October 11, 1992, and Sanders first played for the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons in a regular season loss at Miami. He then hopped on a flight and flew 1,000 miles to Pittsburgh to play that evening in Game 5 of the National League Championship Series between his Atlanta Braves and the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Unfortunately for Sanders, he didn’t play the baseball game that night, thus ending the historic day/night only halfway, so to speak. To this day, Sanders remains the only player (not including motorsports) to try and pull off playing two professional games in two different sports on the same day.
What Steve Letarte and Todd Gordon had to say about Larson’s quest
On the podcast, Letarte and Gordon were excited at the history Larson can potentially pull off. “It’s a great sports story, it’s a great auto sports story,” Gordon said. “I mean, last year it was and it will be again.”
Comparing it to Sanders’ attempt, Letarte added, “I feel like it’s to that level. We’re talking about running the biggest race on the globe… and there’s not a driver I’m more proud to put up there and show how talented NASCAR guys are.
Speaking specifically on Larson‘s chances at Indy, Letarte continued, “I think he’s going to run pretty good. I’m not going to say he has a chance to win, but I’m not going to say he doesn’t have a chance to win.”
And what an overall day it will be. Letarte put it best when he said, “I’ve got breakfast (watching the F1 race) in Monaco, lunch in Indy and dinner in Charlotte. It is a race fan’s dream. So yes, cheer on Kyle.”
