Kyle Larson crashed out of both the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600 Sunday, marking another unsuccessful attempt at running all 1,100 miles of the two iconic races in one day. So is he going to try it in 2026?
Larson's brutal day ends with two wrecked race cars
Larson entered his second Indianapolis 500 with Arrow McLaren on Sunday. In 2024, Larson completed the race in 18th, but rain delays in Indiana meant he wasn't able to make it to Charlotte to run a single lap in his Hendrick Chevy in the Coca-Cola 600.
This year went even worse for Larson. The NASCAR champion crashed after getting loose on lap 92 of the Indy 500, ending his day at the Greatest Spectacle in Racing.
So Larson jumped in a helicopter and got to Charlotte early for the legendary 600-mile race, where he was set to start second. He jumped to the lead and led 34 laps before spinning all on his own.
He was able to continue on before getting caught up in another wreck that ended his day. He finished 37th of 40 cars, and only ended up running 338 of the 600 scheduled laps in his shot at Double Duty.
Two unsuccessful attempts at Double Duty, coupled with two days that were delayed by rain, could certainly drive Larson to not want to try it anymore. And it somewhat sounds like he's leaning in that direction.
Will Kyle Larson try Double Duty in 2026?
Is the grueling 1,100-mile pursuit, which only one driver has ever fully completed, worth it? Larson seems to think not.
"The Double is just a tough undertaking. The window of time is too tight. Even if I didn’t wreck, I don’t think I would have made it here on time and probably would have had to end that race short anyways," Larson told NBC Sports.
Although his feelings may have been too fresh after a tough day (he admitted as such to NBC), he sees the Double as something maybe too difficult to try.
"So I don’t really think it’s worth it. But I would love to run the Indy 500 again. Just doing the Double I think is just logistically too tough," he told NBC.
The logistics are a multi-dimensional thing. First, there's the matter of just getting into the field. The Indy 500 requires several days of practice and qualifying, and being bumped from even making it is a possibility.
Next, it's just getting to both races. The Indy 500 gets going in the early afternoon, and if all goes well, you have to quickly fly from Indiana to North Carolina for a race that starts less than six hours after Indy is supposed to go green. "Supposed to" are keywords after both of Larson's tries were rain-affected.
And of course there are sponsor and team issues that all have to come together. After missing last year's Coca-Cola 600, Hendrick Vice Chairman Jeff Gordon put his foot down and said Larson would be in Charlotte no matter what this time around. So even if Larson didn't exit the 2025 Indy 500, he might not have gotten to take the checkered flag.
And on the sponsor/team front: Just ask Kyle Busch about it all, who was set to do the Double until then-boss Joe Gibbs nixed it.
Has anyone ever completed the Indy 500-CocaCola 600 double?
Only one driver ever has completed every single mile of the double.
Over 12 total tries dating back to 1994, only Tony Stewart has finished all 200 Indy 500 laps and 400 laps at Charlotte. Stewart did it in style, too, finishing in 6th at Indy and third in the Coke 600.
Larson completed all 200 Indy laps in 2024, but never got in his car at Charlotte last year.
The most recent attempt before Larson was Kurt Busch in 2014. He completed the Indy 500 in 6th, but exited the Coke 600 on lap 271 due to a blown engine.
The closest effort to completion outside of Stewart was Robby Gordon's 2002 try, where he took the checkered in both races but was one lap down at Charlotte.
No one has ever won either race during a Double Duty attempt.