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After his attempt to run “The Double” failed due to rain in 2024, Kyle Larson ran it again the following year.
Larson aimed to become the second person to complete the Indy 500 in Indianapolis and the Coke 600 in Charlotte on the same day, joining Ton Stewart in 2001, having already become one of five drivers to even attempt it.
However, Larson crashed on lap 92 of the Indy 500, ending the dream (rain delayed the start of the Indy500 by 45 minutes, so he probably wouldn’t have been able to make it to Charlotte on time anyway).
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IndyCar driver Kyle Larson competes in the 109th running of the Indianapolis 500 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Indiana on May 25, 2025. (Marc Lebryk/Imagn Images)
Due to the accident in Indianapolis, Larson was able to catch a flight to Charlotte, but he also crashed in that race. It was the first time since 1997 that a driver failed to finish both races.
It’s just a long day. It’s just a really long day. It starts very early in Indy, your first meetings are at 8:30, 9:00 in the morning or something like that. When you think from then until this Coca 600 is finished at the end of the night, it’s probably 11:15 pm at the earliest. “It’s just a really long day at work,” Larson told Pak Gazette Digital.
“For me, it takes more mental toughness than anything else, but it’s still really cool to compete in two of the biggest races in the world, the spectacle that goes with it and all that.”
Larson’s journey trying the double will be featured in an Amazon Prime Video documentary, “Kyle Larson vs. The Double,” premiering next week.
“It’s a cool experience, number one, but I think it’s also giving fans an inside perspective of what it takes to prepare for the Indy 500, learn something new, but also what it takes to try to be ready to compete in 1,100 miles of racing in one day with the Indy 500 and the Coke 600,” Larson said of the documentary.
“Also to show people the journey of my education and my love of racing and all that, but also to show how difficult it was, the stress, the emotions, everything that goes into trying to complete it and not being able to do it. I think it captured everything you need for a good movie, the drama and the emotion and everything else.”
It’s true that Larson didn’t want to go through all those emotions while watching it, but she’s glad she did.
“Honestly, it was cool for me to relive and see where my head was at in all of that. You forgot how stressed I was. So it was nice to relive that…” he said.
Kyle Larson hits the wall in turn two during the Indianapolis 500 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis on May 25, 2025. (Jamie Gallagher/AP)
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“It was cool to see videos of my family from when I was really young and my kids, because they filmed me for about three years before,” Larson continued. “So even seeing my kids as smaller versions of themselves right now, seeing how their personalities are different even today than back then is cool. There were some memories that weren’t the most fun to experience at the time, but I had no problem reliving them again because it was cool.”
“It was a lot of fun and a lot of interesting, and part of getting a deal and a business deal done was a great experience for me and for Hendrick (Motorsports) and for Kyle and being able to document all of that,” added Jeff Gordon, who appears in the documentary as a co-owner of Larson’s team. “It’s only been done less than a handful of times. This shows why, because it’s a very difficult thing. You have to have a lot of things really lined up. It’s very easy for them not to do it, as a lot of people will witness through this documentary. But at the same time, I’m very glad to have been a part of it and Kyle’s journey and to have documented it.”
So is twice as much in the cards for the future? Unlikely.
“Just 30 minutes of rain can derail you, so it was hard to experience that. You never say never to try to do the Indy 500 again one day, but as long as I’m a full-time NASCAR driver I won’t be able to (attempt the double),” he said. “And if I never run the Indy 500 again, I’m perfectly fine with that, too.”
Kyle Larson waits for the start of Indianapolis 500 practice at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis on May 23, 2025. (Michael Conroy/AP)
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But Larson got his money back after going through hell on consecutive Memorial Day weekends.
“They paid me with a Brickyard and a championship,” the reigning NASCAR Cup winner said.
