3 Potential Front Runners for "The Double" in 2023

By: Tom Luttermoser

​"The Double" as it has been dubbed over the years, when a driver runs NASCAR's longest race of the year.. the Coke 600 at Charlotte and the infamous Indy 500 both held on the U.S.'s Memorial Day. That's right, both events, 1100 miles... In the same day. It is a massive accomplishment to attempt much less finish both events and has never had a driver win before. Only 4 drivers have ever attempted it, John Andretti became the first in 1994. NASCAR/IndyCar champion Tony Stewart attempted it twice, becoming the first to complete all 1,100 miles in 2001. Tony also holds the best finishes in 2001 as well scoring P. 6 at Indy and P. 3 at Charlotte.  Robby Gordon has the most attempts with 5 and Kurt Busch tried in 2014. 

But we haven't seen another attempt since. I mean, run 500 miles at Indy, run to a plane, fly to Charlotte to strap into a heavy stock car and run 600 miles there as well. That's a lot, then there is the safety aspect that many owners in both series look at for their drivers as well. Indy is open cockpit afterall. 

But 2023 could be the year we see not only 1 driver attempt it, but the possibility of multiple. Kyle Busch has wanted to attempt the feat for years only to have former team owner Joe Gibbs prevent it from happening, but Busch and new car owner Richard Childress have come out stating he can make the attempt. Busch made the statement earlier in 2022 that he had already been in communication with Indy teams, so it would not be farfetched to see him attempt the double in 2023. 

Next up is new team Co-Owner, former full time Indy driver and 7x Cup Champion Jimmie Johnson. Johnson ran full time in Indy for Chip Ganassi in 2022 and has already made it public that he will run several Cup races in 2023 for his new team, PettyGMS Racing. Johnson expressed the desire to run the event nearly a decade ago but now has the sponsorship and the teams to do so. 

Hélio Castroneves has won the Indy 500 4 times, He runs Tony Stewart's SRX Series and just signed a 1 year extension to run for the IndyCar 2023 championship. He's run just about every type of race car imagenable outside of a NASCAR stock car. He is according to sources however, close to closing a deal to run the Daytona 500 as well as another Cup Series race or two with Trackhouse or The Money Team Racing. So of course Hélio would be a no brainer to put on this list as well. 

Dark Horse: Kurt Busch, Busch attempted The Double in 2014 for Andretti Autosports and Stewart-Haas Racing. Kurt Busch made the emotional announcement that he would step down from full time NASCAR Cup racing after 2022 and run events he saw as "fun" or deam races such as the 24 Hours at Le Mons. He also kept the door open for running in NASCAR on occasion with former team owner Denny Hamlin making it known he has a car if he wanted it. Could we see the elder Busch brother make a second attempt? I'd love to see it.