Kyle Larson has had many long days in his racing career, but nothing compares to what he’ll experience this Sunday. 

Kyle will start his first-ever Indianapolis 500 for the Arrow McLaren IndyCar Team at 11:00 a.m. ET. And once his day in the No. 17 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet is over, he’ll fly to Charlotte Motor Speedway to take part in NASCAR’s longest race of the season: the Coca-Cola 600. 

That’s 1,100 combined miles in roughly 12 hours or less – on the same day. 

“Kyle Larson is one of those rare drivers and champions that can race anything, so we’re super excited to have him in our race car,” McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown said. “He reminds me of drivers like Dan Gurney and Mario Andretti, who could drive anything on wheels as fast as anyone. To have him join us for the Indy 500 is extremely exciting.” 

While the Indy 500 is his NTT INDYCAR SERIES debut, there is no question Kyle knows how to win races, with 25 NASCAR Cup Series wins, 15 Xfinity Series wins and countless victories in sprint and midget racing. 

Kyle, 31, has spent close to a year preparing to compete in both the 500 and 600. 

“It's important to me because it's a cool challenge that only four other drivers, until this point – I’ll be the fifth – have been able to do it,” Kyle said. “Doing something that not many people have done is pretty neat, but then also racing two different types of cars on the same day is really cool.” 

What is “The Double”?  

It’s one of motor racing’s most-grueling days, where a driver attempts to not only start – but also finish – both the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600. 

It’s known by several names, including ‘Double Duty,’ ‘The Daily Double,’ ‘The Indy-Charlotte Double,’ and ‘The Memorial Day Double.’ 

But it’s known to most simply as ‘The Double,’ where drivers attempt to run a total of 1,100 miles in the same day. The day starts with 500 miles (200 laps) at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, followed by an additional 600 miles (400 laps) at Charlotte Motor Speedway. 

Just four drivers have attempted The Double. John Andretti was first in 1994, along with Robby Gordon (five times), Tony Stewart (twice), and most recently Kurt Busch in 2014. Only Stewart managed to complete both, in 2001, when he finished sixth at Indianapolis and third at Charlotte. 

Now, Kyle hopes to do the same, and then some. He’ll start the 500 in the middle of the second row (fifth position), the highest-starting rookie in the 33-car field. He’ll be one of four Arrow McLaren entries in The Greatest Spectacle in Racing, joining Alexander Rossi (fourth), Pato O’Ward (eighth) and Callum Ilott (15th). 

Racing in the Indy 500 has long been a dream for Kyle. He began his own racing career in sprint and midget cars before moving to NASCAR, like one of his racing idols, four-time NASCAR champion Jeff Gordon, now Vice Chairman of Hendrick Motorsports, for whom Kyle races full-time. 

Kyle won the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series championship in his first season of driving for Hendrick Motorsports.  

Logistics and scheduling are down to the minute 

Once Kyle completes the Indy 500, he’ll take a one-hour flight to Charlotte. Along the way, he will receive medical treatment such as IVs and hydration – he’ll also catch a nap. 

When he lands in Charlotte, he’ll be ferried via helicopter to the racetrack and will likely start from the back of the field, if he fails to attend the mandatory driver’s meeting two hours before the green flag falls. 

And what if Kyle wins the Indy 500? Well, he’d still need to get to Charlotte on time, so celebrations would be swift and to the point. For all of the excitement and commendation that would come from him winning, he won’t be remaining in Indianapolis any longer than necessary. He would, however, return for the winner’s photo on Monday morning and the 500 banquet later that evening.  

And then there’s the biggest wildcard: weather. If the 500 is delayed by rain, the forecast for the rest of the day would determine whether Kyle stays in Indianapolis or heads to Charlotte for the 600. 

Kyle’s boss, Rick Hendrick, will attend his first Indianapolis 500 along with Gordon and other Hendrick Motorsports officials who will accompany Kyle on the flight from Indianapolis to Charlotte. 

How to stay out of trouble 

An NTT INDYCAR SERIES car and a NASCAR stock car are total opposites. The former is half the weight of the latter, they steer differently, aerodynamics are different and how they move on the racetrack is different. 

One of the key elements Kyle must guard against in the 500 is his knack of riding the high line in NASCAR, literally just a few inches from the outer retaining wall. 

That doesn’t work in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES. Rather, Kyle must maintain a line nearer to the middle of the track on the straightaways and down low through the turns. If he gets too high up, especially in the notorious “short chute” between Turns 1 and 2, and gets into the marbles (loose chunks of tire debris), an overcorrection of just a couple of inches could spell disaster. 

A good strategy would be to follow drivers ahead of him for roughly the first 150 laps, then take more chances in the final 50 laps to the checkered flag. 

Kyle has already racked up close to 2,000 miles of back-and-forth commuting between Indiana and NASCAR events in the last few weeks. He’s back in Indianapolis through Saturday, during which time he’ll participate in the parade, driver meeting, and autograph signing sessions. He'll then head back to Charlotte for Qualifying on Saturday, before returning to Indianapolis again late on Saturday.  

And finally, there’s one last trip back to Charlotte on Sunday, with the 600 slated to start at 6:00 p.m. ET. 

Learning from one of the best: Tony Kanaan 

Kyle will have one very important person in his corner on Sunday, someone who has done the 500 numerous times, including winning it in 2013: Arrow McLaren Sporting Director Tony Kanaan. 

“It’s critical (Kyle) has this experience around him and available to him,” Zak continued. “The Indy 500 is a special race. With Tony’s experience, we’ll be able to assist Kyle. Our job is to give him a fast race car and an environment to give him as much experience as quickly as possible.” 

Kyle admits he has concerns in the 500. 

“Just getting used to the dirty air,” Kyle said. “(An NTT INDYCAR SERIES car is) very tight, as I would call it, or lots of understeer in traffic, so that's tough. Just trying to time your runs and figure out how to pass is difficult and then all the pit lane stuff is more complicated, so try to figure all that out as well. 

“The most challenging stuff while driving is just all the little details of execution, pit stops, restarts. You just race, execution, green flag pit stops, green flag pit exits. The driving at speed on track, I think, is probably, honestly, the most simple part of it, but doing all the little details right is what matters. 

“I've gotten to experience (the 500 atmosphere) a couple times as a fan and it's unreal. So I imagine as a driver it's got to feel even more special walking across the stage for driver introductions and doing all that stuff that I haven't got to experience as being a fan. Yeah, I look forward to all that. 

“My main goal would be to finish both races. Tony Stewart and Kurt Busch both finished sixth, so you obviously would like to beat that, but (I) understand how difficult that will be. But yeah, just try and do a good job and just see where the results end up.”