Tony Stewart’s Historic Feat Could Be Matched By Kyle Busch After JGR Shackles Are Broken

For fans and those outside the car, racing is a thrilling sport to be a part of. But only those who’ve sat inside a metal box at speeds upwards of 200mph can understand how grueling it is. The average NASCAR race lasts 3 hours, which itself is an enormous amount of time. But the Coca-Cola 600? Better ask Tony Stewart.

The Coca-Cola 600 finds itself among the four crown jewels of NASCAR. Considered the toughest race on the circuit, the 400-lapper is a back-breaking affair that puts drivers to the absolute limit; testing how far they can push themselves, and how badly they want to win.

Held on Memorial Day, the race has for long caught the imagination of both drivers and fans. Such was its status that it found its way into the Winston Million award, introduced in 1984. But in later years, it also found itself coupled with the Indianapolis 500.

Speedway, Indiana (where the Indy 500 is held) is separated by Charlotte, North Carolina by a distance of 570 miles. Held on the same day, the idea of “The Double” sprouted up. Basically, it questioned drivers if they had the ability to compete in both races on the same day.

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For a greater context of how tough a proposition that is – the Indy 500 starts late morning, and only finishes by mid-afternoon. Follow that up with the 600 miles of Charlotte Motor Speedway. In total, that’s 1,100 miles of racing.

Tony Stewart is the only one who could do it

The experience of attempting The Double sounds harrowing, and history is proof that it is that bad.

John Andretti became the first driver to attempt to complete The Double. Finishing 10th at the Indy 500 in 1994 (completed 196/200 laps), the driver took a plane and helicopter ride to Charlotte. Unfortunately, he finished only 226 laps of the race due to a crankshaft issue.

Since then, many others have tried their luck. Robby Gordon has made the most attempts, trying to do it on 5 occasions but failing each time. The closest he came was one lap short of the 1,100 miles combined.

The only driver to date who has completed the feat is Tony Stewart. Stewart achieved it in 2001 after a 6th-place finish in the Indy 500, and a 3rd position in the Charlotte 600. It was his second attempt; in 1999, he was 4 laps short at the Indy 500.

The most recent attempt at The Double came from Kurt Busch in 2014. His day started well as he finished 6th in Indianapolis despite being a rookie, but things went sour in Charlotte. Busch’s engine blew up around the 270-lap mark which effectively ended his attempt.

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Kyle Busch has for long expressed his desire to try the feat – but was stopped by his Joe Gibbs Racing crew. Richard Childress has been more open to the offer, hoping to get much-needed publicity and marketing for his team. Could we see that happen in 2023? Do you think he can do it if he gets the green light from RCR?