Throwback: Tony Stewart Pulls Double Duties with Ease in the Coca Cola 600 a Day After Racing in the Indy 500

In 1999, Tony Stewart had a full plate on his hands, because he was competing in two consecutive events. To be precise, he took part in the Indianapolis 500 and finished in 9th place. A day later, he took part in the 1999 Coca Cola 600 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway for the NASCAR Cup Series.

Eventually, he went on to finish the race in 4th place, behind Jeff Burton, Bobby Labonte and Mark Martin. Truthfully speaking, it was fairly impressive to see Stewart complete an Indianapolis 500-Coca-Cola 600 double on the same day. This is actually the first time he has pulled double duty. At Indianapolis, he completed 196 of 200 laps for Tri-Star Motorsports.

This is not the first time Tony Stewart has done this

Two years later, ‘Smoke’ stormed to a well-deserved sixth-place at Indianapolis. Later in the day, he chalked up a fine third-place finish at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. Stewart owns the unique record of being the only driver to finish on the lead lap of the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on the same day.

He confessed that for the 1999 double, he did not properly train for the two events. As a result, he paid a steep price from a physical standpoint. That regret stemmed from the fact that the Coca-Cola 600 kicked off in the scorching heat at night. It got so severe that Tony Stewart even passed out in his car.

Fortunately, he vowed not to make the same mistake for the 2001 double-header. Needless to say, his hard work paid off and he made history by being on the lead-lap in both races.

Later on in his career, he managed to reach Victory Lane at Indianapolis by winning the Brickyard 400 in 2005 and ’07. However, the driver has insisted that he has no plans for gunning for the Indianapolis 500 anytime soon. In other words, his IndyCar and NASCAR racing days are over.

READ MORE: “It’s a Cool Feeling” – Tony Stewart on Winning the Inaugural SRX Championship