Larson's 'Double' bid in jeopardy from Trump, rain and red flags

This Sunday, NASCAR star Kyle Larson is set to take on one of sport’s most formidable tests: ‘The Double’.

If all goes to plan, the 2021 Cup champion will race the 200 laps of the 2024 Indy 500 before getting on a private jet to compete in NASCAR’s longest event: the Coca-Cola 600.

The 500 begins at 12.45pm ET (5.45pm BST) and should end three hours later, leaving Larson just over two hours to make the 574 mile journey to Charlotte, North Carolina, where the race begins at 6pm ET (11pm BST).

The gruelling 1,100 miles of racing have only been completed by one driver, Tony Stewart in 2001, but he and three others have made a total of nine attempts at the famous challenge, with the last effort being Kurt Busch in 2014.

Larson – who will be driving for the McLaren IndyCar team before returning to his Hendrick NASCAR squad – is aiming to beat Stewart’s best one-day result of fourth and third in the 500 and 600 respectively, but there are a number of tricky obstacles which could trip up a racing schedule which has very little room for manoeuvre.

Inclement weather looks like it could play havoc with IndyCar’s Sunday schedule and even if the race does get underway in good time, one of motor sport’s most hazardous contests could still be beset by red flag stoppages – and there’s more.

Former President Donald Trump will possibly visit the Coca-Cola 600 in North Carolina as he campaigns for the 2024 US presidential election, and as a result all other air traffic could be grounded and/or severely limited, preventing Larson’s journey between the two venues.

Should anything look to jeopardise the 25-time NASCAR Cup championship leader competing in both, the Hendrick driver has said he will prioritise the crucial Cup race race over the 500, though his team have sent out mixed messages. The motor sport world has its fingers crossed Larson won’t have to make a choice.

We run through the permutations of Kyle Larson’s incredible ‘Double’ attempt below.

 

Will rain stop Kyle Larson racing the 2024 Indianapolis 500?

Looking ahead to the 108th running of the Indianapolis 500, the weather forecast is not optimistic, casting doubt on anyone racing at all – never mind Kyle Larson.

The Indianapolis National Weather Service has an 80% chance of rain prediction for Sunday. Thunderstorms have also been predicted throughout the day with winds up to 18mph.

While other forecast services have even grimmer predictions, IndyCar will not make any decisions about delaying the race until the last possible moment.

If all were to run on time, the 500 would finish at roughly 3.45pm, before Larson would get on a 1hr 40min private jet (as well as two helicopter flights either side) to make the 6pm 600 start.

Now his NASCAR team boss Rick Hendrick has intimated that were the Californian to be a good position in the Indy race before it was theoretically curtailed by rain, they might consider leaving him in the IndyCar rather than abandoning for NASCAR – despite Larson saying otherwise.

“That’s a tough question,” he told Fox Sports. “Because we’ve talked about it many times and we know we need to be at Charlotte for the points.

“We’re just gonna let it play out, then Kyle, myself, Jeff Gordon, Andrews will go make that decision Sunday.

“It would be very tough, very disappointing because of all the effort that everyone’s put in from Arrow McLaren, to Zak [Brown] and the crowd, our marketing people, we’ve got a tremendous amount of folks there at Indy – he’s in such a good position, it would be extremely hard.”

The last time the Indy 500 has been curtailed by rain was 2007, when the race was ended at 101 laps after two rain stoppages, with Dario Franchitti declared the winner.

IndyCar doesn’t run on ovals in the rain, with the dangers considered too great for cars which hit speeds of almost 240mph on the straight in the dry.

 

Can another driver take over from Kyle Larson at the Indy 500 or Coca-Cola 600?

Relief drivers were previously common in IndyCar, with one pilot taking over from another if needed. Though their use has dwindled in recent decades, some super-subs have stepped in when needed on occasion during a Double attempt.

For example, Jacques Lazier took over Robby Gordon’s car when the latter abandoned his rain-delayed Indy effort and headed for Charlotte in 2003, the substitute retiring on lap 88.