Kurt Busch Attempts to Become Second Driver to Complete All 1,100 Miles of 'The Double'

In my opinion, one of the greatest and rarest feats in sports is to attempt “The Double,” racing in the Indianapolis 500 and NASCAR’s longest race of the season the Coca Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the same day.

“The Double” is an extremely rare thing because of the short amount of time between the end of the Indianapolis 500 and the beginning of the Coca Cola 600. It’s also incredibly difficult because few drivers actually have experience in both the open wheel racing world of IndyCar and the stock car world of NASCAR. Novice sports fans might think all motor racing is the same or at least similar, but there are numerous differences between the two.

In the 1960s and 1970s the Indianapolis 500 and Coca Cola 600 were run on different days and allowed drivers to compete in both events rather easier than it would be to do today. Still it wasn’t a frequent occurrence. Cale Yarborough was the first NASCAR driver to attempt both races in the same year in 1968 finishing 41^st at Charlotte on May 28 and 17^th at Indianapolis on May 30^th and 31^st, as the event was completed over two days due to rain.

Jerry Grant, Lee Roy Yarbrough and Donnie Allison would also compete in both races in the same year in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, with Allison having the best of luck winning the NASCAR race in 1970 and then finishing an incredible fourth in the Indy 500 six days later; To this date that’s the best combined finish of a NASCAR driver running both races.

In the mid-‘70s the races started being held on the same day, the Sunday before Memorial Day and drivers were forced to choose between the Coke 600 and Indy 500, with most NASCAR drivers tending to stick to their day job.

“The Double” started in 1994 when John Andretti, a former open wheel driver making his way in NASCAR, announced he would attempt both races on the same day. Andretti would go on to post a tenth place finish at Indy, but blew an engine at Charlotte and finished 36^th. Andretti would go on to run many more Coca Cola 600s and a few more Indy 500s, but never again on the same day.

In 1999, Tony Stewart started his first of what would be two ‘Double’ duties. He would find success finishing ninth at Indy and fourth at Charlotte in his rookie season in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series becoming the first driver to post a top 10 in both races on the same day. However, Stewart wasn’t able to complete the 1,100 miles between the two races as he didn’t finish on the lead lap at Indy.

Stewart would later do “The Double” again in 2001 and would become the first and to this date only driver to complete all 1,100 miles in the duo races finishing sixth in the Indy 500 and third in the Coke 600. It remains the standard performance for drivers running both races and would be the last time Stewart would run “The Double.”

Robby Gordon tried the “The Double” more than anyone else competing in both races on the same day four different times (2000, 2002, 2003 & 2004). The closest Gordon would come to finishing all 1,100 miles was missing it by a single lap when he finished 16^th at Charlotte in 2002 one lap down. He ran eighth that year in the Indianapolis 500.

In the nine seasons since Gordon’s last attempt in 2004 there hasn’t been a driver attempt “The Double,” with many of those years the feat being impossible because of the start times for both races. However, this year 2004 NASCAR champion and current Stewart-Haas Racing driver Kurt Busch is going to run “The Double” attempting to complete all 1,100 miles by running an Andretti Autosport car in the Indianapolis 500 before flying to Charlotte for the Sprint Cup race.

Busch’s attempt at “The Double” may actually be the most impressive of the four drivers to attempt both races on the same day because unlike Andretti, Gordon and Stewart, who all got their start in open wheel racing, Busch has never had experience in open wheel cars or racing. Unlike Andretti, Gordon and Stewart, Busch has never even started an IndyCar race.

Busch has shown promise in Indy practice and qualified in the top half of the field. He’ll start Sunday’s race in 12^th position. However, he did wreck his car earlier this week in practice, but will retain that starting spot.

Busch has surprised many these last couple of weeks and could continue to do so on Sunday during the Greatest Spectacle in Racing. He’s already proven that his talent as a racecar driver surpasses his full-time career in stock car racing. Will he become just the second guy to complete the entire ‘Double’ by finishing all 1,100 miles in the same day? That’s to be seen. If I had to guess I’d say he likely won’t accomplish that feat having no prior experience in IndyCar racing. However, I know his attempt at all 1,100 miles on Sunday is going to be a blast to watch and something that the Indianapolis 500, open wheel racing and motorsports in general could really use to help infuse some new excitement into the sport.

Marco Andretti Listed as Favorite in Indianapolis 500, but Why?

Oddsmakers have had their say for the driver most likely to win the 98^th running of the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday, May 25. According to the World Features Syndicate, Marco Andretti is the favorite at 5-1 odds to win the Greatest Spectacle in Racing at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

My only question is have the oddsmakers ever watched the IndyCar Series?

Marco Andretti has largely been a disappointment in his eight seasons in the IndyCar Series. He only has two career wins in 139 races (one in his rookie season of 2006 at the road course in Sonoma and one in 2011 at the short track in Iowa). He’s also never finished better than fifth (2013) in the championship standings.

For those race fans that may be more familiar with NASCAR than open wheel racing, Marco Andretti is basically the equivalent to Martin Truex Jr.

However, the Indianapolis 500 has statistically been one of Andretti’s best tracks. He has a respectable 12^th place average finish in the race with top five finishes in half of his eight Indianapolis 500 starts. Marco’s best finish in the Indianapolis 500 is second place, which he accomplished in his rookie race of 2006 narrowly losing to Sam Hornish Jr. in the second closest finish in Indy 500 history. He has come close again with two third place finishes in 2008 and 2010 and a fourth place finish last season.

Still Marco’s good runs at Indianapolis aren’t exactly reason for him to be considered the favorite given his overall career numbers and some of the other drivers in the field.

Penske Racing’s Helio Castroneves, a 6-1 favorite, is a three-time winner of the Indianapolis 500 (2002, 2003 & 2009) and is looking to become just the fourth driver (A.J. Foyt, Al Unser Sr. and Rick Mears) to win the coveted race four times. Castroneves will be starting the race from the second row on the grid, the same row as Andretti.

If anybody should be the favorite for the Indianapolis 500 it’s Castroneves.

But, also in the mix for the Indianapolis 500 victory lane milk is the reigning champion Tony Kanaan, who up until his fan-favorite win last season was one of the greatest drivers in the sport’s history to never win its biggest race. Kanaan always gets around the Brickyard well and with the monkey finally off of his back he’s raring to make it two in a row. He’s only a 15-1 favorite though, probably because his Ganassi Honda qualified in mid-pack.

Also, a guy who should be among the favorites is Ed Carpenter who drives and owns the fastest car from qualifying, having won the pole position for the second consecutive year. Carpenter has never won the race, but has turned the fifth most laps at the track among active drivers and has a trio of top 10 finishes to his name. Like Andretti, Carpenter only has two career wins, but those have come in the last three seasons in likely lesser equipment than Andretti’s Andretti Autosport ride and at the extremely high speed tracks of Kentucky and Fontana. Carpenter is an 8-1 favorite.

Marco Andretti wasn’t even the fastest Andretti Autosport car in qualifying, being bested by his teammate James Hinchcliffe, who’ll start the race second after overcoming a concussion just a week previously in the inaugural Grand Prix race at Indy. Hinchliffe is also an 8-1 favorite.

Then you’ve got the guys who’ve been here before like Scott Dixon, the sport’s reigning champion who won this race in 2008. In fact, Dixon has some of the greatest success at Indy – in 11 career races he’s only finished outside of the top 10 three times and has five top five finishes. His average Indy 500 finish is a terrific eighth place. Like Carpenter and Hinchcliffe, Dixon is an 8-1 favorite.

Judging by his career statistics, his competition and his qualifying runs it doesn’t appear that Marco Andretti should really be considered the favorite to win the race. So, why is he?

It’s because of his name and the story.

There isn’t a more famous name in open wheel racing than Andretti. There isn’t a more famous race in open wheel racing than the Indianapolis 500. But, despite this fact the Andretti name has been known more over the years for its failures and bad luck at the great race than its successes. Mario Andretti won the race very early in his racing career in 1969, but the Andretti name has had a gigantic goose egg in the win column there since. Mario, his sons Michael and Jeff, his grandson Marco and his nephew John have run the race 68 times combined with that lone victory. Not only do they have the low win percentage at the track, but the bad things that have happened to many of them at the track, particularly when they had the best car or best shot at winning have led to the famed “Andretti Curse.”

Everybody wants a good story, even the oddsmakers. Marco Andretti winning the Indianapolis 500 this Memorial Day weekend and snapping a curse that goes back 45 years would be one helluva great story.

However, the reasoning for being the “favorite” just doesn’t add up. Marco Andretti could very well go out there on Sunday afternoon and make me eat my words by winning the race, and more power to him, but if you want a real favorite take Castroneves or Dixon. Marco hasn’t earned that title.   

Snubbed: Terry Labonte Should Have Been Inducted Into 2015 NASCAR Hall of Fame Class

The 2015 NASCAR Hall of Fame class was announced on Wednesday, May 21 and the sixth Hall of Fame class is the first to be comprised entirely of former drivers. Former champions Bill Elliott, Joe Weatherly and Rex White received the call, as did 26-time winner Fred Lorenzen and Wendell Scott, the first and to this day only African-American driver to ever win a race in NASCAR’s premier series.

All five inductees are no doubt Hall of Famers. But, there is one snub – who like Bill Elliott was on the ballot for the first time this year – that I thought should’ve been a no-brainer selection on the first ballot. That person is two-time champion Terry Labonte.

I think Elliott, Weatherly and Scott are all no-brainers for different reasons and would have included all three on my ballot had I had a vote. However, I don’t think the selections of White or Lorenzen were merited over Labonte.

It seems rather strange for a one-time champion in White to get the call over a two-time champion in Labonte, especially when White has only six more career wins. But, the reason likely lies in the fact that White is the sport’s eldest champion at 84 and the voting committee wanted him to have a chance to be inducted while he was alive. Labonte is merely 57 and actually still competes in the occasional Sprint Cup Series race, despite having been retired full-time for nearly a decade. This is a reasonable explanation as to why White was chosen over Labonte, but I don’t necessarily feel the age of a nominee should be a deciding factor over racing resume.

The selection of Lorenzen over Labonte is more curious. Lorenzen is not a champion of the sport, but that likely has much to do with the fact that he didn’t run a full season schedule in an era where many drivers did the same. Lorenzen also only has four more career wins than the two-time champion. The case for Lorenzen’s induction over Labonte has to do with his importance in the sport as a very popular driver, his incredible winning percentage (including winning half of the 16 events he entered in 1964) and like White the committee might have wanted to induct him before his death. Lorenzen is 79 and living in an assisted living facility.    

I think Labonte’s two championships alone should have gotten him inducted over White and Lorenzen. With the induction this year of Weatherly this leaves Labonte as the only multiple time champion in NASCAR history who is eligible for Hall of Fame induction that hasn’t been inducted.

Terry Labonte’s career is truly mesmerizing. His first race came in 1978 and he has raced at least once in every single NASCAR season since (that’s a 37 year span), including as recently as just a few weeks ago at Talladega Superspeedway. At one point Labonte was the sport’s “Iron Man” for most consecutive races with 655, before the record was later broken by Ricky Rudd and eventually Jeff Gordon.

His first championship came in 1984 in the prime of Dale Earnhardt and Darrell Waltrip winning championships and his second title came in 1996 in the midst of one of the sport’s greatest runs ever by Jeff Gordon. This means Labonte won titles in the prime years of likely three of the five greatest NASCAR drivers of all-time. The 12 year span between championships is also the longest between titles in NASCAR history, by quite a margin, which shows how consistent of a driver Labonte was for a long time. Labonte finished in the top 10 in the season’s end points standings 17 times in his career (in 26 full seasons); including a top 10 season finish in four different decades.

If you need more evidence as to how Labonte was snubbed in being left out of the 2015 NASCAR Hall of Fame class you need look no further than his three closest peers who have recently been inducted. In the last three years Rusty Wallace, Dale Jarrett and Bill Elliott have all been inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame, all on their first year on the ballot, despite each having one fewer career championship than Labonte. The one thing all three drivers have in their favor is 10-plus more wins in their careers than Labonte (Wallace and Elliott doubled Labonte’s career win totals). But, doesn’t championship rings usually determine an athlete’s greatness more than anything else in almost every sport?

I’m not saying that Labonte is an all-time better driver than Wallace, Jarrett or Elliott, by any means, but what I am saying is that his resume and hardware is proof that he should’ve received the same treatment by the Hall of Fame voting committee as that trio of legends.

Terry Labonte is going to be a future NASCAR Hall of Famer. This is a fact and thus might make this entire piece much ado about nothing in the eyes of many. But, when you’re the sport’s greatest eligible champion and you have to wait another year while arguably inferior candidates are chosen ahead of you that’s a disservice to your career and legend. I hope and believe that Terry Labonte will be a member of the 2016 NASCAR Hall of Fame class in Charlotte, but in my book he’s already been enshrined.