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.   

Brickyard Owes Montoya One

Juan Pablo Montoya: Racecar Driver. If there’s ever a biography written about current NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Juan Pablo Montoya than that should be its name. I have the utmost respect for Montoya because he’s proven throughout his illustrious career that he can drive and win in anything he pleases. He’s a true racecar driver. Give him something with wheels and a motor and he’ll kick your ass.

Montoya has won in many major forms of auto racing. In his one and only Indianapolis 500 in 2000, he won. He was a champion in the CART Series. He was a champion in the Formula 1 Series. He’s won the Rolex 24 @ Daytona twice in the Grand-Am Series. He’s also won twice in NASCAR’s top series, which is the most popular motorsports series in the United States.

Not only is Montoya a fantastic wheelman, but he also has that true racer persona, like many greats that came before him. He’s going to do whatever it takes to succeed and win, even if that means knocking another out of his way. Some people just can’t stand Montoya because of his driving style, which many wrongfully call “reckless”, because he’s relentless when racing their favorite drivers. Fellow Sprint Cup racer Kyle Busch is “reckless”, he loves to win, but he also loves playing the heel. This bad guy act that he loves so much leads him to want to do reckless things. Montoya loves to win, but he doesn’t give a damn what you think about him. He’s not intentionally trying to ruin your day (unless he thinks you deserve it); he’s just trying to make the most out of his.

That’s why I like Juan Pablo Montoya. Now, here’s why I really want to see him in Victory Lane on Sunday after the Brickyard 400 at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Sometimes in racing a track just owes you one.

Despite Dale Earnhardt winning at Daytona more than any driver that ever competed there he never had a Daytona 500 win prior to 1998. The track owed him one. He finally got it. Like Earnhardt, Tony Stewart has won in almost everything at Daytona, but not the Daytona 500. Daytona owes it to him.

Montoya, as previously mentioned, has won at Indianapolis in his truly dominating Indy 500 victory. However, the Brickyard, desperately owes him one. 

Despite winning at both of the Sprint Cup Series road course races (Watkins Glen and Sonoma) in his career, Montoya has yet to win on a NASCAR oval track (in this his sixth full season), However, Indianapolis, has arguably been his best track in the sport. He’s never had the finishes at the track that he’s truly deserved (other than a second place finish in his rookie season of 2007) with an average finish of only 22.4 at the track, but as far as I’m concerned Montoya should’ve won the Brickyard 400 twice by now.

In 2009, Montoya had likely his finest performance in his NASCAR career, thus far, when he thoroughly dominated the race. Not only did he kick the rest of the field’s asses, he also kicked the track’s ass. The Colombian native led a race high 116 of 160 laps and he was going to lead a lot more. Nobody could beat Montoya that day, except for depending on how you saw it: himself or NASCAR. On a late pit stop Montoya was penalized for speeding on pit road. Montoya was adamant that he didn’t speed, as all drivers always are. However, I actually believed him then and still believe him today. I know he still believes himself today, too. The penalty caused him to fall back in the running order and he drove his ass off to one of the most dominant 11^th place finishes in NASCAR history and by far the most dominant I’ve ever seen. Jimmie Johnson would win the race.

The next season, in 2010, it looked like Montoya was going to put that misfortune to rest with another dominant performance. Again it looked like he couldn’t be beaten. Unfortunately this time his crew chief Brian Pattie didn’t do him any favors. After leading 86 of 160 laps, again a race best, Montoya made a late pit stop in which Pattie called for four tires. Many other drivers took two tires instead and this placed Montoya in the middle of the pack where he would get caught up in a wreck and finish 32^nd. His Earnhardt Ganassi Racing teammate Jamie McMurray would go on to win the race.

Two years in a row Juan Pablo Montoya had both the competition and the track licked. He had nothing to show for it.  

Last season Montoya started toward the front, but didn’t have a good race finishing in the 28^th position. Even though it’s arguably his best track in the sport, his only top 10 finish was his second place as a rookie.

Montoya is frankly struggling pretty badly this season. In 19 races he only has a measly two Top 10s and his average finish is 20^th. His year started with him crashing into a jet dryer at Daytona in maybe the oddest accident in NASCAR history and it hasn’t gotten much better from there.

However, as we embark on the Brickyard this weekend I just know that Montoya’s going to dig down deep and find a little something extra that he hasn’t had all season. It just remains to be seen if he has a capable car underneath him.    

Yes, this magnificent two and a half mile cathedral of racing with its famed yard of bricks owes Montoya one. It owes him big. Hopefully it pays out on Sunday afternoon; I know Montoya’s damn sure going to do his best to collect.

  

Double Duty at Indy, Charlotte Should Be Back in Play

Tony Stewart scored top 10s in both races in 1999.

This upcoming Sunday is my favorite sports day of the year with the Indianapolis 500 in the afternoon and the Coca Cola 600 (NASCAR’s longest race) in the evening. That’s 1,100 miles of great racing action in one day. 

It wasn’t all that long ago when drivers could attempt both races in the same day and the likes of Tony Stewart, Robby Gordon and John Andretti did. The most spectacular result was win Tony Stewart scored top 10 finishes in both races in 1999 (meaning he completed all 1,100 miles).   

However, a few years ago the Indy 500 pushed back its start time to where it would pretty much be impossible to run the Indy 500 in Indianapolis, Ind. and then get in a helicopter or plane and fly to Charlotte, N.C. in time for the NASCAR Sprint Cup race. 

Since then people have been talking about how great it would be to see drivers compete in both races on the same day again and how the Indy 500 should move ahead the race in order to entice drivers to do so. 

There are many drivers in both sports with seat time in both IndyCar and NASCAR: Stewart, Robby Gordon, Andretti, Juan Pablo Montoya, Danica Patrick, Sam Hornish Jr. and Dario Franchitti among the notables. Seeing one or more of those big names try the double duty would be well worth getting up a little bit earlier for the Indy 500. 

Hopefully sometime in the near future we’ll have the opportunity and pleasure of seeing the double duty at Indy and Charlotte completed again. 

10 Best Games or Sporting Events I Watched This Year

10. PGA Championship: Rookie Keegan Bradley wins the PGA















9. Braves/Pirates 19 inning game: Braves beat Pirates in 19 innings on likely the worst missed call of 2011














8. The Masters: Charl Schwartzel wins on thrilling final day














7. Super Bowl: Injury plagued Green Bay Packers beat Pittsburgh Steelers














6. Japan beats U.S. in Women's World Cup on Penalty Kicks













5. Dallas Mavericks comeback in game 2 of NBA Finals to beat Miami heat

4. Rookie Trevor Bayne wins the Daytona 500 in just his second career start

3. Dan Wheldon wins the Indy 500 when rookie and probably winner J.R. Hildebrand wrecks in final turn












2. Game 6 of World Series: Back and forth game ends on extra innings walkoff by St. Louis Cardinals third baseman David Freese












1. NASCAR Sprint Cup finale at Homestead-Miami where Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards duke it out for the closest championship in NASCAR history

de Silvestro On Fire Literally & Figuratively

I can trace my sports fandom back to when I was eight years old in 1995 watching the Atlanta Braves win the World Series. In the 16 years since then I’ve seen some truly great things in sports, some of the greatest teams ever, athletes ever, games ever and moments ever. But, last week there was a first for me as a sports fan …

I developed my first crush on an athlete. Now, I don’t mean this to offend as it’s all in good fun and it certainly shouldn’t take away from any of her accomplishments.

My crush is on 22-year old Swiss IndyCar racer Simona de Silvestro who is in her second year in the IRL and just this past weekend qualified for her second Indy 500. This is the second season I’ve watched de Silvestro on the IRL circuit, but what really caught my attention was something that happened last Thursday.

In practice for the Indy 500, de Silvestro had a horrific crash where her car became airborne due to mechanical failure and remained airborne for what in racing seems like an eternity. Her #78 HVM Racing car landed upside down and caught fire with her trapped in it. de Silvestro was taken to a local hospital with burns to both of her hands, including some second-degree and third-degree burns to them. However, on Saturday when it came time to qualify de Silvestro took her completely bandaged hands put them on that steering wheel and went out on the track and qualified her way into the Indy 500.

That proves that she’s a racer and proves that she wants this and won’t let anything get in her way, that’s the attractive thing about her … oh, and yeah it doesn’t hurt that she’s cute either.