NASCAR’s Kyle Larson is cruelly denied a historic double after finishing Indy500 and rushing 574 miles to the Coca-Cola 600… only for the race to end early due to rain!
Kyle Larson suffered a brutal blow in his bid to become just the fifth driver in history to complete the Indianapolis-Charlotte double on Sunday.
Just 17 minutes after finishing 18th in the Indy500, NASCAR star Larson boarded a flight to Charlotte and began a mad 600-mile rush to reach the Coca-Cola 600 in North Carolina.
Only four drivers have ever competed in both events on the same day, meaning a special place in history beckoned for the 31-year-old if he could make it in time.
NASCAR’s annual Cup Series event started at 6:00 PM ET in Charlotte, and since it lasts a whopping 600 miles, Larson initially had a chance to come in mid-race and pull off the incredible feat.
However, after rain delays in Indianapolis made his task even tougher earlier in the day, by the time Larson arrived at Charlotte Motorway Speedway the Coca-Cola 600 had been put on hold for the same reason.
Kyle Larson suffered a brutal blow in his bid to become just the fifth driver in history to complete the Indianapolis-Charlotte double
Larson boarded a flight to Charlotte just 17 minutes after completing the Indy500 and began a mad rush of 600 miles to catch the Coca-Cola 600.
And before he could take to the track and complete the historic double, the race was ultimately ended early due to weather conditions, meaning Toyota’s Christopher Bell was awarded the win.
Larson, meanwhile, was left devastated after rushing from Indianapolis to Charlotte all for nothing.
The American driver, who won the NASCAR Cup Series in 2021, had to deal with it on Sunday when the Indy500 was delayed due to heavy thunderstorms.
Fans were asked to take shelter, and while most took cover, a small group of attendees were seen racing each other on foot through the concourse in Indianapolis.
Track president J. Douglas Boles said drying equipment would take about two hours to dry the 2.8-mile oval, but it was expected the race would start about four hours late and all 200 laps would be done before dark rounded.
βIt looks like this will be the window where we might be able to get it dry to race today,β Larson said earlier on Sunday. ‘But that obviously has consequences for the 600. It’s still the weather. You don’t know exactly how that will go.
‘But the worst-case scenario occurs and that is a shame. We’re going out on something today.’
The NASCAR star finished 18th in his Indy500 debut before beginning the journey. Only four drivers have ever competed in both events on the same day
But after reaching the track on time, Larson was left devastated when the race ended early
His hopes of completing the double were dented when the Indy500 was postponed on Sunday
Heavy storms were expected all week, arriving around 12:45 p.m., just as the green flag was due to drop. Along with heavy rain, the tire brought wind gusts of up to 70 km per hour and dangerous lightning, and video boards at the race track advised fans who had already entered the highway to seek shelter.
Had the race restarted, Larson would have cemented his place in history at the Coca-Cola 600, with former US President Donald Trump looking on at Charlotte Motorway Speedway.
Trump is in town for the race after driving fans wild by flying his private plane over the track in North Carolina.