Double Duty

For other uses, see Double Duty (disambiguation).
Tony Stewart is the only driver to complete all 1,100 miles of both the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 without being a lap down. He achieved this in 2001.

Double Duty[1] (also referred to as the Indy-Charlotte Double[2] or Memorial Day Double[2]) is an American auto racing term used to describe one of the most difficult feats in motorsport: in a single day, competing in both the Indianapolis 500 IndyCar Series race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Coca-Cola 600 NASCAR Cup Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

The Indianapolis 500 is the most prestigious IndyCar race, while the Coca-Cola 600, the longest event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule, has for years been considered one of NASCAR's most important races. Both races are scheduled to be run on the same day on Memorial Day weekend: the Indianapolis 500 run in the early afternoon and the Coca-Cola 600 in the evening. A driver who pulls off the “Double” competes at Indianapolis first, then boards an airplane after the race and flies to Charlotte to complete the feat. By tradition, the Indianapolis 500 champion will not compete in the Coca-Cola 600.

Double Duty is physically demanding and mentally draining; a driver must be in a race car for most of the day, racing for more than 1,000 miles with little or no rest. It is similar in concept to the established discipline of endurance racing, but without the help of a relief driver, and the driver withstanding the very different physical demands of an IndyCar, which is run with an open cockpit, and a stock car, in which the driver is enclosed.

John Andretti was the first driver to attempt the feat, on May 29, 1994.[3] In 2001, Tony Stewart became the first and only driver to date to complete all 1,100 miles of both races in the same day. Five drivers (Andretti, Robby Gordon on five occasions, Stewart twice, Kurt Busch, and Kyle Larson) have attempted. Of these, Stewart's 2001 effort stands as the best combined result, finishing sixth at Indianapolis and third at Charlotte. Larson made the most recent attempt, in 2024: he finished eighteenth at rain-delayed Indianapolis but failed to make it to Charlotte for the start of the race. Justin Allgaier started for him, but Charlotte was rain-shortened after 249 laps and Larson was unable to complete a lap.

Some drivers in the 1960s and 1970s, included Donnie Allison, attempted a "crossover": running both events when they were scheduled on consecutive days.

  1. ^ "Kurt Busch to try Indy 500-Coca Cola 600 double duty". Sports Illustrated. 2014-03-04. Archived from the original on 2014-04-19.
  2. ^ a b Pennell, Jay (2014-03-08). "Kurt Busch on Indy-Charlotte double: 'I'm driving for the military.'". Fox Sports. Archived from the original on 2014-03-16. Retrieved 2014-04-18.
  3. ^ "John Andretti – Indy's first 'Double Duty.'". Crash.net. 2001-07-27. Retrieved 2014-04-04.