After Kyle Larson Gave Double Duty A Shot, Who Should Try It Next?

NASCAR Cup Series driver Kyle Larson impressed at Indianapolis Motor Speedway throughout May, but bad weather in both Indianapolis and Charlotte completely messed up his planned attempt at doing The Double and competing in the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on the same day.

It was a bummer for sure, and Larson was pretty down on himself after a pit lane speeding penalty (something that happens to the best of them; Scott Dixon threw away a potential race win in 2022 that way) which led to a P18 finish, but it was still a great showing.

Hopefully, we see Larson give Double Duty a whirl next year, but this weekend did get me thinking. Who else could potentially give it a shot?

Well, I came up with a few ideas, so let's look through some other potential Double Duty candidates.

Kyle Busch seems to be one of the most likely drivers to give The Double a whirl. (Photo by Jeff Robinson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Kyle Busch

I think if had to put a little hard-earned dough-re-mi on what other driver will give the Indy/Coke 600 double a shot, I'd go Kyle Busch.

He's like Larson in that he seems to be competitive in anything he jumps in that has an engine. Plus, his brother, Kurt, has already done The Double in 2014, so if he needs any advice from someone, there's a good option.

Plus, after making the jump to Richard Childress Racing, Busch is now in the Chevrolet camp and Chevy just so happens to be one of IndyCar's two engine manufacturers. Those connections sometimes make setting up a one-off entry possible.

Hopefully, Larson's experience makes others want to give Double Duty a try, and I think Busch would be one of the first to jump on it.

Over the weekend, Ryan Blaney said he has been trying to set up a Memorial Day Double. (Photo by Logan Riely/Getty Images)

Ryan Blaney

After Blaney won the NASCAR Cup Series championship in 2023, there was a little bit of buzz about the possibility of him giving Indy a shot.

It makes sense. Blaney drives for Team Penske, which was dominant in qualifying this year and then went on to win with Josef Newgarden for the second straight year.

The Captain and Co. bring it every year, so why wouldn't you want to be in one of their cars?

Blaney talked about this over the weekend and even revealed that he has been trying to get something set up where he and Team Penske IndyCar driver and this year's Indy 500 polesitter Scott McLaughlin both do Double Duty.

"I've been trying to start a petition — I don't know if I should say this or not — me and Scotty Mac doing The Double; each of us doing The Double."

Well, I'd like to thank Ryan Blaney for that perfect segue to our next driver…

Scott McLaughlin could use his background in the Supercars Championship to help him get a grasp on the NASCAR Cup Series.  (Photo by Jeffrey Brown/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Scott McLaughlin

I think when we talk about The Double these days, we think of a Cup Series driver doing a one-off Indy appearance and not an Indy regular doing a one-off Cup appearance.

Of all the current Indy regulars, I think Scotty Mac would be the most likely to give it a whirl, and not just because Ryan Blaney already said they're trying to make it happen.

Obviously, being part of Team Penske makes setting it all up a little easier, but I think McLaughlin's background as a driver would make a transition into stock cars a bit easier than it would be for most others in the series.

That's because McLaughlin came to IndyCar from the Supercars Championship. While they don't race on ovals in that series, the cars themselves are about as similar to what you find in NASCAR as just about any other discipline. 

Full-time Xfinity Series driver and part-time Cup Series driver Shane van Gisbergen came from Supercars, and you may recall that he won the Chicago street race in his NASCAR debut.

Scotty Mac knows what to do on ovals in an IndyCar, and I think with a little practice he'd be pretty solid doing it in a big, heavy stock car too.