Kyle Busch could become the next driver to run the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600 in same day
Is Kyle Busch going to be the next NASCAR Cup Series driver to run both the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600?
The two-time Cup champion is heading to Richard Childress Racing and Chevrolet in 2023. And that free-agent move could open the door to a start in the Indianapolis 500.
According to the Associated Press, McLaren Arrow SP is in conversations to run a fourth car for Busch at the 2023 Indy 500. McLaren fields Chevrolet-powered cars in the IndyCar Series and Busch would be sponsored by Menards.
And the team is in serious conversation about running a fourth Indianapolis 500 entry for NASCAR star Kyle Busch. The effort would likely be backed by Menards as Busch, who last week left Toyota and Joe Gibbs Racing after 15 years to sign with Richard Childress Racing, has permission to compete in the Indy 500 with a Chevrolet team.
Busch is a Las Vegas native and Arrow McLaren SP was founded by longtime Las Vegas resident Sam Schmidt.
Busch, 37, is leaving Joe Gibbs Racing and Toyota at the end of the season. Busch has won two of Toyota’s three Cup Series titles and is the winningest driver in NASCAR history across its top three series.
If he runs the 2023 Indy 500, he’ll be the first active Cup driver to attempt the 1,100-mile feat since his brother Kurt ran it in 2014 in dual Chevrolets. Kurt Busch finished sixth in that Indy 500 before an engine failure relegated him to a 40th-place finish in the Coca-Cola 600 that same day.
Kyle Busch’s attempt would be the 11th double-duty push since John Andretti first tried it in 1994. Robby Gordon (five) and Tony Stewart (two) are the only drivers to attempt the feat multiple times and Stewart is the only driver to finish both races in the same day in the top 10. In 1999, Stewart finished ninth in the Indy 500 and fourth in the 600. Two years later, Stewart improved his finishes in both races with a sixth at Indy and a third at the 600. No double-duty driver has finished better than that third place finish in either of the races.
