NASCAR: Could Kyle Larson still drive Memorial Day Double in 2018?

By Asher Fair | Mar 10, 2018

HAMPTON, GA - FEBRUARY 23: Kyle Larson, driver of the #42 First Data Chevrolet, looks on during practice for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on February 23, 2018 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images) /

Among active NASCAR Cup Series drivers, Kyle Larson is the driver with the best chance of driving the Memorial Day Double. Will he do so this year?

It has been four years since a driver last attempted the Memorial Day Double, which involves racing in IndyCar‘s Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana in the afternoon and then the NASCAR Cup Series Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina in the evening of Memorial Day Sunday.

Four drivers have driven in both races of the Memorial Day Double in the same day. Most recently, Kurt Busch did so in 2014. The other three drivers who have done so are John Andretti, Robby Gordon and Tony Stewart. Davy Jones attempted the historic feat in 1995, but he failed to qualify for the Coca-Cola 600.

Among active drivers in both IndyCar and the NASCAR Cup Series, Kyle Larson of the Cup Series has expressed the most interest in driving the Memorial Day Double, and he has the best chance of doing so.

Larson, 25, drives the #42 Chevrolet for Chip Ganassi Racing full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series. Chip Ganassi Racing, a two-car full-time Cup Series, are one of two full-time Cup Series teams with a full-time IndyCar team. The other team of this sort is Team Penske.

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As a result, Larson could definitely get the chance to drive the Memorial Day Double in the near future for Chip Ganassi Racing. The question is whether or not he will get the chance to do so in 2018. Assuming he stays healthy, we know that he will drive in the Coca-Cola 600. After all, he is a full-time Cup Series driver. The real question is whether or not he will drive in the Indianapolis 500.

Chip Ganassi Racing’s IndyCar team has been a four-car full-time team in the six of the last seven seasons. They haven’t been a two-car full-time team since the 2010 season. However, this season, they cut half of their full-time cars from last year, so they will operate as a two-car full-time team with four-time champion Scott Dixon and second-year driver Ed Jones as their two drivers.

The team will likely not run four cars in the Indianapolis 500, but running three is not out of the question. With Danica Patrick not set to drive for the team in the race despite the fact that is was initially expected that she would do so and instead set to drive for Ed Carpenter Racing in their third car, a third car at Chip Ganassi Racing could potentially be open for the race.

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Will Kyle Larson end up being the driver of that third Chip Ganassi Racing car if there is indeed a third car? At the end of the day, I don’t see why not. He has expressed interest in doing so, and it would seem like there is no better time for him to do so than this season. That said, he and his fiancé Katelyn Sweet are expecting their second child in May, so anything is possible.