NASCAR: 5 drivers who should attempt the Memorial Day Double

Asher Fair

CHARLOTTE, NC - MAY 28: Martin Truex Jr., driver of the #78 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Toyota (Photo by Jerry Markland/Getty Images)

Which five NASCAR drivers should consider attempting the Memorial Day Double by competing in both the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600?

There have been a total of nine attempts of the Memorial Day Double over the years during which a driver has competed in both the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana and the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina later in the evening on Memorial Day Sunday.

All nine of those attempts have been pulled off by drivers who were full-time drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series at the time of their attempt as opposed to drivers who were full-time drivers in IndyCar at the time of their attempt. Four different drivers have combined to make these nine attempts.

The last time a driver attempted the Memorial Day Double was back in 2014 when 2004 NASCAR Cup Series champion Kurt Busch came to Indianapolis to drive in the Indy 500 for the first time in his career with Andretti Autosport before flying to Charlotte that night to compete in the Coca-Cola 600 as a part of his regular full-time driving role.

Who will be the next driver to attempt the Memorial Day Double? Will that driver be yet another full-time NASCAR Cup Series driver? When will the next Memorial Day Double attempt be executed?

Here are five NASCAR Cup Series drivers who should consider attempting the Memorial Day Double.

Kurt Busch

Kurt Busch, 39, is the only active NASCAR Cup Series driver who has actually attempted the Memorial Day Double before, as he drove in both the Indy 500 (pictured above) and the Coca-Cola 600 back in 2014. He drove in the former for Andretti Autosport, and he drove in the latter for Stewart-Haas Racing, his full-time team in the Cup Series.

Busch became the fourth driver to drive in both of these races on the same day, and his Memorial Day Double attempt marked the ninth time that a driver have driven in both races. He finished in sixth in the Indy 500, his first career IndyCar race, after starting in 12th, and he finished in 40th in the Coca-Cola 600 thanks to an engine failure on lap 272 of 400 after starting in 28th.

Busch has not won a Cup Series in over one year, as his most recent win came in the 2017 Daytona 500. However, there is a legitimate case to be made that he is driving on as high of a level as he has driven since he won his Cup Series championship back in the 2004 season.

He sits in sixth place in the championship standings right now as the second highest driver who has not yet won a race this season, and he has racked up two top five finishes and five top 10 finishes through 11 races, with both of those top five finishes, which include a second place finish and a fifth place finish, coming in the last two races.

Given the fact that he is competing on a high level in addition to the fact that he finished in sixth in the Indy 500 in his first attempt in the race back in 2014, there is no reason to believe that he could not or should not attempt the Memorial Day Double once again.

Kyle Busch

Kyle Busch, 33, is one of the few NASCAR Cup Series drivers who have expressed a ton of interest in attempting the Memorial Day Double one day. However, while it remains on his bucket list as something that he really wants to check off one day, he may not get the chance to do so in the near future if he keeps performing at a high level in the Cup Series.

Here is what he had to say about the matter, according to IndyCar.com.

"“I had it done last year, sold and everything, ready to go and I got a boss that said no…Figure it out. I’ve got two bosses: one’s male and one’s female. “I thought that I had a great opportunity to do it. I’m kind of glad it didn’t come together because Alonso kind of stole the headlines the last time it was done, but maybe there will be more guys in the future coming over to run that race. I may have to split the limelight, if you will, with someone else if they want to do that race. I think it would be fun. It would be a unique opportunity. I think the biggest thing that scares my boss is I’ve never driven those cars.”"

Given what his wife Samantha had to say about the matter, it is likely that the boss who would not allow him to drive in the Indy 500 is Joe Gibbs, the Hall of Fame NFL coach who owns Joe Gibbs Racing, the team for which Kyle Busch drives full-time in the Cup Series. Here is what Samantha Busch had to say about the matter, according to IndyCar.com.

"“Well, I can’t say it’s on the top of my list of things for him to do just because I am a worrier, but I know that one day it is something that he really wants to check off his bucket list. So, although I will be a nervous wreck throughout, I will support him all the way if he decides to do it one day.”"

It would certainly not be right to discount Kyle Busch from attempting the Memorial Day Double in the future, just as his brother Kurt did in 2014. However, he may have to leave Joe Gibbs Racing in the Cup Series before that happens, and that likely will not happening until he stops performing at a high level.

Who knows when that will happen?

At just 33 years old, Busch has already won a Cup Series championship, as he did so back in the 2015 season. He has racked up 46 victories in the Cup Series, 91 victories in the Xfinity Series and 50 wins in the Truck Series, giving him 187 career NASCAR wins, which is the second highest total in NASCAR history.

Busch attempting the Memorial Day Double does not seem far-fetched. But it is hard to speculate when it might happen. His Cup Series career certainly does not appear to be slowing down, which gives Joe Gibbs Racing no reason to cut ties with him.

Kasey Kahne

Kasey Kahne, 38, has always had a temptation to drive in IndyCar. He expressed interest in doing so before his NASCAR Cup Series career began back in the 2004 season and even before his NASCAR Busch Grand National Series (now Xfinity) Series career began back in the 2002 season.

To this day, he remains interested in doing so, and there were rumors of him potentially even doing so this season. Instead, he is in his 15th season as a full-time Cup Series driver in what is arguably his worst ride yet as the driver of the #95 Chevrolet for the underfunded Leavine Family Racing team. He has not finished higher than 17th place through 11 races so far this season, and he sits in 27th in the championship standings.

If Kahne is truly serious about racing in IndyCar, the time is now for him to seriously think about competing in the series, the Indy 500, and potentially attempting the Memorial Day Double before his Cup Series career comes to an end.

Kahne participated in a test session at the Homestead Miami Speedway road course back in 2001 and had this to say about it, according to Racing Reference.

"“I really didn’t know what to expect. I’d never driven a car like it, especially on a road course. I was pretty nervous at the start, but all the guys from Team Rahal were really good at helping me to feel comfortable in the car. The power of the car and how quickly it accelerated and braked was just amazing. It really opened my eyes.”"

He stated the following a few months later, according to Racing Reference.

"“If I could get a lot of testing in over the winter, I’d love to run a Champ car in CART and also run the Indianapolis 500. That’s the only way I’d want to do it, though.”"

That obviously has not happened, but it still could (IndyCar, that is; not CART). Kahne has never driven competitively in IndyCar, but he has come close to doing so.

In 2011, he likely would have been the driver to compete to win $5 million in the IndyCar championship finale at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. However, he had previously signed with Hendrick Motorsports for the 2012 season to replace Mark Martin, and Rick Hendrick, the team owner and Kahne’s new boss, prevented him from doing so.

Dan Wheldon ended up being the driver to compete to win that $5 million prize, and he was tragically killed in a wreck early on in that race, which ended up being canceled. In essence, Hendrick may have saved Kahne’s life.

Kahne’s desire to drive in IndyCar has been evident throughout even more years than his entire NASCAR career has spanned. One of these years, he may just get the opportunity to attempt the Memorial Day Double. He certainly should.

Ryan Blaney

Ryan Blaney, 24, revealed toward the end of the 2017 NASCAR Cup Series season when he was still driving for Wood Brothers Racing that he would like to attempt the Memorial Day Double one day.

That day may certainly come for him, as it should. Last summer, Blaney signed a contract to become Team Penske’s third full-time driver in the Cup Series, and Team Penske are one of only two teams with full-time teams in both the Cup Series and IndyCar.

Here is what Blaney had to say about attempting the Memorial Day Double, according to Motorsport.com.

"“I would love to do it. I have a lot of respect for the people that have done it. That is a tough day of racing – 1,100 miles and the plane rides back and forth. When Kurt [Busch] and Tony [Stewart] did it, I thought that was really neat. It is something I have always wanted to do and hopefully I can do it one day. Maybe down the road. “The Penske group is pretty good at the Indy 500 so hopefully I will get that chance. My interest level is really high and I would love to do it to say I was a part of it and able to race that event.”"

Whether or not Blaney competes in the Memorial Day Double within the next year or so is not yet known. However, this would seem to be doubtful seeing as how Team Penske are limiting their Indy 500 lineup to just four drivers, as they are only adding three-time Indy 500 champion Helio Castroneves to their lineup as their fourth driver in addition to their three full-time drivers.

They even ruled out fielding two-time Indy 500 champion Juan Pablo Montoya as their fifth driver, so it would probably take an official retirement from either Castroneves, who plans to continue driving in the Indy 500 for several more years, or one of the team’s three full-time IndyCar drivers in order to make room for Blaney to compete in the Indy 500, unless, of course, they field five entries in the race in the near future like they did last year, which does not seem extremely likely within the next year or so.

Nevertheless, Blaney wants a chance to attempt the Memorial Day Double, and he has as good of a chance if not a better chance than anyone to get that opportunity given the fact that he drives for Team Penske.

Kyle Larson

While he will not be attempting the Memorial Day Double this year despite the fact that he has expressed a lot of interest in doing so in the past, even to potentially do so as early as last season, Kyle Larson remains the driver who is most likely to attempt the historic feat and he is the driver who should consider it more than anyone.