For years, Kyle Busch has wanted to do what his brother Kurt did in 2014: attempt the Memorial Day Double, first by competing in IndyCar's Indy 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and then by flying down to Charlotte Motor Speedway to compete in NASCAR's coca-Cola 600.
Kurt became the fourth driver to pull it off, and Kyle nearly became the fifth in 2017. But his deal ultimately fell through after Cup Series team owner Joe Gibbs reportedly prevented him from running the "Greatest Spectacle in Racing".
The Indy 500 has still been on his radar ever since, and he was reportedly in talks with Arrow McLaren about a one-off entry for 2023.
But the team opted to put a driver with an abundance of IndyCar and Indy 500 experience in their fourth car: 2004 IndyCar champion and 2013 Indy 500 winner Tony Kanaan, who made his 22nd and final start in the race that year.
However, despite their desire for a driver with significant IndyCar experience in that car in 2023, they fielded the fourth car for Kyle Larson, who had no past series experience, as he attempted the Memorial Day Double in 2024 and 2025.
So it was Larson, not Busch, who ended up becoming the fifth driver to attempt the Double.
McLaren confirm new Indy 500 driver, and it's not Kyle Busch
It has been pretty clear since the moment the 2025 Indy 500 ended (and, quite frankly, even since the moments before it started) that Larson would not be back in the race in 2026.
But it appears that the ship has sailed for Kyle Busch as well, as Arrow McLaren recently announced that 2012 IndyCar champion and 2014 Indy 500 winner Ryan Hunter-Reay is set to drive the fourth car in May.
Kyle is now 40 years old, so his window for doing an Indy 500 one-off is undoubtedly closing. Kurt was 35 when he made his IndyCar and Indy 500 debut in 2014. In 2027, which is now presumably the earliest Kyle would be able to run the race, he'd be 42.
Hunter-Reay is 44 years old himself, but he has competed in the race 17 times and was in contention for the win after leading 48 laps in 2025 with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing/Cusick Motorsports, only to be denied by a fueling issue during his final pit stop of the day.
A.J. Allmendinger, a full-time Cup Series driver who ran the Indy 500 in 2013, recently said that he believes the race is still on Busch's radar, but with every passing year, it becomes a lot less likely. And with the seat that Busch was most recently linked to already off the table for 2026, it is even less so.
Live coverage of the 110th running of the Indy 500 is set to be provided by Fox from Indianapolis Motor Speedway beginning at 11:00 a.m. ET on Sunday, May 24, 2026