Kyle Larson's Memorial Day Double attempt did not officially become a Memorial Day Double attempt last year, as the Indy 500 was delayed by rain at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and by the time the race ended, the Coca-Cola 600 had already started.
And by the time Larson arrived at Charlotte Motor Speedway, that race had also been halted due to rain, and it ended up being shortened. It never resumed, meaning that Larson did not ever actually get to drive the No. 5 Chevrolet in it.
For the second year in a row, the 2021 Cup Series champion is attempting to become the fifth driver to run the Memorial Day Double and the first since Kurt Busch in 2014. He is once again set to compete in the Indy 500 for Arrow McLaren through a partnership with Hendrick Motorsports, his Cup Series team.
The Indy 500 is scheduled to go green shortly after 12:30 p.m. ET, meaning that if the 200-lap race around the four-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) Speedway, Indiana is run as planned, there should not be any issues getting Larson to Charlotte in time for the 400-lap race around the four-turn, 1.5-mile (2.414-kilometer) Concord, North Carolina oval at 6:00 p.m. ET.
Indy 500 weather update is not promising
The weather forecast for Speedway has looked great all week. But according to The Weather Channel, that is no longer the case. There is now a 60% chance of rain throughout the day on Sunday, with The Weather Channel calling for "overcast" conditions "with rain showers at times".
Any delays whatsoever could make things difficult for Larson, and unlike last year, the Coca-Cola 600 is his priority, thanks to an offseason (and kind of ridiculous) NASCAR rule change.
Tony Kanaan is officially Larson's Indy 500 backup driver, but if Larson actually starts the race, Kanaan would immediately become ineligible to take over for him behind the wheel of the No. 17 Chevrolet.
Of course, there are still conflicting reports about the weather, which is no surprise. AccuWeather, for instance, calls for only a 3% chance of precipitation, predicting "cool with times of clouds and sun". In other words, it would be a perfect day for racing.
Truth be told, it's still anybody's guess, which is sort of implied when you consider the fact that we're looking at predicting the weather in Indiana in the month of May.
We have literally seen races run with no weather-related delays whatsoever, despite forecasts predicting a 100% chance of rain.
Still, given what happened last year, the fact that rain could once again alter the schedule for the "Greatest Spectacle in Racing" is alarming for those who want to see Larson run the "Hendrick 1,100" and become just the second driver to run all 1,100 miles in a single day. Unlike last year, Larson does not enter this year with a "Double" deal in place for next year.
At least the weather forecast for Concord is perfect this time around.
The 109th running of the Indy 500 is set to be shown live on Fox from Indianapolis Motor Speedway beginning at 10:00 a.m. ET on Sunday, May 25 (begin a free trial of FuboTV now!), and the Coca-Cola 600 is set to be shown live on Amazon Prime Video from Charlotte Motor Speedway beginning at 6:00 p.m. ET later that evening.