Memorial Day weekend plays host to arguably, three of the biggest races on the motor racing calender. It all kicks off with the Formula One aces taking there shots on the tight and twisting street course in the Principality of Monaco. The men and women of Indianapolis then take center stage with “The Greatest Spectacle In Racing”, The Indianapolis 500 mile race. The night cap brings us to the hub of NASCAR where the season’s marathon race, the Coca Cola 600 goes into the wee hours of the night. In the past, many drivers have attempted to run both the Indy 500 and the Coca Cola 600 on the same day. But recently, no driver has made an attempt at the famous feat.
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[/media-credit]With so many current NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers with some form of open wheel experience, many race fans wonder why we haven’t seen the double. Drivers such as; Tony Stewart, Robby Gordon, A.J. Allmendinger, Kasey Kahne, Jeff Gordon, even Dale Earnhardt Jr and Jimmie Johnson are drivers that fans wonder why they haven’t done it. All of these men have said previously that they would love to take a swing at Indianapolis and Charlotte. But why haven’t they done it?
With all the pressure involved today driving in NASCAR, it isn’t likely that we will see a full time NASCAR driver do the double. With all the media and sponsor obligations that are required for a driver to just drive in NASCAR, it would be too much to juggle and be competitive in one, let alone both. The issue of travel also comes into play. Although Indy has moved their start time back to the original one, the driver attempting to get back to Charlotte would have a long night ahead of them as they would miss the drivers meeting and start in the back. And what if they said driver wins the Indy 500!? They would have to do all the photos and the traditional interviews that go with winning the race. It would just be too much to handle now days with how much more media attention and pressure is on each and every one of these drivers in both series.
Tony Stewart has been very add in saying that in order to do both things well, you need to be full time in both racing series. Seeing a driver that would run both the IZOD Indy Car Series and the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series would be truly astonishing. But the chances of something like that happening are slimmer than a piece of paper. As much as race car drivers love to race anything they can get their hands on, there is no foreseeable way that one driver can run full time in two of the biggest racing series in the world.
Seeing drivers attempt to run two crown jewel races in the same day is a site that both fans and media members would love to see. It would make for a capitulating story of a man (or Danica) trying to accomplish the unthinkable dream of winning the Indianapolis 500 and then winning the marathon race in North America’s most popular racing series. But unfortunately, the dream of that story may have to wait for a driver with the right opportunity to do it. When that will happen, no one knows.
I agree with what you are saying. As for the Robby Gordon thing, yes he’s able to win truck races while being in NASCAR but his performances in NASCAR have been greatly diminished over the years. Not saying that it’s a direct result of the truck racing but it may be part of it because of the focus you must have on one series in order to win and run well.
My basis on this was many drivers just not wanting to try it because they were doubting their ability to do well in both.
Really wish we would see it again though
So I guess that it would be impossible for AJ Foyt to win LeMans or the Daytona 500 while competing full time in the Indycar series. Or Mario Andretti to win the 24 Hours and Daytona 500 while running Indycars. More recently, it’s obscene to think that Robby Gordon could win truck races while still involved with NASCAR.
It all comes down to one thing. Chevy refuses to let their drivers run in a series that uses Honda engines, while Honda (cue Danica Patrick) has no issues with their drivers running in a Chevy.
Some things will change next year when Chevy goes to Indy. But not entirely. Some owners are afraid that their meal ticket will get hurt running somewhere else. That will gradually change as driver contracts are renewed. Danica will surely run Indy for a few years because it’s unlikely that missing the World 600 will impact her chances for a Cup championship.
Tony Stewart will never run Indy because he was a winner when the pond was filled with small fish. Also because his teammate was killed at Indy and he was deeply affected. I’m sure he’d like to snag Danica for his team and attain an Indy win as an owner.