Double Duty in May for Kurt Busch

Kurt Busch has talked about doing the Memorial Day double--racing the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 on the same day--for quite some time now.

As of today, he'll give the double a try.

Busch will attempt to become the fourth driver to complete the historic double, joining Robby Gordon, Tony Stewart and John Andretti, making his first career Indianapolis 500 qualifying attempt behind the wheel of an Andretti Autosport Indy car. 

"My dad, a Mac Tools distributor, and I would go to car shows and see Indy cars and he'd say, 'This is about as close as you'll ever get to one of these things' because it was so far removed from what we could dream as a small blue-collar family from Las Vegas," Busch said. "It's just the different opportunities that have come up in motorsports (that have led me) to this biggest moment outside of stock cars."

His entry will complete a stable of five for Michael Andretti's championship winning IndyCar team. It is not the first pairing of Busch and Andretti Autosport, however, as in 2013 Busch completed a test day at Indianapolis Motor Speedway with the team and in the process passed the mandated Rookie Orientation program effectively setting the possibility of the "Double" into motion.

"I went once to watch the '500' with Roger Penske when I first signed a contract with him to drive stock cars," Busch said. "To feel it, to experience it, I'm going to actually revert back to that to try to block out some of the emotional excitement of what it means to be part of the 500. To drive in it this year, nothing is going to compare, nothing can prepare or get me ready when they drop that green flag and 33 of us rush into Turn 1.

"That was a whole kid in a candy store moment of experiencing an open-wheel car at 220 mph," he said. "You can definitely get a different appreciation for the track and its heritage with an open-wheel car versus a stock car that I've done the last 15 years there. It got my mind going and my juices flowing on 'I want to do this.' The adrenaline and excitement was there, but last year just didn't seem like the right timing. Now 11 months of chewing on the fat and working on the details, I'm more excited than ever to do this."

What lies in front of Busch is a grueling challenge, not only on the race day itself - scheduled for Sunday, May 25 when Busch will race 1,100 miles in two races, in two cities, in two totally different cars, but in practicing and qualifying his Andretti Autosport Indy car in addition to competing in three NASCAR race weekends around Indianapolis 500 activities. The 35-year-old Busch will start the two-week Indy 500 stretch in Indianapolis May 11, fresh from the NASCAR race in Kansas. After spending the week testing the Honda-powered Indy car, Busch will log some serious air miles traveling between Indianapolis and Charlotte so he can qualify for the 500-mile race and practice and qualify for the NASCAR All-Star race and the 600. 

In total Busch will likely make more than 10 trips between the cities - the most important and time sensitive being race day. Race day will place Busch in Indianapolis in the morning for the noon start time of the Indianapolis 500 before he makes the trip to Charlotte for the 6 p.m. green flag.

While the "Double" will be a new experience for Busch, it will actually be Andretti Autosport's second time participating in the feat. Robby Gordon competed in both races in 2003, filling in at Indianapolis for an injured Dario Franchitti who at the time drove for Andretti Autosport. 

Busch, an advocate for and representative of The Armed Forces Foundation, will be dedicating his Memorial Day mission to those who continue to inspire him each day - the men and women serving around the world in the United States Military. Fans can show their support by texting AFF to 50555 to pledge $10 to the cause.