Winning Charlotte, Indy proving an impossible feat

With Sprint Cup regular John Andretti making the Indianapolis 500 field in a Richard Petty-owned car this May, perhaps this is as good a time as any to look back on the connection shared between NASCAR drivers and the self-proclaimed Greatest Spectacle in Racing.

There are 20 drivers with at least 30 Cup starts and one appearance in the Indianapolis 500. Included in that list are 500 winners A.J. Foyt, Juan Montoya, Sam Hornish Jr., Johnny Rutherford and Parnelli Jones. Former Indy 500 rookies of the year like Jim Hurtubise, Bobby Allison, Tim Richmond and Tony Stewart.

Charlotte Motor Speedway planned to run its inaugural 600-miler on Memorial Day weekend in 1960, but the track wasn't completed in time and the race was pushed back three weeks. However, starting in 1961, the World 600 became stock-car racing's companion race to Indy. And because the two races were usually scheduled on separate dates, it wasn't long before the folks down south took an interest in attempting both in the same year.

According to the well-researched Johnson's Indy 500 site, Junior Johnson was the first NASCAR driver to give the Indy-Charlotte double a shot in 1963, failing to qualify at the Brickyard but finishing second at Charlotte three days later. In 1965, NASCAR regular Bobby Johns skipped Charlotte and finished seventh at Indy. One year later, Cale Yarborough made his Indy 500 debut -- passing on the World 600 -- and wound up getting caught up in a multi-car accident just as the field took the green flag. He was credited with 28th.

In 1967, Yarborough became the first driver to actually run both races in the same year. He finished 41st at Charlotte on Sunday and 17th at Indy on Tuesday, which wound up being run over two consecutive days because of rain. Jerry Grant completed the double the next year, finishing 12th at Charlotte and 23rd at Indianapolis four days later.

Donnie Allison in 1970

Indy/Charlotte

Run in both (same year)

Driver	Year
Junior Johnson	1963
Cale Yarborough	1967
Jerry Grant	1968
LeeRoy Yarbrough	1969
Donnie Allison	1970
Donnie Allison	1971
John Andretti*	1994
Robby Gordon*	1997
Tony Stewart*	1999
Tony Stewart*	2001
Robby Gordon*	2002
Robby Gordon*	2003
Robby Gordon*	2004

* Both races on same day

Twice, winners of the World 600 have attempted to repeat the feat at Indianapolis. On May 25, 1969, Lee Roy Yarbrough led 274 laps, including the final 238 for a two-lap victory in front of Donnie Allison at Charlotte. Five days later, he started eighth at Indianapolis and was running among the leaders when he retired with a split header after 65 laps, leaving him 23rd.

Of all the drivers who have attempted the double, Donnie Allison's 1970 effort might have been the best overall. When David Pearson's clutch went out with less than 40 laps remaining, Allison assumed the lead and went on to win the World 600 by a two-lap advantage in front of Yarborough. As a 500 rookie, Allison started 23rd in one of A.J. Foyt's team cars but consistently worked his way through the field. Even though Al Unser dominated the race, leading all but 10 laps, Allison finished fourth, one of five cars that completed the entire distance.

Allison nearly equaled his 1970 success the following season, finishing sixth in the Indianapolis 500 on Saturday, then winding up second behind brother Bobby at Charlotte on Sunday.

In 1974, the Indianapolis 500 was held on Sunday for the first time in its history, placing it head-to-head with the World 600. It would stay that way until Charlotte Motor Speedway added lights in 1992 and moved the 600-miler to an evening starting time the following year. In 1994, Andretti announced that he would attempt to run both races on the same day -- and he did just that, finishing 10th at the Brickyard, flying to Charlotte and winding up 36th with an engine failure later that evening.

Robby Gordon added his name to the list of drivers completing the same-day double in 1997, although both races were riddled with rain delays. He crashed out of the 600 and fire ended his run at Indy two days later.

After suffering from fatigue and dehydration after trying the double in 1999, Tony Stewart vowed never to attempt it again. But the lure of having your likeness etched on the Borg-Warner Trophy proved too much for the Indiana native, and in 2001, he gave it another shot. With an intense fitness and dietary regimen, this time Stewart completed all 1,100 miles -- finishing sixth at Indy and third at Charlotte.

Gordon then attempted the double for three consecutive years, beginning in 2002. He was most successful that year, finishing eighth at Indy and 16th -- one lap down -- at Charlotte. But a broken gearbox hampered his efforts at Indy in 2003, and then a rain delay in 2004 forced him to abandon his open-wheel ride after 27 laps in order to make the connection to North Carolina.

When Indianapolis pushed the starting time of its race back an hour in 2005, it created a difficult travel scenario between the two sites. So in the near term, it's highly unlikely that another driver will join Andretti, Gordon and Stewart in attempting to run both races in the same day.