By David G. Firestone
Just a brief column this week, since I have other things to focus on. So I’ve been holding back on this one for a bit, but I’ve been wanting to talk about this for some time. For the last two seasons, Kyle Larson has attempted to run The Double, both the Indy 500 and the Coca Cola 600 on the same day. This has been tried by a number of drivers, with varying degrees of success. But the question that needs to be asked is: Is it a good idea to run The Double?
Simple question, simple answer, no. No it is not a good idea to run the double. Racing drivers are built different than the rest of us, that’s never been up to debate. But there are personal glass ceilings for everyone, and the human body has its limits. Even the best and most in-shape drivers shouldn’t be allowed to run 1,100 miles of racing over the course of 8 hours and over 200 MPH. No matter how good you think you are, the after-effects of that amount of physical exertion will catch up with you eventually.
My other issue with the idea of running The Double is that Kyle is fighting for a championship in The Cup Series. Even with multiple wins on the season, a wreck can do a lot of damage for a championship hunt. Even a playoff waiver can’t undo the damage that a wreck can do to the human body. If he was a part timer, that might be one thing, since he could take some time to recover afterwards. But he had go back to the track the next weekend.
As a driver, your safety should be your number one priority. Pushing yourself beyond your toughest limits, while admirable, could see the end of your career. No matter how safe you think your car is, there is always something that can go wrong. No matter how good you think you are, you are just as human, and just as mortal, as anyone else.
I want Kyle to have a long and prosperous career. I want him to succeed, but I think he really needs to give up on The Double if he wants a good career.
The Driver Suit Blog 