May 24 is the day every motorsport fan will be glued to their screens because there isn’t just one but three massive races on the day, all happening across the North American continent. 

Formula 1 will run its Grand Prix in Montreal, while the Greatest Spectacle in Racing gets underway with the Indianapolis 500, followed by NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte. Fans will have their eyes on the Indy 500 and the 600 as a sixth driver and the first-ever female driver will attempt the Double Duty, aka the 1100. 

Katherine Legge, the 45-year-old British trailblazer, looks to add another historic record to her stellar career. The ‘Double-Duty’ was initiated by John Andretti, who attempted to do the 500 miles of Indianapolis and the 600 miles of Charlotte, the race which was shifted to the evening after CMS installed lights. 

Only five drivers have attempted the Memorial Day Double, with Robby Gordon attempting it five times, Kyle Larson falling short twice, and Kurt Busch coming the closest in 2014, finishing all 200 laps of the Indy500, but an engine failure prevented him from finishing the 600. 

Tony Stewart is the only one to succeed with his 2001 attempt. His second attempt finished 6th at the Indy500 and 3rd at Charlotte. If Legge is successful in her attempt with HMD Racing and AJ Foyt Racing in the #11 Chevrolet at Indianapolis and Live Fast Motorsports’ #78 Chevrolet at Charlotte, she will only be the second driver and the first female driver to do it.

The difficulty with the Double is two-fold: firstly, the weather. If the IndyCar race is delayed, it messes with the driver's timeline to make it to Charlotte in time after a chaotic travel routine.

Secondly, the endurance factor. Drivers will have to complete the 500 miles of Indianapolis and 600 miles of Charlotte, all while being on the lead lap of both races. 

For both races, she will be supported by e.l.f. Cosmetics, her long-time partners. And also by Larson himself.

Kyle Larson voices support for Legge after his unsuccessful attempts

Larson was asked what kind of challenges Legge would face if she made the attempt and said, “I think it would be awesome if she could do it. I believe first female and the only female to have done it, so that would be great. The challenges, as everybody was aware of mine, is the weather.”

The Memorial Day double has been an intriguing one for the past couple of years because of HMS’ Kyle Larson attempting the double in 2024 and 2025. Larson’s plan was simple: get on a chopper after the Indy 500, board a private jet to Charlotte, and then a helicopter to the infield, making it into the car with just enough time to the start.

In 2024, the Indy 500 was delayed due to rain. While he finished the race, by the time he made it to Charlotte, Justin Allgaier had taken the start in Larson’s #5 Chevrolet. The rain prevented the race from going any further. 

The 2025 attempt saw Larson’s Arrow McLaren crash on lap 92 while he was involved in a crash at the Coca-Cola 600 that meant he would only finish 338 laps in his HMS Chevrolet.

Lason finished by saying, “The driving is a challenge on its own, but ultimately it is the weather that can put a damper on things.”

Read more at the RFK Racing Digest!

Written by

Debrup Chaudhuri

Edited by

Suyashdeep Sason