IndyCar, Cup Series worlds collide Sunday, with Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600
By Bob Pockrass
FOX Sports NASCAR Writer
The annual day for motorsports to take center stage in the U.S. sports world comes Sunday, as two of the biggest events take place over 1,100 miles of racing in circles.
The Indianapolis 500, the premier event in the IndyCar Series, starts the afternoon from Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Then the Coca-Cola 600, the longest and one of the most prestigious races on the NASCAR circuit, goes green in the early evening and runs deep into the night.
There was a time when drivers would attempt to do both races in the same day, a true test of racing stamina and ability. Tony Stewart remains the only driver to complete all the laps of both races, finishing sixth at Indianapolis and third in Charlotte in 2001.
The two series share some common elements – primarily team ownership, as three Cup teams (Chip Ganassi Racing, Team Penske and Rick Ware Racing) also have entries in the Indy 500 – but the question as to when will they have more synergies remains.
With Roger Penske purchasing IndyCar and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway prior to the 2020 season, there was hope that it could push for more working together between the United States' biggest open-wheel and stock-car sanctioning bodies.
The biggest test could come in August, when IndyCar and NASCAR will race the Indianapolis Road Course on the same weekend. The Xfinity and IndyCar races will run Saturday, Aug. 14, and the Cup teams will race Aug. 15. Last year, with no fans at the track, IndyCar and Xfinity ran on the road course during the weekend, but Cup ran on the oval.
This year, with fans and all series on the same course, it should increase the interest, especially because the Cup drivers and IndyCar drivers should be able to interact more than last year, when pandemic protocols kept them from really mingling.
"It's great for NASCAR. It's great for IndyCar," IndyCar driver Graham Rahal said. "It's great for the fans, most importantly, for everybody to be there at one time and be able to enjoy it together."
Seven-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson is competing in all IndyCar road-course races this year.
"We're all racers," Rahal said. "I definitely think guys like Jimmie have helped close that gap because of Jimmie's love and interest in IndyCar racing. ... His love and interest in IndyCar racing has closed that gap and kind of opened a door."
No driver has announced the intention to do both IndyCar and one of the stock-car races. Santino Ferrucci is running a partial schedule in the Xfinity Series this year, as well as the Indianapolis 500. Rick Ware Racing driver Cody Ware tested an IndyCar earlier this year in preparation for the Indy 500 but couldn’t get a deal put together.
The one thing many can agree upon is that the more they work together, the more the potential growth increases for all motorsports. Both sanctioning bodies are looking to expand their fan bases.
"It’s great to bring our fans and IndyCar fans together," said Michael McDowell, a Cup veteran who was on an IndyCar path in his youth. "They’re a very different show, and they’re a very different race, so to be able to bring fans to both of them and be able to do it together, I think, is great."
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The IndyCar machines are much lighter and have better braking, so they will maneuver much better through the road course than the Cup and Xfinity cars.
"Just being able to put on a great show for the fans and give them a variety of things is entertaining and fun," McDowell said. "It’s exciting for us just to be there on the same weekend and to be able to run another road course."
Two drivers who will race in the Coke 600 on Sunday have an Indy 500 start under their belts: Kurt Busch and James Davison.
Some NASCAR drivers, such as William Byron, who grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina, don’t have a deep knowledge of IndyCar but have crossed paths with IndyCar drivers at various events and while training. Byron trains at the same facility as Indy 500 polesitter Scott Dixon.
"I’ve grown in appreciation for it," Byron said. "I can’t say that I know everything that I watch or know everything that’s going on, but I definitely try to catch the end of the race as we get ready for the 600.
"It just kind of varies based on timing. It’s a really cool day to have both of us competing."
For a car manufacturer such as Chevrolet, which pours millions into both series, seeing them together is a priority.
"[NASCAR] have really been working with us on things they can do to strengthen the schedule, and doing a duel race was on our list," Chevrolet’s Jim Campbell said. "Obviously, we’re vested in both sports.
"That’s going to be huge for us. It’s going to be great for fans to see two series, same track. ... I’d love to see more of that."
So would Joey Logano.
"Who wants to see the same race over and over again?" he said. "You have different cars, different things, and that's what keeps it entertaining."
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What to watch for
Watch for the drivers who led most of the laps in the two Charlotte oval races last year: Alex Bowman (215), Martin Truex Jr. (87) and Chase Elliott (66). For the win? Elliott is the most recent winner at Charlotte, and Truex has won two of the past five races.
Kyle Larson’s first Charlotte race in a Hendrick car could also be something to see, considering Larson’s finishing second the past two races at Darlington, Dover and Circuit of the Americas.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. has two top-5s in the past three Charlotte oval races. Ryan Blaney finished third in both Charlotte races last year.
Thinking out loud
The Cup Series' 600-mile race this weekend is 100-200 miles too long. And that’s OK.
It is fine to have one marathon during the season. It is a unique race on a holiday weekend – who needs to get up early Monday morning, anyway? And it gives the NASCAR race an identity as it follows the biggest race in motorsports, the Indianapolis 500.
In general, though, short races could definitely be better. Any race that goes longer than three hours – except for the Daytona 500, the Southern 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 – should have its distance reconsidered.
But the 600? This is a race of tradition, and though the cars don’t have the failures they used to have 20 or 30 years ago, when it was a true battle of attrition and the ability to build a car to last 600 miles, this is one long, long, long, long race that make some sense.
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They said it
"You also need to eat at some point during the race, whether it’s, like, energy chews or stuff like that." — William Byron on the Coke 600
Bob Pockrass has spent decades covering motorsports, including the past 30 Daytona 500s. He joined FOX Sports in 2019 following stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram @bobpockrass. Looking for more NASCAR content? Sign up for the FOX Sports NASCAR Newsletter with Bob Pockrass!
Chip Ganassi Racing Team Penske Rick Ware Racing
