“I found out Kyle Larson is human, after all.”
Initially, that might sound like a cheesy sentiment; something tongue-in-cheek from Jeff Gordon as an olive branch of support to a devastated Kyle Larson, who had just sped on pit road and cost himself a chance at a top 10 finish in the 2024 Indianapolis 500.
But really, that line, it has an unspoken symbolism: Kyle Larson is, indeed, human.
In the literal sense, we all knew that, obviously, but at a time when Larson was being held to a ridiculously high standard, and debate was carrying on daily about whether the Elk Grove, California-native was actually “The Greatest Race Car Driver in the World”, it was easy to place the NASCAR Cup Series champion on a superhuman pedestal.
Yet, even with that God-given talent that Larson has, and the confidence in himself that comes with it, there is still a side to the 33-year-old driver, like with any professional race car driver, that the fans don’t necessarily get to see; it’s the side that is upset when they lose, elated when they win, disappointed, angry, jealous, if you can name it, it’s probably been felt. Sometimes, when the helmet comes off, those emotions peak through, but as soon as the driver steps out of frame, the curtains close and the show ends.
This documentary is a peek behind that curtain.
Kyle Larson vs The Double is a film-length documentary that follows NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson as he attempts to do something only a handful of people on earth have even attempted: contesting the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600, two of America’s most prestigious auto races, on the same day.
The film is produced by Markay Media, Imagine Documentaries, NASCAR Studios, Hendrick Motorsports, and Penske Entertainment, and is directed by Emmy and Peabody Award-winning filmmaker Cynthia Hill. Prime Video will stream the documentary on a global stage, starting on Thursday, May 21.
Brian Grazer, Ron Howard, Sara Bernstein, Meredith Kaulfers, Justin Wilkes, Jeff Gordon, Tim Clark, and John Dahl are Executive Producers, with Cynthia Hill and Sandra Katherine Davidson serving as Producers.
As previously documented, the series follows NASCAR Cup Series star Kyle Larson as he attempts to compete in both the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on the same day – a 1,100-mile gauntlet that has been dubbed “The Double”. It’s something so rare that only four other people in the world have successfully competed in both events on the same day – Tony Stewart, Robby Gordon, John Andretti, and Kurt Busch.
Larson tried it not once, but twice.
Now, to put that into terms for people unfamiliar with motorsports, imagine this: Tom Brady is playing in the Super Bowl at Noon, finishes the game, flies down the East Coast, and then plays in the World Series at 6:00 PM. Now, while reading this, you’re almost certainly saying, “Tom Brady doesn’t play Baseball…”, yeah, Kyle Larson didn’t drive an IndyCar, either.
From the moment it was conceptualized and announced (2023), to the planning, the logistics, and the execution of running “The Double” (testing, practice, qualifying, plus lots and lots of meetings), to the toll it took on the personal life of Larson and his family, you see EVERYTHING short of intellectual property, all the way until the checkered flag of the 2025 Coca-Cola 600.
Did things go to plan? Of course not, they never do. Mother Nature played a cruel, recurring role in this story, and delayed the start of the Indianapolis 500 in back-to-back years, making what was already a logistical nightmare even more ghastly. The first year, Larson didn’t even get to run laps in his NASCAR Cup Series car, because as he put it, “the same storm that [expletive]ed me in Indianapolis, [expletive]ed me in Charlotte.”
That first failed attempt almost derailed his season, too, when NASCAR spent a week deliberating on whether the driver of the No. 5 HendrickCars.com would be allowed to make the Playoffs – with the rules saying that a driver had to attempt all races to be eligible. So, fast-forward a year, and after that close-call, NASCAR was the priority.
The second time around wasn’t much better. The start of the Indianapolis 500 was delayed, and by the time the green flag dropped, it was almost guaranteed that Larson would have to get out of the car at some point to fly to Charlotte – but he’d hoped he would be jumping behind the pit wall, and not into the medical truck as he did after a crash. He made it to Charlotte, this time, but the Coca-Cola 600 was just as much of a disaster, crashing twice and failing to finish the race, making him the first driver to wreck out of both legs of ‘The Double’.
All the planning, the anticipation, and the excitement surrounding the attempt slowly faded into disappointment, sadness, and anger. As time passed, and “The Double” was documented, the smile on Larson’s face crept away and turned into everything short of tears.
If Kyle Larson and “The Double” entered the octagon for a prizefight, it would have been a first-round knockout. “The Double” had humbled Kyle Larson, or at the very least humanized him. But, as the title Kyle Larson vs The Double would suggest, this attempt at this special Memorial Day Weekend gauntlet is just one part of the story.
Larson’s entire career – getting discovered by Chip Ganassi, winning in the NASCAR Cup Series, the online racing incident that just about took everything away, and his redemption arc with Hendrick Motorsports – all of the major plot points are laid out through tangents, backstories, and interviews with people close to the larger-than-life figure, just like they would be in a traditional biopic.
It’s that level of storytelling that provides the WHY. Why Kyle Larson is who he is today. Why Kyle Larson pushes himself to be the best version of himself possible. And honestly, after the back-to-back Memorial Day Weekends from hell, why Kyle Larson probably isn’t going to be doing “The Double” again.
Photo: Amazon MGM Studios
