Kyle Busch has long been viewed as someone who could attempt The Double. As it turns out, he had an opportunity before someone else told him no.
Busch revealed during an appearance on Denny Hamlin's "Actions Detrimental" podcast that he had an opportunity to run The Double after winning his first Cup championship. He was set to attempt the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on the same day, that is, until his former boss shut the notion down.
"I had an opportunity done, signed, sealed, delivered," Busch said. "...2017, I had it; it was all done. M&M's was gonna do it. Guess who said no?"
At this point, Hamlin jumped in and provided the answer. "Joe Gibbs."
Busch continued, saying, "Chevrolet was ok with it, Toyota was ok with it, M&M's was paying for it."
This was not the only opportunity that Busch had to complete The Double. In fact, he revealed that he was about to go to contract after moving to Richard Childress Racing. He had the sponsor talking to Arrow McLaren IndyCar Team, and he viewed the deal as sealed.
However, two road bumps appeared. The first was Arrow McLaren telling the unnamed sponsor that they needed to buy the tub, also known as the chassis, instead of simply sponsoring it.
The other speed bump is that Busch was only going to sign a one-year deal. Kyle Larson was willing to sign a two-year deal, which played a role in the Hendrick Motorsports driver ultimately landing the seat.
Larson already attempted The Double once as weather disrupted both the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600. He will attempt to do so again this season while reuniting with Arrow McLaren.
If either of these deals had worked out, Busch would have been the second member of his family to attempt The Double. Older brother Kurt previously did so in 2014. He won Indy 500 Rookie of the Year after finishing sixth in the prestigious race, but failed to complete the Coca-Cola 600 due to an engine failure.