Kyle Busch Had a Deal Fall Through for an Indy 500 Run… Twice

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It’s now officially the Month of May, and on-track activity is set to begin this weekend for the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Most of the country has focused its attention on ‘The Greatest Spectacle in Racing’.

For the second straight year, NASCAR fans will see 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson attempting the Indianapolis 500, driving the No. 17 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet for Arrow McLaren.

Larson returns for the second year of his two-year contract with the team, after qualifying inside the top five last season, and finishing 18th after getting a pit road speeding penalty.

But, Kyle Larson isn’t the only NASCAR driver that has had the itch to run ‘The Double’

Two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch has always wanted to compete in the Indianapolis 500 and run ‘The Double’, but has never formally had the opportunity. Although, he’s been close on several occasions.

During Monday’s episode of Actions Detrimental with Denny Hamlin, Busch explained that he’s had two different opportunities to compete in the Indianapolis 500, both of which were pretty much signed, sealed, and delivered, before various circumstances took away that chance.

The Las Vegas, Nevada-native revealed that in 2017, all of the pieces were in place for an Indianapolis 500 run, with M&M’s as the primary sponsor, until Joe Gibbs – who was his car owner at the time – vetoed the opportunity.

“Chevrolet was okay with it, Toyota was okay with it, M&M’s was paying for it,” Busch said about the opportunity that was rejected.

Then, after Busch migrated from Joe Gibbs Racing to Richard Childress Racing, there was another opportunity for the 40-year-old driver to run in the Indianapolis 500, an opportunity that ultimately went to Kyle Larson in 2024.

“I had it signed, sealed, and delivered again and then Larson took it,” Busch said. “I won’t release the sponsor, but I had a sponsor talking to Zak Brown, the deal was done, and we were about ready to go to contract.”

Busch says that those talks went south when Brown informed the sponsor that they would need to purchase the car, and the sponsor didn’t want to. Before they could come to their senses, Kyle Larson and Hendrick Motorsports had already signed a two-year deal.

“Yeah, that would be – besides winning the DAYTONA 500 – but doing the Indianapolis 500 would certainly be [the highest thing on my bucket list],” Busch said.

For another opportunity to win the DAYTONA 500 or compete in the Indianapolis 500, Kyle Busch will have to wait until 2026.