Kurt Busch to do Indy 500-NASCAR double

NASCAR driver Kurt Busch is doing the double. He announced on Tuesday that he will attempt to run the Indianapolis 500 as well as the NASCAR Sprint Cup race, the Coco-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 25.

Busch will be driving a fifth car for Andretti Autosport, which is owned by Michael Andretti. He has been trying to make this happen for a year now. Last year he completed the Indy 500 rookie test at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Even though he finished the rookie orientation program, he was unable to get a ride for last years 500, according to NASCAR.com. Indycar rookie Carlos Munoz finished second in last years 500, which made Busch want do to the double even more.

To me, I've always just tried to challenge myself in motorsports, and to be a student of all kind of cars -- dirt tracks, road courses, superspeedways, short track, open wheel, and of course, our stock cars," Busch said. "That's my love, my passion, and it's in my blood. And it's a chance to challenge myself, to do something physically and mentally as a driver, and show how tough NASCAR drivers are."

Busch won’t run an Indycar race before the 500. Attempting the double is hard as there are scheduling issues that need to be taken care of.However Busch does have support from Stewart-Hass Racing, the team he drives for as well as Indycar.Having a NASCAR driver in the Indy 500 is huge because the Indycar series doesn't have as big a fan base as NASCAR does. The Indy 500 is suppose top have the best drivers in the world, and NASCAR drives are some of the best driveers out there. It also gives NASCAR and Indycar lots of publicity and exposure as Busch tries to complete something that's hard to do.

Busch becomes just the fourth driver to attempt the double. John Andretti, Robby Gordon, and Stewart are the other three, and the double hasn’t been attempted since 2004, according to the Associated Press. Stewart is the only one to complete the double, completing all 1,100 miles in 2001. Busch launched a website, kurtbuschdouble.com, which will tracks his efforts at the double.