A new Prime Video documentary, “Kyle Larson vs. The Double,” follows Larson’s attempt to race 1,100 miles in a single day between the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600—showing not just the technical grind, but the scandal aftermath, family stakes, and the
When Kyle Larson is finally strapped in and the engines start to breathe. the idea has always sounded almost impossible: complete 1. 100 miles on the same day between the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600. In the documentary “Kyle Larson vs. The Double. ” that challenge plays like a countdown to disappointment. because from the first scenes. the film insists on one thing—this was never the clean story anyone hoped it would be.
The documentary follows Larson’s bid across multiple states and historic tracks. and it’s explicit about the toll behind the spectacle. It opens by noting that what was supposed to be seven months of filming turned into more than two years. That extra time isn’t just production trivia. It’s part of the point: the “Double” attempt wasn’t one smooth run—it was a long unraveling that followed Larson through preparation. setbacks. and the emotional cost of chasing a rare feat.
The film doesn’t gloss over the uncomfortable parts of the journey. including the 2020 scandal that derailed Larson’s NASCAR career. The documentary revisits when Larson was caught on a hot mic saying the n-word while iRacing. It recounts the suspension from NASCAR and the fact that he was fired by Chip Ganassi Racing. Even Larson’s father weighs in during the documentary, saying he was disappointed in Kyle for that moment.
Then the story shifts gears—toward the people who live with the consequences.
Throughout, the documentary features Larson’s wife, Katelyn, and their children: Owen, Audrey, and Cooper. At one point. Owen talks about how his dad misses a lot of his own races. and Larson laments the same reality. The family dynamic is shown in small. telling moments: a teaching scene at a local track where Kyle and Katelyn walk Owen through an on-track setback.
There are also details that widen the frame beyond racing. The documentary explores the family history behind Larson’s middle name, Miyata, and explains that Larson’s grandparents were sent to internment camps during World War II.
All of it feeds the question the film keeps returning to: why attempt the Indy-Charlotte Double at all?
Larson says. “Racing is everything I’ve ever known. ” and the documentary pairs that line with numerous videos that it uses to foreshadow his path. Once you watch the buildup. the documentary suggests the challenge wasn’t something he could walk away from—even if the odds of failure were always part of the plan.
Before the first “Double,” the documentary leans into how much learning it demanded. As Larson prepares for his 2024 Indianapolis 500 debut, the film shows how far his world is from stock-car routine. Larson had no idea how a weight jacker worked and was unfamiliar with in-car adjustments. Tony Kanaan—who is shown guiding him—appears as a steady presence while Larson tries to absorb everything from new systems to how the car behaves.
In multiple sequences, Larson is seen at the GM Technical Center on the sim and at the Arrow McLaren HQ. He practices pit stops, learns the purpose of every button and knob on the steering wheel, and gets the kind of repetition that makes the later mistakes feel even harder to watch.
The expectations are shown, too—described as unrealistically high, including remarks that Larson might win both races.
At the Brickyard. Larson keeps asking questions as he works through the gearing and the relationship between brake-pedal travel and stopping power on the 2.5-mile oval. He tells viewers he isn’t “scared of anything,” but the documentary still portrays Indianapolis as daunting. Right before he’s set to qualify, Rinus VeeKay slams the wall.
During Larson’s first Q run, the film shows momentum—then suddenly, it cuts to a different kind of failure. Larson bails on the final lap due to an alarm signaling a potential problem. Confusion and frustration ripple from the pit box as the team tries to figure out whether anything is actually wrong. and the documentary emphasizes that Larson didn’t even cross the finish line to complete the run. For a NASCAR Cup champion, it’s another hard lesson—this time on Indy time.
Later that day, Larson finds redemption and reaches the Top 12 Shootout. The documentary also captures his NASCAR team watching closely on TV as they prepare for the All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro. Larson later says that was the coolest part for him, because it was new.
Race day is where the documentary turns the “Double” from a challenge into a stress test.
Weather delays the start of the Indy 500, and the film makes the panic feel immediate. Larson realizes that if they stay in Indianapolis, he’ll miss the Coca-Cola 600. Hendrick’s top brass goes back-and-forth over what to do. Back in Charlotte. crew chief Cliff Daniels is shown talking to NASCAR officials about how hard they’ll try to get Larson to the track for a mid-race swap.
On the grid, Larson appears fine. In the documentary’s voiceover, he says he was not. He says he was trying to fake a smile and pretend to be happy while inside he was a mess—thinking about the team he was letting down in Charlotte.
Even once the racing begins, the learning curve continues. Larson questions the team about restart procedures. Then the day almost flips into something like control: despite that confusion, he runs inside the top ten late in the Indy 500.
That is until a speeding penalty on the final pit stop.
The documentary records Zak Brown—McLaren’s boss—asking. “Did that just f*** our race?” Kanaan lowers his head as the good day is ripped away. Larson talks about wanting to make everyone around him happy and feeling guilt when he lets people down. and the speeding penalty lands in that exact emotional spot. He becomes a spectator in the closing laps, riding around 18th just trying not to influence the finish.
After the checkered flag, as the team rushes to Charlotte, Jeff Gordon says he “found out Kyle Larson is human after all.” Gordon’s line comes right before the documentary pivots into the next escalation.
As the team pushes forward, Larson keeps berating himself for the mistake. The film shows him more determined to get back behind the wheel of his Cup car and end the night on a high note. He arrives as the rain that delayed Indy impacts Charlotte. and the documentary frames the timing like a brief chance at salvation. Storms move out, fans cheer, and there are hugs all around.
But the very next scene is Larson sitting in the pit box as rain falls and lightning flashes in the background. After an agonizing wait, the race doesn’t resume. Larson fails to complete a single lap of the 600.
The documentary portrays that moment as soul-crushing. Gordon says he had never seen Larson so dejected.
What follows is a tense back-and-forth over the merits of the NASCAR waiver—whether NASCAR’s sanctioning body should deem Larson ineligible for the championship after failing to start every race. After a long wait, the decision is made.
To close out Part 1 of the Indy 500 journey, the showrunner tries to give Larson a positive ending: Larson returns to the speedway later that year and wins NASCAR’s Brickyard 400. It still lands with a shadow, though—there’s unfinished business. The “Double” story isn’t over.
The documentary moves into the second attempt with an ominous vibe. It also shows it wasn’t designed as a two-year odyssey from the start—the 2025 attempt isn’t given as much depth as the 2024 run, but it still gets its own set of hard lessons.
There’s a montage of similar preparation: exercise regimen, travel back-and-forth, and hope for a smoother run. But 2025 delivers the opposite experience. Kanaan points out Larson “joined the club” as he crashes for the first time while driving an IndyCar. Kanaan also warns him. “this place can really take a big toll on anyone. ” and the documentary lets those words hang before showing the results.
This second run leads to changes on two fronts. The documentary says that within NASCAR, missing a race means a loss of critical playoff points. Inside the team, Rick Hendrick makes it clear that Larson cannot miss the 600 again—even if he’s leading at Indianapolis with time running out.
Weather returns as the threat again.
The film shows Larson sitting in the car as rain spits down, and it depicts Arrow McLaren engineers debating how much information to share with him about the weather delay. Larson is visibly anxious.
When the race eventually gets underway, the second Indy 500 start doesn’t last. During the first stop, Larson stalls in the pits. Then he goes into the wrong gear, wrecks on a Lap 92 restart, and ends the dream.
Larson recalls what he told himself in the moment, saying, “You idiot, the first opportunity of the race you just f*** it up.”
This time, Larson does get to start the 600. The documentary portrays him as angry, upset, and determined to win that race. He takes the lead early, but just 43 laps into NASCAR’s longest race, he hits the wall and spins out.
Cliff Daniels shouts at a Prime camera operator as the team assesses the damage, saying, “Get out of my f****** way.” The crew pushes on, but the documentary shows they are later taken out in a separate wreck when another car spins across the track.
The result is another double-DNF. The documentary says Larson completed just 595 of the 1,100 miles he hoped to complete, ending the day with a double DNF.
Ahead of the 2024 race, Larson had said his biggest fear was failing to finish both races. In 2025, that fear becomes real.
In the documentary, Larson says, “I can’t believe that it’s real. You’re just hopeful you’re going to wake up from some dream and you get to start the day all over.” He laments the failure and the bad luck. returning again to the theme he keeps repeating: wanting the experience to be good for those around him.
He desperately wanted a “happy ending,” the film shows. Fate doesn’t grant one.
The documentary offers one clear takeaway from the wreckage. Larson says the only positive he takes is what the attempts taught him about how “tough” the challenge is. and he frames his courage in a way that doesn’t turn the whole story into a blank page. He prided himself on being one of the few willing to risk themselves. their reputation. and “their sanity” in pursuit of the Indy-Charlotte Double.
He says he may regret mistakes, but he will never regret the decision to attempt the Double. Since then, the documentary says Larson has ruled out a third attempt at the Double, though he would like to return to Indianapolis—after his NASCAR career.
As a documentary, “Kyle Larson vs. the Double” lands as both raw and punishing. It’s built to be watched closely, whether you followed every step live or not. The film leans hard into candid commentary on what transpired. and while it gives less behind-the-scenes depth during the 2025 attempt—because it clearly wasn’t part of the original plan—it compensates with Larson’s own narration of the wrecks. the waits. and the moments he couldn’t control.
The documentary tries to close with a nice bow in the end-credits, showing Larson’s second Cup title. But the documentary’s own framing leaves viewers with a lingering truth: Larson has not won a Cup race since the 2025 Double attempt. The last image, the documentary seems to suggest, is still moving.
“Kyle Larson vs. the Double” is available to stream on Prime Video as of Thursday, May 21, preceding the beginning of the platform’s five-week run broadcasting Cup races.
Kyle Larson Indy 500 Coca-Cola 600 Indianapolis 500 Charlotte NASCAR Prime Video documentary Arrow McLaren Zak Brown Tony Kanaan Cliff Daniels Jeff Gordon Rick Hendrick Double attempt