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Monaco, Indy and Charlotte on tap for motor racing’s biggest day

Kurt Busch stretches before the start of practice for the Indianapolis 500 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Monday.
(Michael Conroy / Associated Press)
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Call it motor racing’s version of the Triple Crown -- on the same day.

Three of the sport’s most celebrated races take place Sunday: Formula One’s Monaco Grand Prix, followed by the Indianapolis 500 and then NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 that night at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway.

The Formula One race on the streets of Monte Carlo is perhaps the series’ most glamorous event, and the question this year is whether anyone can stop the Mercedes team.

Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg captured the season opener in Australia and then his teammate and former champion Lewis Hamilton won the next four in a row. Rosberg also is the defending winner of the Monaco Grand Prix.

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“It’s the most challenging race to win and the most prestigious race to win,” Rosberg told reporters Wednesday.

Then it’s on to the 98th running of the Indy 500 at the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where Tony Kanaan is the defending winner and where more than 200,000 spectators typically gather for the legendary race.

Joining the 33-car field at Indy will be NASCAR’s Kurt Busch, who then plans to rush to Charlotte for the NASCAR race and become the fourth driver in history to complete “the double” by driving in both races on the same day.

Kevin Harvick is the defending winner of the Coca-Cola 600, NASCAR’s longest race, while six-time Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson is a six-time winner at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Harvick and Joey Logano also have two victories apiece through the Cup series’ 11 races so far this year.

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