Denny Hamlin Believes Kyle Larson Has Already Served His Penalty for Ditching the CocaCola600 for the Indy500

Kyle Larson’s expectations of the Double were essentially washed out by the tormenting weather last weekend. With a four-hour delay to the start of his debut run at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the HMS star was forced to snub the start of the Coca-Cola 600. He did manage to reach the NASCAR race, but only to see it get washed out by the rain.

There could be a huge penalty handed to Larson, that would result in his exclusion from competing in the playoffs. The only thing that can help him evade this detrimental fate is a waiver, but there’s nothing concrete that could suggest he is bound to receive one from NASCAR. However, his rival driver, Denny Hamlin, believes that he has already served his penalty for not starting the Coca-Cola 600 race.

Denny Hamlin highlights the loss of points for Larson as retribution

The Coca-Cola 600 race is among the crown jewel events of NASCAR racing. Apart from being the longest event, the race also offers drivers the chance to get maximum points. It’s the only event in the calendar that has not three but four stages. As Justin Allgaier started in place of Larson, even if he had won the race, no points would have been credited to his name.

Hamlin understood NASCAR having second thoughts about Larson’s waiver request, but stated how Larson is already on the bitter end of things. “It’s a tough predicament for everyone to be in. Listen, he lost out by not being able to collect any points for the 600, right? I mean that really was the penalty in my mind. I mean, and I think it’s a fair one.” He said this via his podcast show, Actions Detrimental.

Denny Hamlin has taken over the lead that Larson held before the Coca-Cola 600 in the standings. Meanwhile, the HMS star dropped down two positions and now sits third. The biggest gainer from the rain-washed race was Christopher Bell, bagging 67 precious points and a win to his name.

Further highlighting the importance of points for the drivers, Hamlin’s co-host, Jared Allen, chimed in, stating, “That’s a significant penalty. Christopher Bell made 67 points in this race. That’s almost two races advantage that Kyle Larson missed out onto Christopher Bell. Like, if you’d have won the race, you would have gained 67 points on him, that’s significant.”

As Larson is hoping for a waiver now, where does the situation stand as of now?

Here’s the latest on Kyle Larson’s waiver saga

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According to reports from Jenna Fryer from AP, Hendrick Motorsports has submitted their request for a waiver to NASCAR. However, she also mentioned that there’s no clarity on how soon the governing council will come out with its verdict. “Update: #NASCAR confirms it has received a request for a waiver for Larson from Hendrick Motorsports and says no timetable for when decision will be made,” she wrote via X.

Interestingly, Jeff Gluck from Athletic was rather surprised to see NASCAR not act swiftly on a matter that is crucial for both the driver and the sport. He even went on to share examples of how previous waiver requests were submitted and approved within a matter of hours or a single day. Taking to X, he wrote, “Used @bobpockrass tweets to look at when some recent waivers were granted. Jones: Injury news announced April 23, waiver granted April 23. Elliott: Suspension announced May 30, waiver granted June 1. Bowman: Injury news announced Sept. 29, waiver granted Sept. 29. Larson: ?????”

The ball is in NASCAR’s court, and while it is expected that Larson will get the waiver, it’s all up to them now.