For the most part, NASCAR’s massive new rule change rollout was received well by the racing community. The sanctioning body did tweak all the important rules, from major changes to DVP policy to clarity on race manipulation tactics outcomes. OEMs are now within NASCAR’s reach and could face detrimental consequences if found involved in altering the outcome of the race. But it’s the playoff waiver rule change that has got everyone talking.

Before this new rule came into place, NASCAR pretty much-handed playoff waivers to drivers for a different reason. However, that will change in 2025. If a driver chooses to miss a Cup race, they will forfeit all the playoff bonus points that they accumulate throughout the regular season. It means a driver who makes it to the playoffs will have their points reset to 2000 and will not carry any bonus points. Only the bonus points they earn during knockout stages will be valid in the next rounds.

But there’s a catch. These new changes could bring out a whole new trend that might see drivers go buck wild after securing their playoff spot. The hypothetical situation was described by prominent journalist Jordan Bianchi. And if we are to go by his theory, NASCAR might have a new problem to deal with in 2025.

Will the playoff waiver rule change lead to new controversy in NASCAR?

Another element of this rule is that now, in case NASCAR suspends a driver, they won’t be eligible for a waiver. Chase Elliott sending Denny Hamlin into the wall at Charlotte and Austin Dillon’s double hook at Richmond come to our mind. This is where NASCAR will have to really tread carefully, as a suspension could make or break a driver’s season. But is this rule enough to keep the drivers in check, or will they find a way to bend the rule? This is what Bianchi had to say.

“Pick any driver; they win early in the year, like a Las Vegas or something, right? And they lock themselves in; well, sometimes in the spring they do something dumb and get suspended, and it completely changes your mindset for the rest of the year if you’re this team. You’re no longer racing for stage points and bonus points and trying to win the regular season championship.” Bianchi said this on Dirty Mo Media.

Let’s say a driver wins a race early in the season and has booked a playoff spot. So, for them, they wouldn’t hesitate to give a bonus playoff points penalty. We all saw how twisted the playoff format is; Joey Logano was nowhere near the likes of Kyle Larson or Christopher Bell in terms of bonus points and still won the championship. So now, drivers might have an incentive to go unhinged and test if NASCAR is going to rule with an iron fist. They might not necessarily hook their rivals, but they can certainly go all out with their plans or approach for a race.

“Anytime there’s a gamble and you’ve got to make a decision to go for the win or are we going to play it safe? They are going to go for broke because they’ve got nothing to lose. The domino effect from that then could be very interesting. I’ll throw Kyle Larson’s name out there. You’ll be like hell. I’ll go race every week. I mean, I’ll either go win or I’m going to crash.” Bianchi explained further.

Well, even Kyle Larson and Hendrick Motorsports will have to be wary about the potential consequences of this rule change. He is scheduled to attempt the historic double, competing at the Indy 500 and then returning for the Coca-Cola 600 race on the same day.

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Kyle Larson shares his take on the waiver rule change

Now many of the race fans have dubbed this rule as the Kyle Larson rule. Last year, he found himself in a tough spot after the weather turned foul ahead of his debut at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He made a decision call and remained at Indy to compete in his first Indy 500 race and ditch the start of the Coca-Cola 600. Now, this led to the waiver drama that lasted a whole week, and it’s fair to say NASCAR has made these changes keeping such incidents in mind.

Reacting to these new changes by NASCAR, the HMS star driver said, “It’s a very aggressive rule change. Yeah. Abide by the rules. Be a clean racer. Calm racer. Make NASCAR your priority and you’ll be fine. Hopefully, the weather is better in Indy this year, and it’s other people getting in trouble, and I won’t have to worry about the waiver. Really, hopefully, no one has to worry about that.”

Although Jordan Bianchi’s theory was nothing but a hypothetical situation, there’s a possibility of NASCAR having to deal with such situations. And it certainly will be interesting to see the course of action they take to curb such incidents.