Is NASCAR Hurting Itself by Introducing Shocking ‘Kyle Larson Rule’?

Given the streak of controversies that plagued the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season, there was a need for changes to the rule book. Although NASCAR hasn’t touched the playoff format so far, they listed out a series of major changes through which they will govern the events in 2025. Welcoming changes were made to the DVP policy, and OEMs were finally brought under the scope of being reprimanded over race manipulation tactics. But the waiver rule was the one that has caught the eyes of many race fans.

The playoff waiver is an exemption that NASCAR grants to drivers for missing a race for medical or emergency reasons. However, in recent history, the waiver provision has been used for more than just that. Kyle Larson opting to miss the Coca-Cola 600 race for his Indy 500 debut is what seems to be the reason behind the new changes. As soon as this rule change came out in public, it was dubbed as the Kyle Larson rule, and fans weren’t happy with NASCAR trying to restrict his attempts to win the Greatest Spectacle in Racing.

Was NASCAR justified in clamping down on drivers with changes to playoff waivers?

The Indy 500 race was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for him to compete in this race, so despite a delayed start, he stayed and opted to miss the start of the Coca-Cola 600. But NASCAR’s biggest star driver ditching NASCAR events to compete in other series wasn’t a good look for the series. This is why the waiver drama spilled off in the way it did, and even Rick Hendrick had to get involved in this saga that went all the way up to Jim France.

Now, this was a tough decision, and NASCAR did fancy themselves to be in this situation. So they made this new rule where drivers opting to miss the race and opting for a waiver will lose out on playoff points they earned in the regular season. Thus, the knockout stages with a base of 2,000. HMS fans didn’t like this rule that singled out Kyle Larson, but they were forced to bring about this change.

Sharing a similar opinion, BrakeHard host said this on YouTube: “The problem with that is you decide to skip a race, run the Indianapolis 500, or whatever other race, and you get a waiver for it, and your penalty is you don’t get any points for that race; that’s not enough of a deterrent for these teams and drivers to just decide to do that at other times.”

A single race points deficit doesn’t make a dent. We saw that despite missing the Coca-Cola 600 race, Larson almost won the regular season championship. So NASCAR needed a mechanism in place that would keep their drivers in check. There’s a reason teams and NASCAR have a charter agreement in place, which also makes this situation sensitive. The rule clearly stated that drivers need to enter all 36 races to be eligible for the championship. Only medical and family emergencies were valid reasons to seek a waiver to compete in the playoffs.

Although fans might disagree with this change, NASCAR needs its star drivers to prioritize NASCAR events over other racing events. “I think it’s something NASCAR had to do to deter people from doing it. Ultimately, NASCAR wants its stars racing in NASCAR. They don’t want their stars skipping NASCAR races and go race in another series regardless of if it’s the biggest race in the world or not,” the host of the show added.

It’s not just NASCAR; Hendrick Motorsport themselves have taken concrete steps to ensure they don’t land in a similar situation.

HMS and Larson will prioritize the NASCAR race despite his dream return to the Indy 500

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With the drama and chaos that ensued after the waiver drama, it looked as if Larson’s hopes of winning the Indy 500 were crushed. After all, only a team like Hendrick Motorsports could fuel his attempt to win the historic open-wheel race. But his dream got back on track when HMS announced that he would get a second bite at the Indy 500 race and settle his unfinished business.

But the big change this time around was that the veteran owner gave his word that Larson would prioritize the Charlotte race if weather interrupts racing at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. “It was unfinished business. Weather just cost us a lot. A second time, it’s just not going to be the same case. NASCAR knows he’ll be at the 600. We don’t want to spot Reddick another entire race. My commitment is to NASCAR; that’s where we’re in; that’s where we run for the championship.” Rick Hendrick said during the announcement.

So both NASCAR and Hendrick Motorsports were on the same page well before the new waiver rule was rolled out. However, it will be interesting to see if Larson will ditch the race lead at the Indy 500 to be at Charlotte if there is a delay.