Kyle Larson Fears a Big Trouble for Rick Hendrick & Co After NASCAR Goes “Aggressive”

NASCAR started the new year by rolling out fresh rule changes for the 2025 season. There were many positives, like the new Damage Vehicle Policy, the Open Exemption Provisional, and tweaks to race manipulation penalties. However, the waiver rule, in particular, has been the talk of the town, with many dubbing it the Kyle Larson rule.

We know Kyle Larson will have a second bite at the Indy 500 after a disappointing debut. And given the new rules in place, he will have to be wary of prioritizing the Indy 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 race. The HMS star, himself, reacted to these tweaks and shared his take on how NASCAR’s new policy could land not just him but all other drivers in real trouble.

Kyle Larson is hoping for good weather at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway

NASCAR has issued the playoff waiver for multiple reasons in its recent history. None of the cases has NASCAR stripped the driver of their playoff eligibility for missing a Cup Series race. But they were forced to take a tough stance after Larson opted to miss the start of the Coca-Cola 600 race and prioritized his debut run at the Indy 500. NASCAR played smart with the changes as they aren’t holding the drivers back to compete in different series. But, they will have to pay a heavy price to make that choice.

In case the driver misses a race, they will be stripped of all the bonus playoff points they’ve collected throughout the regular season. Moreover, any bonus points they collect before the knockout stages will also be considered void. So this is indeed a tough position for Kyle Larson and Hendrick Motorsport. Reacting to this, the driver of the No. 5 Chevy 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.”

We also saw Chase Elliott outright wrecking Denny Hamlin at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 2023. He did get suspended, but, in return, got the waiver to be eligible to compete in the playoffs. But not anymore; NASCAR saw enough of it with Austin Dillon’s right hooks at Richmond and set a precedent of stripping off playoff eligibility of drivers found guilty in such cases. And that’s now being cleared with this new rules change package.

“It is what it is. It’s probably going to come into play more for people getting suspended for doing stupid stuff on the track rather than a weather delay at Indianapolis. 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.” Larson explained while speaking about Sportsnaut.

On the other hand, Larson seems to have learned from his first Indy 500 attempt and isn’t being hard on himself. He certainly has eased into his role and knows what to expect this time around when he gets inside the Arrow-McLaren car at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Larson isn’t stressed out about his preparations for the Indy 500

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The Hendrick Motorsport star was running alongside the likes of Josef Newgarden and the lead pack in his debut attempt. However, a pit road mistake proved too costly for him, and he dropped down to the tail end of the field. The only way he could regain his spot was through a caution, which never came. So, with a redemption run lined up for him, one might think he would go all out in preparing for the event and leave no stones unturned.

But in reality, it’s quite the opposite. The NASCAR star locks his target on his dirt racing event and will only think about his Indy 500 run during the open testing in April.

“I feel like I over-prepped in a lot of ways—which is still good, but once I go to do it, it wasn’t really any different than what I’m used to. I haven’t done any prep, and I think I probably won’t do anything until the Open Test in April—and then shortly after that leads into the 500, with a couple of weeks there.” He was quoted saying this via Motorsport.

As much as NASCAR would like its superstar to remain within the confines of stock car racing, several fans hope for Larson to win the Indy 500. Well, multiple fans will hope the weather doesn’t play a spoilsport and force the driver to choose between the NASCAR and IndyCar events. He will probably ditch the open-wheel this time in a bid to safeguard his championship pursuit in the NASCAR Cup Series.