Kyle Larson didn’t wait long to get back to winning ways after a disappointing end to last weekend’s double-duty attempt. While he dominated the Kubota High Limit Racing sprint car event, the same cannot be said for his Cup Series commitments, as he looked like a shadow of his former self this weekend at the World Wide Technology Raceway.

While the likes of Ryan Blaney, Christopher Bell, and Brad Keselowski were competing for the lead, Larson found himself tussling with Kyle Busch. At first, the fierce battle between the two seemed like hard racing, but it quickly turned sour, as both drivers made multiple contacts with each other’s race car. Larson, persistent in making a pass on the No. 8 car, got loose, wrecking both of them in the safer barrier.

Although the Hendrick Motorsports star came out of the incident unscathed, Busch wasn’t lucky, as his race car sustained serious damage, resulting in his first DNF finish of the season. While many, including Busch himself, will pass the blame to the #5 racer, the latter wasn’t going to go down without a fight, and even highlighted the weakness of the #8 car.

Kyle Busch was running with a similar race setup from last season

There were huge expectations from Busch and his team to deliver, going into this weekend, after last season’s winning exploits on the same race track. And perhaps in a bid to replicate last year’s run, the #8 team chose to roll out with a similar racing setup and expected a similar outcome. In a time when racing trends change in a matter of weeks, this wasn’t the best approach to go for in search of a win. However, it might have been too late until the racer and his team realized.

While the No. 8 RCR car was running up in the field for the most part until the crash, he wasn’t able to fend off charging drivers who made easy passes on him. Seeing the rest of the field getting past Rowdy, Larson also double-downed on his efforts and made the late charge on the final lap of Stage 2. Only this time, the RCR driver decided to make use of defensive maneuvers, knowing that the No. 5 could make a pass on him.

This is exactly what Kyle Larson pointed out when he spoke about his incident with Busch after the race. “So yeah, every spot was important, and yeah, I thought if I hanged with him down the front stretch, we could race through maybe one and two, hang with him again down the back, and maybe clear him to three and four if I can hit my marks. I was a little better than him, so just hard racing.”

On the contrary, though, one of the arguments made by Busch in his reaction to the crash was that Larson was too eager to get the stage points. Emphasizing how stage points are important to him as well, Busch further added, “I mean, every point is important for everybody in the field. So even guys in the front of the field like myself, we’re trying to win the regular season championship, and those 15 bonus points go a long way.”

Notably, Kyle Larson is not having a great time and the Busch drama might be the farthest thing from his mind. On top of missing out on the revered ‘Double Duty’ due to no fault of his own, the racer is also awaiting to hear from NASCAR regarding a waiver, that will literally make or break his 2024 season. But from what we hear, the #5 driver isn’t fearsome of a unfavorable decision!

Larson is ready to accept any decision handed out by NASCAR

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Kyle Larson was all set to compete in both the Indy500 and the Coca-Cola 600. But that is until Mother Nature intervened. With a delayed start to his IndyCar debut, Larson was forced to make a tough call in snubbing the start of the NASCAR Cup Series race at Charlotte. Justin Allgaier replaced him in the No. 5 car and finished the race on P13.

The rules clearly state that drivers have to start all 26 regular-season races to be eligible for a run in the playoffs. The only fail-safe to evade this ruling is a waiver by the governing council, which Larson and his team are seeking now after missing out on the points race. If this was a case of injury or suspension, the waivers would have been approved, but the driver’s choice to deliberately miss out on the event has stirred up controversy.

Regardless of the outcome, Larson is at peace with himself and will continue to race in the Cup Series. “I think we can all agree the waiver thing doesn’t make any sense as it stands right now. But I do understand the rules in place. I’m not sweating it that much,” the 2021 Cup Series said according to Motorsport, while adding, “Thankfully, I’ve won a championship. In my eyes, I still get to compete for a championship through the owner’s points system. That’s how we all get paid. [It] would obviously be weird if I was to win the driver’s deal at the end of the year and didn’t get to have my name in the record books, but it’s already in there once. That’s kind of all that matters to me.” He was quoted saying this via Motorsport.

NASCAR will have to make a huge exception to be able to grant a waiver to Kyle Larson. We have seen multiple drivers get the waiver for different reasons. So, perhaps a change in the rule book is imminent to grant an exemption to one of the greats of NASCAR racing? What do you think?