NASCAR Chooses to Let Kyle Larson Sit Out Charlotte Drivers Meeting; Fans Bash HMS Favoritism

Ever since the start of the 2023 season, there’s been buzz about Kyle Larson gearing up to tackle both the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte. He’s been spotted getting his hands dirty in the garage, breezing through the Rookie Orientation Program with flying colors, zipping through 10 laps at speeds between 205-210 mph, then stepping it up to 15 laps at 210-215 mph, and finally sealing the deal with 15 laps north of 215 mph.

Larson’s been given the whole nine yards to make a splash at these events, and Hendrick Motorsports is pulling out all the stops for their 2021 Cup Champion. They’re so committed that they seem ready to bend the rules if it helps Larson. This has fans up in arms, talking about the whole HMS crew and their all-in support for Larson.

Why is Kyle Larson getting a special pass from Hendrick Motorsports?

Kyle Larson is gearing up to make waves this Memorial Day weekend, set to burn rubber in the IndyCar race, and then immediately he’ll jet over to Charlotte Motor Speedway to cap off the day with the Coke 600 under the stars. And to ease the process for him, as per a tweet from Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports, he has got a golden ticket—he doesn’t have to show up at the driver’s meeting for the latter race. 

Pockrass wrote, “NASCAR says it likely will not require Kyle Larson to make the drivers meeting for Charlotte (those have become more ceremonial the last couple years). In the past, drivers doing the double have had to start at the rear. Starting spot means more now with stage points.”

Now, it’s a hard and fast rule that drivers need to be at these meetings set up by the team. But in Larson’s case, NASCAR and Hendrick Motorsports are bending the rules a bit. He probably doesn’t need the stage points to cruise into the playoffs, but well, you never know how the season will unfold. It might be a bigger deal for where he ends up in the standings, but taking on a challenge like this double-header shouldn’t mean Larson has to start with one hand tied behind his back.

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Apparently, this decision got the NASCAR world talking! NASCAR folks are whispering that Hendrick Motorsports might be playing favorites.

The NASCAR crowd throws shade at HMS for giving #5 an advantage to skip the team meeting

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When Bob Pockrass dropped his latest news, he probably thought it was just another day at the office. But things took a left turn! Fans started chirping in with comments like, “Wow bending the rules for the golden boy 🙄.”

Even the die-hard Larson fans were scratching their heads. One piped up, “I’m a larson fan myself and I don’t think this should be the case. It’s been that if you run the 500, you miss the drivers meeting and start at the back as long as the double has been a thing. Special treatment is a thing.”

Some other fans called out Kyle Larson and Hendrick Motorsports, saying, “Wack. Special treatment once again in favor of a Hendrick driver. No surprise there.🙄”

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Another fan hinted that Larson’s top-notch performance is the reason behind this special treatment, “Of course they bend the rules for Larson they can’t even hide it anymore.”

While one echoed this thought with, “Already with bending the rules for Hendrick drivers,” there was someone who urged everyone to cool their jets, saying, “Things change, get over it! He’s one of the few drivers that are marketable. So who cares if they don’t do something they did ten years ago.”