NASCAR’s Fear of PR Nightmare Allowed Kyle Larson to Walk Away Scott Free, Claims Insider

All’s well that ends well. Well, that’s exactly what a relieved Kyle Larson was thinking when NASCAR approved his participation in the playoffs. Being only the fifth driver to attempt to run “The Double”, Larson hoped to compete in both the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on the same day. However, Larson was forced to stay back for the delayed Indy500 when rain played spoilsport, forcing him to miss out on the start of the Coke 600. By the time he arrived at Charlotte Motor Speedway, the race had prematurely ended due to the weather.

It took NASCAR eight days to decide on granting Kyle Larson a waiver to be eligible for the playoffs. But if you see the bigger picture, as veteran insider Jeff Gluck, in a conversation with Jordan Bianchi, pointed out the decision could have only gone one way, especially from a PR standpoint.

Was giving Kyle Larson a waiver the right decision?

There are two main reasons why NASCAR expects its drivers to start every race to be eligible for the playoffs. The first reason is to ensure that drivers don’t skip races so that they’re well-rested to compete at their favorite tracks, increasing their chances of making it to the playoffs. The second is for fans to be able to see their favorite drivers on track, and not only those drivers who aren’t eligible for the playoffs yet. Most importantly, since the rule was implemented in 2014, it has never specified that drivers can’t compete in other races, especially if they aren’t intending to miss out on a Cup Series race.

The last time a driver attempted to do “The Double” was in 2014, and there was plenty of hype around Kyle Larson attempting the feat this time around. If anything, more fans watched the Coca-Cola 600 to see if Larson would manage to compete in both races on the same day, increasing NASCAR’s viewership. The 31-year-old missing out on the race in Charlotte was circumstantial, not intentional, and Larson ended up taking a regular-season points hit and a potential playoff-point hit by not making it back on time.

Speaking on The Teardown, insider Jeff Gluck and journalist Jordan Bianchi discussed the situation. Bianchi said, “They made the decision, it is what it is. It’s the right call in the sense that it’s all gone now. It’s done and over. Whatever controversy was, you just put a pin in that balloon. He wins the race today, and we’re not sitting here talking about, you know, man, having this great, maybe potentially wonderful, historic year you know. It doesn’t matter. It’s done and over with. And so it really, in the big picture, from the 30,000-foot perspective, this was the right decision in that sense. I don’t agree with it, but from the PR side, 100% the right decision. It’s done and over and we don’t talk about it anymore.”

Had NASCAR not granted Kyle Larson a waiver, it would have been a disaster from a PR standpoint. Fans love Kyle Larson because of his ability to race a variety of vehicles, and not granting him a waiver simply for attempting “The Double” would have led to a severe backlash. Many have criticized NASCAR’s waiver rule, and perhaps the time has come to remove the waiver entirely or have clear parameters of what gets a waiver and what doesn’t. That way, drivers, teams, and fans won’t have to wait eight days for clarity over the situation.

But, once again, it all ended well as Kyle Larson turned his fortunes around and even made a great show at Sonoma!

Kyle Larson was lightning fast at Sonoma

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Kyle Larson celebrated NASCAR’s approval of his participation in the playoffs with a win in his home race at Sonoma Raceway. It was his second win ever at Wine Country, his third of the season, propelling him to the top of the series standings. Larson was among the last drivers to make a pit stop and came out onto the track in 8th place. With 20 laps to go, the 31-year-old showed just how quick he was, overtaking one, sometimes even two drivers at a time. He went on to pass Martin Truex Jr and Chris Buescher with just 8 laps to go to secure the win.

Speaking about Larson’s pace and whether it would have been possible for Truex Jr and Buescher to hold him off, Denny Hamlin said, “I thought that the 17 and the 19 were in a really good position to hold this thing off. But looking at the times, Kyle Larson’s car just never fell off. He was still able to run those low 74 lap times and the leaders like Truex and the 17 were running low 75s. And it’s just, you’re not going to overcome that one second of lap time. You’re not going to be able to hold off. If you’re half a second faster I think you can hold someone off on the road course but not a second.”

Do you think Kyle Larson could win the next race at Iowa Speedway? Let us know in the comments!