Why NASCAR Will Inevitably Grant Kyle Larson the Waiver Despite Neglecting Its Crown Jewel for Clout

When the 2024 season started, there was a countdown until May. This month was to host the greatest day in motorsport. But the weather gods did not like this plan and played spoilsport with Kyle Larson’s Double Dream. 16 months of rigorous struggle and planning turned into shambles, as the HMS driver could not give a good shot.

There was a thunderstorm forecast in Indianapolis, and Rick Hendrick revealed his grand plan. When the Indy 500 got a four-hour delay, the HMS team decided to stay and run the race. This was a tricky call, as it threw Larson’s NASCAR career into question. But the officials are likely to pardon Kyle Larson.

There is no reason for Kyle Larson fans to worry

The original fixed time for the Indy 500 was 12:45 PM ET. But as nature had promised, a storm pounded the area, and the race was delayed. Rain ceased around 2:30 PM, and track president Doug Boles hoped to finish the track drying process in two hours. Eventually, the Indy race flagged off around 4:45 PM.

This meant that Kyle Larson would miss the start of the Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte, almost 70–90 minutes of airtime away. Justin Allgaier fielded his car and finished strongly at 13th before NASCAR called off the race, and Larson would get no points from that. A strict rule states that each driver has to compete in all 26 races on the regular season schedule for the 16-driver playoffs. Yet the HMS team decided to finish the Indy.

In a recent YouTube video, NASCAR enthusiast Eric Estepp laid down NASCAR’s lenient attitude. “They’ll almost certainly grant him a playoff waiver, even though he effectively blew off one of NASCAR’s crown jewels to go run in a rival racing series.”

The reasons are simple. Kyle Larson promoted motorsports as a whole in a way no driver has since Kurt Busch. Plus, it’s not like he just decided not to show up at Charlotte. After the tremendous effort put into the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing,” Larson was not ready to throw away his team’s sweat into the gutter. Also, Mother Nature’s tantrums cannot be predicted, as the rain exacerbated HMS plans.

Besides, Kyle Larson’s sheer talent is also a good enough reason to retain him for the playoffs. Estepp explained: “He’s just a damn good race car driver who seems to find the front no matter what car, track, or series he races.” Larson also drives viewership, as seen last weekend. “We saw the tangibles just this past week with Kyle Larson’s Indy 500 qualifying, TV ratings being up over 30% year over year…NASCAR All-Star Race TV ratings were in double digits as well.”

NASCAR usually espouses a flexible attitude when addressing waivers. Past instances offer evidence, even though they differ from Larson’s situation.

NASCAR has pardoned drivers in the past

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Usually, incidents of physical injury prompt the higher-ups to ignore a driver’s absence in races. For instance, Chase Elliott hurt his legs while skiing in Colorado, and missed seven Cup Series starts. His teammate Alex Bowman also missed four races in 2022 after a Sprint Car flip. In both instances, NASCAR granted waivers.

Kyle Busch also missed the first third of the 2015 season. He broke his right leg and left foot in an ugly Xfinity Series race in Daytona Beach. Busch came back in May and carved his way to the first of two championship titles. Since he was injured in a NASCAR support race at a NASCAR track, the waiver was perfectly acceptable.

Kyle Larson’s situation differs from these incidents, as he incurred no physical harm. Yet the circumstances could be argued as inevitable, and our HMS driver would be let off the hook.