Amazingly, it’s Friday of a new race weekend and there has still been no announcement regarding Kyle Larson’s waiver to remain eligible to compete for the NASCAR Cup Series championship. It’s been five days since Larson made the decision to remain in Indianapolis for his first Indianapolis 500 instead of heading back to Charlotte Motor Speedway to start the Coca-Cola 600. 

In case you're not already aware, drivers are supposed to compete in all 36 points-paying races throughout the season, and all 26 points-paying races in the "regular season" to be playoff eligible. If they miss a race, they need to be given permission by NASCAR (a waiver) to remain eligible to compete for the championship. 

So while we continue to wait for “The Decision: 2024” to be announced, let’s make the case for and against Larson’s waiver.

Why Kyle Larson SHOULD Receive A Waiver

Kyle Larson should receive the waiver from NASCAR for a variety of reasons, some based on past precedent, and some based on the uniqueness of this situation. 

When looking at past precedent, when has NASCAR not issued a waiver? Kyle Busch was the first driver to receive a waiver from NASCAR when he broke his leg in a NASCAR Xfinity Series crash at Daytona in 2015. He went on to win the championship that season after missing 11 races. 

Kurt Busch also received a waiver that same year for a completely different situation. The older Busch brother was suspended for the first three races of the 2015 season for an alleged domestic assault on his then girlfriend, Patricia Driscoll. Busch was reinstated when the Delaware district attorney declined to charge Busch. Busch did end up making the playoffs and finished eighth that season.

If anyone listened to what I said yesterday, I never picked a side. I was pointing out the tough decision that NASCAR is in. Since words have been twisted yet again….here’s what I think…

What Larson did for Motorsports was amazing, and he should get the waiver. https://t.co/CTQgapivci

— Joey Logano (@joeylogano) May 29, 2024

Busch also received a waiver for his concussion in 2022, but he withdrew that waiver request when he and his medical team realized he would not be able to return to racing in time for the start of the playoffs that year.

Most recently, Chase Elliott received two waivers in 2023. Elliott broke his leg while snowboarding on vacation in early 2023. Elliott missed six races and had an uphill battle to get into the playoffs before missing another race due to a suspension. Elliott was suspended one race for intentionally wrecking Denny Hamlin during the Coca-Cola 600. Elliott still received a waiver even following the suspension, but he did not qualify for the playoffs due to lack of points scored and no wins.

So, what we’re saying here is NASCAR has given out plenty of waivers. Some instances have made sense, like being injured in a NASCAR event, and some have been a bit more surprising, like being injured on vacation or following a NASCAR-issued suspension.

Yes, Kyle Larson and Hendrick Motorsports made a conscious decision to skip a NASCAR event to race another event. But what Kyle Larson did throughout the month of May at Indianapolis elevated ALL of North American motorsports, not just the Indianapolis 500. 

5. What benefit to NASCAR or motorsports is it to keep Larson out of the playoffs? Maybe a benefit to the drivers he won’t be able to eliminate, but a guaranteed drop of interest in the playoffs without him in it.

6. Denying Larson a waiver would be the pettiest of NASCAR.

— Jenna Fryer (@JennaFryer) May 29, 2024

Larson’s Memorial Day Double attempt shined a positive light on the talent of the NASCAR field, and brought a massive amount of exposure to both series. Not only were people paying attention to the 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 on Memorial Day Sunday, but plenty of people were tuned in to see Larson book it from Indy to North Wilkesboro Speedway in time to race the All-Star Race. That was a fun “double” in its own right. 

And beyond all of that, not issuing a waiver to Kyle Larson in this instance might deter others from attempting the rarely seen Memorial Day Double. And considering how much positive attention Larson’s attempt received, nobody wants to see the Double go away.

Why Kyle Larson SHOULD NOT Receive A Waiver

When NASCAR unveiled the “win and you’re in” playoff system ahead of the 2014 season, NASCAR also instituted a rule that a driver must attempt to start every race to be eligible for the playoffs. The rule was put in place so that a driver couldn’t decide to take a midseason vacation and skip a race after already securing a race win earlier in the season. 

NASCAR started instituting waivers to drivers that were “forced” to miss a race. 

Kyle Larson was not “forced” to miss the Coca-Cola 600. Kyle Larson, Rick Hendrick, and Jeff Gordon all collectively made the decision for Larson to miss the start of the 600 so that he could race in the Indianapolis 500. 

🤔 “This is about the grayest rule we have in our sport.” - @joeylogano

The 2-time champion weighs in on the discourse surrounding @KyleLarsonRacin getting a waiver for missing the #CocaCola600.

🗣️ “He put IndyCar ahead of NASCAR. That’s the facts.” pic.twitter.com/rcLWvm5EoB

— SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Ch. 90) (@SiriusXMNASCAR) May 29, 2024

Think about that for a second. A fan-favorite and champion driver intentionally missed a NASCAR event in order to race in an event for a different series. That does not seem to jive with the language of the rule. 

Now, you can make the argument (and plenty of people are trying) that Larson was forced to miss the Coca-Cola 600 because of the rain delay in Indianapolis. Larson had every intention to be in Charlotte for the start of the race after completing 500 miles in Indiana. 

But Larson and co. also still had time to make the decision to leave Indianapolis and head to Charlotte when the storms hit at 11 a.m. that morning. He would have been in Charlotte well before the start of the race, would have been able to roll off from his scheduled starting spot of 10th, and probably would have been fighting for the win in what ended up being a rain-shortened race.

But he didn’t. Instead, he stayed in Indianapolis, led a handful of laps before finishing 18th late Sunday evening. 

Golden opportunity for NASCAR to either draw a firm line and say that the "must start all races" rule WILL be enforced from now on, or take it off the books and eliminate these constant waivers.

— Dave Moody (@DGodfatherMoody) May 30, 2024

The hard part here is putting yourself in NASCAR’s shoes in this situation. If you’re NASCAR, are you a bit peeved that one of your most popular drivers just told the world that another race is more important than yours? And where do you draw the line? Do you say that it’s okay to miss a race to run another race as long as that race is the Indianapolis 500? Or is it also okay if someone decides to miss the race at Iowa Speedway because they were competing in the 24 Hours of Le Mans? Or does it not matter if they miss a race as long as they’re competing in a race of some sort instead of just going on vacation to Greece because they don’t want to race at Sonoma?

See what we’re saying here? Issuing a waiver in this situation is a very slippery slope because it flies in the face of why the rule exists. 

The rule is in place so that every full-time driver, every star or villain the NASCAR Cup Series has to offer, is in competition every time you and your family spend your hard-earned money and time to go to a NASCAR Cup Series event unless they’re sick or injured or serving a NASCAR-issued suspension. That is not what happened last Sunday evening. 

So What Should NASCAR Do?

That’s not for us to decide. As we’ve laid out, NASCAR will be justified in whatever decision NASCAR makes in this situation. But it’s definitely a tough call and one that won’t be received well regardless of which way it goes.

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