Why Kevin Harvick Feels the NASCAR-Kyle Larson Drama Was Great for All Stakeholders

Kyle Larson’s recent issues regarding NASCAR granting the Hendrick Motorsports driver a waiver for the 2024 postseason playoffs were far from ideal for the sport. Former Cup Series regular turned FOX Sports broadcaster Kevin Harvick thinks otherwise.

On a recent episode of the Happy Hour podcast, the 2014 Cup Series champion explained how Larson’s attempted double, despite its unfortunate outcome, was great for motorsports as a whole.

The much-anticipated attempt at running 1100 miles in a single day garnered attention from both NASCAR and IndyCar fanbases, granting casual fans an entry point into either series. Along with an introduction for the fans, Larson’s Memorial Day storyline benefitted stakeholders of both series, affording them free publicity.

“Everything that happened with Kyle Larson was great for racing. Not only was it great for NASCAR and great for IndyCar, but it was great for racing in general with all the storylines and all the effort and all the time. Not only Kyle Larson, McLaren, Hendrick Motorsports, all the people. I mean there were millions of dollars spent on this particular situation,” he said.

The aftermath of Larson’s failed double attempt was the saga around his waiver for this seaosn’s fast-approaching playoffs. It had the fanbase divided and NASCAR sure took its sweet time to come out with their decision.

Kevin Harvick has his say on speculations surrounding waiver decision

Due to the time taken for the decision, fans and insiders speculated on what NASCAR’s dicussions could have been as Larson awaited clarity. Kevin Harvick opined on the same speaking on how the governing body wanted to take a decision once and for all, especially considering the scope for misinterpretation regarding the waiver rules.

“I think there’s a lot of things you can read into this situation but when you listen to Elton Sawyer talk, really what’s happening is that they wanted to make sure they were thorough to make sure that they had made the right decision to put themselves in a position to make sure they had dotted all the Is and crossed all the Ts,” he said.

Kyle Larson’s 2024 playoffs points have been reinstated by the promotion as of today after last weekend’s Cup Series race at Gateway. The #5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 driver currently sits in P2 on the driver’s standings table with 17 playoff points to his name. With the whole debacle now behind the Elk Grove, California native, it remains to be seen how he performs during the upcoming road course event at Sonoma.