Last Sunday, Kyle Larson was hit with two choices. The first was to stay in Indianapolis and complete his Indy 500. The second was to forgo his debut and fly to Concord to start the Coca-Cola 600 on time. He chose to go with the first option. The consequence of his decision is the ongoing dilemma of whether he ought to be given a playoff waiver for missing the start of a Cup Series regular-season race.
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The NASCAR rule book is as gray as it gets on the matter. It states that a driver must start every race of the regular unless agreed upon by themself, the team, and the sanctioning body to be eligible for the playoffs. Where does this put Larson? Two-time Cup Series champion Joey Logano broke apart the situation in a regular appearance on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
He said, “He chose, it was his decision, that the Indy 500 was more important than the Coca-Cola 600. Or his people. Whoever – he was part of it – he made the decision. He put IndyCar ahead of NASCAR. That’s the fact. Right or wrong? I don’t know. Waiver or not? I don’t know. I am not here to make that decision. But the facts are he thought IndyCar racing was bigger than NASCAR racing that day.”
“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
NASCAR revealed on the same platform that it hasn’t yet received a waiver request from Hendrick Motorsports. Elton Sawyer, the VP of Competition, confirmed that the request should come in at some point and that his people will conduct due diligence when it does. What direction the waiver takes is something that a group of experts will get together to decide.
Fans do not take well to the opinion of Joey Logano on Kyle Larson’s waiver
Continuing his thoughts on SiriusXM, Logano said that the rule was meant to prevent drivers who’ve made it into the playoffs from taking a vacation in the middle of the regular season. His words did not sit well with many fans who responded to him on X. One reminded him, “Joey missing the obvious. Kyle was there to race. NASCAR called the race.”
This sounds like someone who is 17th in points and is looking for an open spot to help his own chances.
— Shae Washburn (@ShaeWashBird) May 29, 2024
The rainy weather that marred the skies was the sole reason behind all the chaos that ensued. A question fell, “Well to be precise, he put the Indy 500 ahead of the Coke 600 but only because of weather. Ask @joeylogano what would he have done if Penske gave him the same opportunity?”
Away from all the shots at Logano, one fan tried providing a solution for the issue. They wrote, “Maybe we just get rid of the win and in playoff format and go back to relying on points? Then you can do away with the waiver system and this is never a problem again.” All the negative responses that he got forced Logano to come back with a clarification of his words. He put out a tweet saying his words were twisted once again and that his stand was that Larson ought to get a waiver.
