To Waive or Not to Waive

Kyle Larson unveils his H1100 paint schemes on August 13, 2023 in Indianapolis - Photo Credit: Charlie Haywood

Over 500 days ago, Kyle Larson announced that he would attempt to run the Indianapolis 500 and Coca Cola 600 on the same day. He had the full support of Rick Hendrick, both Charlotte Motor Speedway and Indianapolis Motor Speedway as well as NASCAR and INDYCAR. The feat was met with much fanfare and a marketing campaign was developed behind it, known as H1100. Everything went smoothly until race day when the perfect storm arrived at the most imperfect time. Larson lined up 5th for the Indy 500, but the start was delayed for four hours due to a strong line of thunderstorms that rolled through the Indianapolis area. His window to run the race at Indy and arrive in Charlotte in time for the Coke 600, his priority of the two races, evaporated. A decision had to be made and Larson elected to stay in Indianapolis to run the Indy 500. There was just too much invested from a personnel and sponsorship perspective to bail on “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing”. Justin Allgaier would start the Coke 600 and keep the seat warm until Larson arrived, no matter if that was lap 199 or 399. As the race progressed in Indy, it became clear that Larson could be in contention for the win in the end, running in the top 5-top 10 range most of the day, that is until his next to last pit stop, when he incurred a speeding penalty. In the end Larson would lead four laps, and finish 18th at Indy, taking home Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year Honors. Then it was off to Charlotte, and he arrived with roughly 150 laps left in the Coke 600. Allgaier had driven to 13th place when Larson arrived. The Coke 600 was under caution, which would allow for a smoother driver swap, except the caution was for rain. Despite the rain moving out relatively quickly, NASCAR would rule that the race complete due to “track drying efforts having to last beyond 1am”. Larson never even set foot in his Cup car that night, and now his bid for a 2nd NASCAR Cup Championship is in jeopardy. If a driver fails to attempt all regular season races, then NASCAR revokes their playoff eligibility, unless a waiver is granted. Waivers have been granted multiple times for drivers who have sat out for injuries, illness, and even suspension. Yes, drivers that were suspended for intentionally wrecking other competitors, have been allowed to maintain their playoff eligibility, and yet NASCAR has had very little to say on if Larson will be granted a waiver this year. Hendrick Motorsports filed a waiver request on Thursday, but as the Cup Series moved to Worldwide Technology Raceway, a decision had not been made. It is quite possible NASCAR will announce a decision this week, but it was also possible for them to do so at the start of WWTR race weekend. Most waiver cases have been decided in a few days or so, making this kind of a delay concerning. Some in the media industry have loudly voiced the opinion that NASCAR should not grant Larson a waiver because it would “open the floodgates” for other drivers to “skip” races to race elsewhere. However, Larson did not just skip a race, this was an extraordinary feat in motorsports that was promoted by NASCAR themselves and exposed new eyes to one of the top talents in the series. Larson added value to the NASCAR brand, and for that reason he should be granted a waiver to remain playoff eligible. This is not a driver giving up his seat to go run a local short track race on a Sunday afternoon, or staying home to get extra rest, he put NASCAR on his back and took them to one of the biggest races in the world. Everyone knew that there was potential for weather to impact the start time of one if not both races and that would hinder his ability to complete both in their entirety, so there’s no reason to act surprised when it happened. After all, Larson did everything in his power to arrive in Charlotte, ready to take the wheel of his Cup car, and then NASCAR pulled the plug on the race, when arguably the track could have been dried and allowed the race to resume. Hopefully one day Kyle Larson will be able to return to Indy and complete the double in its entirety, but for now NASCAR needs to step up and do the right thing, grant him a waiver so he can continue his quest for that 2nd Cup Championship.