3 recent waivers NASCAR granted as HMS seeks Kyle Larson's playoff eligibility

Recently, veteran journalist Jeff Gluck went through Bob Pockrass' old X posts and collated three instances of NASCAR granting playoff waivers to Cup Series drivers. These three waivers were awarded to Alex Bowman in 2022, Chase Elliott in 2023, and Erik Jones in 2024.

After missing last week's Cup race, the number 5 Hendrick Motorsports team too, has appealed to NASCAR to grant Kyle Larson a playoff waiver. However, NASCAR has not granted it yet and therefore Larson, despite winning two point-paying races so far into the current season, remains ineligible for the postseason.

Gluck posted:

"Used @bobpockrass tweets to look at when some recent waivers were granted.

Jones: Injury news announced April 23, waiver granted April 23

Elliott: Suspension announced May 30, waiver granted June 1

Bowman: Injury news announced Sept. 29, waiver granted Sept. 29

Larson: ?????"

Here are the three times NASCAR granted waivers in recent years:

Alex Bowman

Last year, Alex Bowman fractured his vertebrae during a sprint car race at 34 Raceway in West Burlington, Iowa. Hendrick Motorsports team president and general manager Jeff Andrews said at that time that the injury could keep the number 48 driver away from the racetrack for three to four weeks.

It was also the first accident due to an extracurricular racing accident for the organization. While Bowman got sidelined, Josh Berry replaced him behind the wheels of his Chevy.

Chase Elliott

Next year, Chase Elliott received his first playoff waiver for missing 6 races due to a fracture in his tibia from an snowboarding accident in Colorado. He missed the race at the World Wide Technolfy Speedway the following week.

Right after he resumed racing after the recovery, Elliott wrecked Denny Hamlin during lap 185 of last year's Coca-Cola 600. NASCAR suspended him from another race. As a result, Elliott's team appealed to NASCAR for a second waiver and it was granted on June 1.

Erik Jones

This year, Legacy Motor Club driver Erik Jones was involved in a gruesome wreck in the last stage of the GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. Jones, therefore, missed the next race at Dover Motor Speedway.

A statement made by the driver said:

"I've got a spinal fracture that is going to keep me out of the car for Dover for this weekend, going to be taking it week-by-week and kind of just seeing how things go, but hope to be back in the car as soon as I can, get healed up quick and right."

Corey Heim replaced for Jones in the latter's number 43 Toyota Camry XSE, while Jones was unable to race. Erik Jones granted a waiver as well by NASCAR.

According to NASCAR's rulebook, a driver must compete in every point-paying race of the season to be eligible for the 10-race postseason. As mentioned before, waivers have been granted in the past but all of them were for medical reasons.

Unfortunately, Larson's alibi doesn't fall under 'medical reasons'. Nevertheless, he is not stressed about the outcome of the appeal. In an interview at the World Wide Technology Raceway, Larson said as reported by Jayski,

"It’s not up to me. I’ll be here every weekend. I would not do anything different. I would try to win a championship.”

Missing this year's Coca-Cola 600 relegated Larson from the top of the leaderboard to the third on points. Currently, he has 486 points under his belt.

The number 5 car, however, remains eligible for the owner's championship, as the Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 has run every race so far along in this season. Justin Allgaier filled in for Kyle Larson last week and recorded a 13th-place finish. Kyle Larson's next race is at the World Wide Technology Raceway on June 3. He will start 13th in the 240-lap feature.