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After the race at Darlington, it became official that Kyle Larson had lost the NASCAR regular season championship by a single point to Tyler Reddick. Owing to the minuscule margin of difference, Larson's participation in the Indy 500 once again came under scrutiny.
Earlier this year, Kyle Larson took part in the Indy 500, which was on the same day as the Coke 600. But because of the 500 being delayed due to weather, Larson missed the start of the 600, and subsequently failed to put in even a single lap - again due to the weather.
The question of whether Larson's decision to participate in the Indy500 cost him the NASCAR regular season championship was raised in a recent episode of the "Door Bumper Clear" podcast. Giving his take on the matter, Freddie Kraft, Bubba Wallace's spotter, said:
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"You can't argue with the fact that it cost him the regular season championship because he only needed one point and he was there. I honestly think that the only way this matters is if he doesn't make the final four, if he doesn't transfer out of the round by 12 points because that's what he potentially forfeited. He gave up 5 points, the regular season championship, the way that car was running he potentially gave up 7 points that night and three stage wins and the 5 for winning that race." [48:35]
Kyle Larson doesn't think his Indy 500 decision was the only factor in him not winning the regular season championship
After the race at Darlington, Kyle Larson was asked whether his participation in the Indy 500 was a factor in him losing the championship to Reddick. The #5 driver claimed that the 500 wasn't the only factor that contributed to him losing the title by one point.
That is what Freddie Kraft referenced while elaborating on his take on the subject. In the spotter's opinion, based on Larson's post-Darlington comments, the Indy 500 wasn't an influential enough factor in affecting his chances of the title.
"He talked about the fact that he could've finished at Michigan, he could've not wrecked out at certain places and that would've been the same thing," Kraft claimed. [49:05]
The spotter claimed that the only way winning the NASCAR regular season championship would've mattered to Larson and his team was if it led to a monetary prize.
Speaking on this subject further, Brett Griffin elaborated:
"To me it cost him 4 points because he got 2nd place points. You don't know if he gets the stage points or race win points at Coke 600, but you do know that it'd have got him enough points to project him the regular season championship. It came down to the decision he and Rick Hendrick made and there's no looking back. Even once he got there late, he wasn't going to get any points for it because he didn't make the start," Griffin said [49:50].
Griffin emphasized that it wasn't about Kyle Larson not getting a chance to race in the Coke 600 because of the rain. He added that the #5 driver and his team decided to prioritize the Indy 500 over the Coke 600.
