Joey Logano "spitting facts" on Kyle Larson's NASCAR Waiver debate: "Pretty gray rule"

Team Penske driver Joey Logano recently gave his insights on the looming debate about whether Kyle Larson should get a waiver for the 2024 NASCAR Playoffs. Logano talked in depth regarding the "gray rule" by NASCAR when it comes to handing out waivers.

Hendrick Motorsports and Larson's decision to stay put for his debut in the rain-delayed Indy 500 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway made him miss his chance to start the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. This resulted in an unsuccessful attempt at the historic Memorial Day Double. The 2021 Cup Series champion, Larson, has already won two races in the regular season, which automatically booked his spot in the 2024 playoffs. But NASCAR's rulebook also says that the drivers must start in every race to qualify for the 10-race playoffs.

The two-time Cup Series champion Logano, in a conversation with SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, elaborated on the "grayest rule" in the sport. Logano started the discussion by sharing an instance:

"Here's some scenarios where it can get gray. It's one thing if you get hurt in the race car. That's black and white, in my opinion. If you're driving a Cup car, you get hurt. Well, in a NASCAR Cup car, the waiver makes sense to me." [0:12]

"If you get in a car accident, driving down the road, does that deserve a waiver? Maybe if you weren't speeding down the highway, driving like an idiot, maybe the scenario that happened last year, Chase Elliott gets hurt snowboarding. Do you get a waiver there? Pretty gray," Logano added.

According to the 34-year-old Logano, Hendrick's Larson decided that the Indy 500 was more important than the Coca-Cola 600.

"He made that decision or his people, whoever he is part of it, he made the decision. He put Indy car ahead of NASCAR." [1:24]

"I'm just spitting the facts here of that's what happened," Logano said [at 2:02].

However, the #22 Ford driver Logano believes that it was the most "bad*** thing" to attempt the exhausting 1100-mile race in a span of 24 hours. Had he been successful, the #5 Chevy driver, Larson would have been only the fifth driver to achieve this feat.

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Joey Logano's NASCAR rival Larson's playoff waiver is in "uncharted waters"

Speaking with SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NASCAR's VP of Competitions, Elton Sawyer, talked about the potential waiver for the 31-year-old Larson, if and when the HMS team sends in a request to the governing body. Sawyer said:

"We'll let the process take its course. I'm sure at some point they (Hendrick Motorsports) will send in that request and when they do, we'll go through our due diligence and meet with our people. And again, this will be a decision that, oh, not just one person will make, but a group will sit and look at it and discuss it and move forward."

"It's a little bit uncharted waters for us because in the past, the waivers have been mostly given for a medical reason. So this one's a little bit different from that aspect," Sawyer added.

So far, there has been no request from Hendrick Motorsports regarding the playoff waiver for #5 Chevy driver Larson. He has slipped to the third spot in the overall Cup Series standings and is six points behind table leader Denny Hamlin. Larson has two wins, six top-fives, and six top-tens after 13 starts.

Meanwhile, 2024 All-Star winner Logano is one spot away from the NASCAR playoffs. He currently stands at P17 in the Cup Series standings with one top-five and three top-tens after 14 races in the Cup Series season.