Roger Penske puts faith in NASCAR amid Kyle Larson’s waiver debate

20-time Indianapolis 500 winning team owner Roger Penske has shared his opinion about whether NASCAR should grant Kyle Larson a playoff waiver. The Hendrick Motorsports icon missed the start of last week's Coca-Cola 600, and according to the rules, a driver needs to start every point-paying, regular-season race to qualify for the playoffs. However, Penske seems to trust NASCAR with the decision-making.

The 2024 Indianapolis 500 was delayed by four hours due to bad weather. However, Kyle Larson chose to stay for the IndyCar race rather than flying back to Charlotte and taking it over from Justin Allgaier, his replacement for this year's Coca-Cola 600. By the time he returned to Concord, NASCAR had already brought the race to a halt due to the rain. The race was called a few hours later, and Joe Gibbs Racing driver Christopher Bell was announced as the official winner.

Additionally, it is rumored that Larson might miss this year's playoffs due to his absence in last Sunday's race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Roger Penske, however, doesn't want that to happen. Nevertheless, he trusts that NASCAR will make the best call.

"That’s up to NASCAR,” Penske said via NBC about Larson's waiver debate. "I mean, certainly I want to see him not lose anything by coming to the Indy 500 for sure. But Larson came here with Hendrick Motorsports to race, they did a great job and I think it’s great for the sport."

"It’s really good for NASCAR. I know they will handle it properly," he added.

Next, the 87-year-old explained how Kyle Larson's venture into IndyCars has attracted several NASCAR fans to start following IndyCar racing and vice-versa. Roger Penske thinks this is a win-win situation for both IndyCar and NASCAR.

"We have IndyCar fans that are now checking out and becoming fans of what’s happening in NASCAR because of Kyle," said Penske. "And then I think there are some NASCAR fans checking out a little bit what’s going on with IndyCar."

Team Penske driver Josef Newgarden won his second consecutive Indianapolis 500 last week and therefore became the first driver since Helio Castroneves to win back-to-back Indy 500 races.

"When there’s blood in the water, people like to go after you"- Roger Penske opens up about an overblown controversy

Newgarden's victory in the Indianapolis 500 was also his first win of the IndyCar season. However, a few weeks later, it was alleged that the Penske cars had access to a push-to-pass software which allowed them to squeeze out an additional boost in the horsepower; something that nobody else on the field had access to. Roger Penske however, said otherwise.

"By the way, it was available for everybody to look at it at all the races," he explained. "So at the end of the day, we took our medicine and we’re moving on."

The automotive tycoon believes in the foundation of his team and said that they have already moved on from the controversy, which he thinks was quite overblown.

"It always bothers you when people take shots at you,” Penske told AP News. "But you know something, we have a strong foundation. People know who we are and how we operate. I guess we’ll have to move on.

“But sometimes when there’s blood in the water, people like to go after you and I think that’s what happened. I’m fine. I mean, we moved on. The controversy, as far as I’m concerned, was way overblown," he added.

However, the team is now all set to go for a third consecutive win in the Indianapolis 500. While talking to NBC Sports, Penske said,

"Our goal now is going for three in a row."