"They decided to discourage drivers from racing other series": Insider critiques NASCAR waiver rule changes after Kyle Larson's IndyCar attempt

Kyle Larson, Coca Cola- 600, Indianapolis- 500. Source: via Imagn
Kyle Larson; Coca Cola 600 and Indianapolis 500 (insets). Source: Imagn

NASCAR introduced stricter waiver rules after Kyle Larson’s 'Double Duty', an attempt to compete in both the NASCAR Cup Series and the Indy 500, in May 2024. These changes were discussed on the podcast The Teardown, where the focus was on what this could mean for the driver's participation in events outside of NASCAR.

The segment started with Jeff Gluck and Jordan Bianchi, American Motorsports journalists for ‘The Athletic’, discussing how NASCAR has encouraged drivers racing in other formats to participate in its national series while discouraging their own from taking part in other races to prevent a schedule clash.

This discussion was focused on Larson's attempt. Generally, a driver must start in every regular-season race to race in the playoffs. Larson planned on participating in both the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600. The former got delayed due to bad weather and he could not return in time for the Coca-Cola 600 and stayed in Indianapolis. NASCAR considered this ground for possible disqualification but granted him a waiver later. Talking about this, Gluck said:

“They’ve also decided to double down on discouraging their drivers from racing other series in a way that would skip one of their events. Maybe this is the Kyle Larson rule but the waiver rule has now been amended.” [20:32]

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The amended rules after Kyle Larson's attempt were also discussed. Per the new wording, a driver must start every race and attempt to complete it.

“You can get a waiver, but if they give you a waiver, for a playoff and it’s for anything other than a medical reason, or age restriction or medical reason can also be like a family emergency, but if it’s for anything other than that, you lose all of your playoff points,” Gluck added.

As further discussed in the video, in light of this rule change, not getting a waiver and starting the playoffs with zero playoff points could mean no amount of wins would save the driver or their standing in this case.


“This was without a doubt uncharted waters for us” - NASCAR’s Elton Sawyer talks about why the waiver was granted to Kyle Larson

In an official explanation published on NASCAR’s official site on June 4, 2024, the move referred to as “The Double” was not possible due to weather delays in both the locations where Kyle Larson planned on competing, which includes Indianapolis and Charlotte. Talking about this, about the playoff rule that would not have allowed Larson to take part, NASCAR official Elton Sawyer said:

"This was without a doubt uncharted waters for us."

Sawyer also mentioned extensive efforts by Larson and Hendrick Motorsports to ensure he raced in Charlotte.

“Without the weather, they were going to be there,” he added.

Larson’s only loss by missing the race was the 23 playoff points he would’ve otherwise scored. No additional penalties were charged. As mentioned in the article, this was done to maintain fairness and encourage NASCAR drivers’ participation in other motorsport events.

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Edited by Aayush Kapoor
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