Kyle Larson was finally granted the waiver this week he needed from NASCAR to remain eligible to race for a second Cup championship.
Now that the ordeal is over, Larson would prefer if the topic just went away.
“I think there’s definitely relief on my end,” Larson said Saturday at Sonoma. “There was a lot, I’m sure, discussion that went into it on NASCAR’s end and a lot of discussion. I’m appreciative of it, for sure, and look forward to hopefully not talk about waivers again.
“Thankfully nobody has to deal with the drama going forward.”
Larson last month became the fifth driver in history to attempt to run both the Indianapolis 500 and NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 on the same day. But his quest to complete 1,100 miles was ruined by rain in both states. The Indianapolis 500 was delayed four hours and, by the time Larson arrived in North Carolina for the NASCAR race, it was raining there, too, and he never turned a single lap.
Because he failed to compete in the Coca-Cola 600, NASCAR took more than a week to decide if it would grant Larson the waiver to remain playoff eligible. The exemption was widely considered to be a given since NASCAR has historically granted waivers for anything from injury, to mental health breaks, suspension and a variety of other reasons.
But Hendrick Motorsports was forced to sweat out NASCAR’s decision even though Larson heads into Sunday’s race at home-track Sonoma Raceway second in the Cup standings. His two wins have already made him playoff eligible, but NASCAR could have stripped his eligibility for prioritizing the Indy 500 over its own event.
Larson said he stayed out of conversations between Hendrick Motorsports and NASCAR, leaving the talks to his bosses and series officials. He instead returned his focus to NASCAR competition and overcoming the disappointment of rain ruining “The Double” for him.
“I’ve said all along, I really enjoyed the experience and I wish it would have panned out differently with the weather and really showcased Kyle Larson and doing ‘The Double’ but unfortunately that didn’t happen,” Larson said. “But, also, reflecting on it, I am very fortunate to be just one of a handful of drivers to have done it, attempted it, getting to race on two big platforms like that is awesome.
