It seems like a foregone conclusion to many, but NASCAR has yet to decide whether Kyle Larson, who missed the Coca-Cola 600, will receive a playoff exemption. In fact, some in NASCAR are reportedly interested in denying Larson an exemption.
Kyle Larson is second in points this season, has two wins, and is arguably the favorite to win the championship in 2024.
He is considered the most talented driver in the Cup Series, and perhaps in North America. However, NASCAR is considering denying him a place in the championship.
On their podcast, “The Teardown,” reporters Jeff Gluck and Jordan Bianchi of The Athletic discussed the possibility of NASCAR denying Larson a waiver. “This is a very real issue,” Gluck said of Larson’s waiver decision. “I’ve seen so many people speculate over the last week. … Sorry, but no, this hasn’t been announced yet because they don’t know, and not only don’t they don’t know, but they are seriously considering not granting Kyle Larson a waiver.” Let me say it again: Not granting Kyle Larson an exemption is being seriously considered. “That doesn’t mean they won’t do it. My perspective is that cooler heads would probably prevail.
But there’s no question that there are people within the NASCAR racing department who are actually opposed to an exemption for Kyle Larson, and the discussions are ongoing, so we just don’t know. They’re just stalling it, they’re not. They’re just trying to figure out if they’re actually going to do this or not.”
Jordan Bianchi added:
“And there’s no rush to make a decision. I think it’ll come sooner than later, but there’s no deadline, they have to make a decision within a week or two. To be honest, they could run this all summer if they wanted to.”
Ultimately, NASCAR will make the decision. They can take one of two paths. First, ignore the part about following the rules and doing whatever you want. Then give Larson the go-ahead and put this behind him.
Last season we saw what happened when Chase Elliott wasn’t in the NASCAR playoffs. The ratings went down. It felt like a star was missing from the sport.
He made it to the final eight in the Owners Championship, but that’s not what fans care about. Leaving Kyle Larson out would be the worst in many ways.
He was penalized almost 60 points for missing the Coca-Cola 600, but he’s still second in the points standings.
Now imagine Larson becoming the regular season champion, and maybe the wins leader. Then he’s not allowed to participate in the playoffs.
That would be a disaster for NASCAR.
“Certainly hurt us a lot” – frustrated Kyle Busch blames Kyle Larson’s contact for squandered opportunity at WWT Raceway
Kyle Busch was not happy with how Kyle Larson raced yesterday at World Wide Technology Raceway. The two drivers, battling for seventh place, made contact on the final lap of Sunday’s second stage of the Cup race.
Larson was passing Busch sideways in turn one when his Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet came off, pushing Kyle Busch’s Rebel Chevrolet out. As a result, Larson’s No. 5 car spun on the track and Busch crashed into the outside SAFER barrier near turn two.
Kyle Busch told FOX Sports journalist Bob Pockrass that he doesn’t know exactly what the extra points mean for Larson, who is currently climbing the ranks and is No. 2 in the NASCAR Cup Series points standings. “I don’t know what that one point actually means to him,” Busch said. “But it was definitely a big blow to us because it took that point away from us and the other points we got in the stage and the rest of the day after that. It’s very frustrating.”
Kyle Busch of Richard Childress Racing is yet to win this year.
“He (Kyle Larson) seemed to get loose on the front straight into turn one. He was on old tires and tried to take a position from us.”
Outside the care center, Kyle Busch wasn’t quite sure what a regular-season point at the end of the stage meant for Larson, but Larson let his guard down and hit Busch, and that ended his day.
The Richard Childress Racing driver entered this year’s Enjoy Illinois 300 as the reigning race champion and started 10th. Still, he left the field with a DNF and has finished no worse than fourth in his past six starts. Kyle Busch has been winless this year with Richard Childress Racing. This year’s race at Gateway will mark Kyle Busch’s 36th winless race.
The last time he won a Cup Series race was at Gateway itself in 2023. A year later, Busch has won two races in the Truck Series for Spire Motorsports but has yet to earn his first win of the season. Still a win. According to a report from FOX Sports, Busch has eight top-five finishes (including two this year) and 14 top-10 finishes (including five this year) since his last win.
After finishing 25th on Sunday, Busch is 17th on the Cup Series leaderboard with 348 points. Regarding his feelings after his first retirement this season, the two-time Cup Series champion said in a previous interview: “I can’t afford to have days like this. The Rebel Camaro wasn’t what it was last year, but it was a top-10 car and we were supposed to finish there, but we didn’t finish at all.”
Kyle Busch now has his sights set on the next Cup Series race, which will be held at Sonoma Raceway on June 9 at 3:30 PM ET. The 110-lap race will be broadcast live on FOX, with updates on PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR vradio.
