Larson planned to race in both the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600 last weekend, but bad weather stopped his plans. Rain delayed the start of the 500, so Larson couldn’t make it to NASCAR’s longest race, the Coca-Cola 600.
He got to Charlotte after 249 out of 400 laps were done, but then it started raining there too. The race didn’t restart, and Larson didn’t get to race. Justin Allgaier took his place and finished 13th.
On the FOX pre-race show at Gateway, Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer talked about how Larson should get a waiver. Larson was leading in the regular season before missing the Charlotte race and is now third in points with two race wins.
“I think we can all agree the waiver thing doesn’t make any sense as it stands right now,” said Larson on FS1. “But I do understand the rules in place. I’m not sweating it that much.”
Larson seemed okay with whatever decision comes, saying: “Thankfully, I’ve won a championship. In my eyes, I still get to compete for a championship through the owner’s points system. That’s how we all get paid. [It] would obviously be weird if I was to win the driver’s deal at the end of the year and didn’t get to have my name in the record books, but it’s already in there once. That’s kind of all that matters to me.”
Hendrick Motorsports asked for a waiver on Thursday, and NASCAR hasn’t said when they’ll decide.
“I’m sure it’s confusing,” Larson said. “I think NASCAR is probably trying to figure out if I get a waiver, do they have to rewrite the rule … I really don’t care. I’m here to race. I’m gonna be here every weekend.”
The rule says “unless otherwise authorized by NASCAR, driver(s) and team owner(s) must start all championship events of the current season to be eligible for the Playoffs.”
In the past, NASCAR has given waivers to drivers who couldn’t race for medical reasons or got suspended for breaking NASCAR’s rules.
