Following a lengthy discussion among officials at stock car racing’s highest level, NASCAR Chevy driver Kyle Larson has been approved to compete in the postseason Playoffs despite missing the 2024 Coca-Cola 600 due to circumstances well outside of his control.
According to a report from NASCAR.com, the decision wasn’t easy. Larson attempted to complete “The Double” – that is, to race in both the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on the same day – but his plans were thwarted by rain at both tracks. First, Indy was delayed by over two hours because of rain, and then, the Coca-Cola 600 was red flagged due to inclement weather and never restarted, preventing Larson from turning a single lap.
The NASCAR Rule Book outlines Playoffs eligibility requirements in Section 12.3.2.1.A, which states: “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. If a starting position was not earned, then the driver(s) and Team Owner(s) must have attempted to Qualify, at the discretion of the Series Managing Director, for the Race.”
Because he missed a Cup Series race to complete in another motorsports event, Larson was deemed ineligible for the Playoffs, prompting his team, Hendrick Motorsports (HMS) to apply for a waiver to give him a shot at the championship. Prior to the ill-fated Coca-Cola 600, Larson had already clinched a Playoffs spot by winning twice in 2024.
“This was without a doubt uncharted waters for us,” Elton Sawyer, NASCAR senior vice president of competition, explained. “We had our internal meetings. We had more internal meetings. We continued to have dialogue around it… This one was unique in the fact that obviously Kyle raced with another series and wasn’t there to start our event.”
Ultimately, it came down to giving Larson his rightful place in the championship, which is something the fans are likely to resonate with – and therefore shell out for tickets to see the races in person.
“To not have Kyle Larson in our playoff and give our fans the opportunity to see him race for a championship,” Saywer said. “At the end of the day didn’t feel like that’s the right decision for us to make. And we didn’t. We felt like we got to the right spot.”
Subscribe to GM Authority for more Chevy news, NASCAR news, GM motorsports news and around-the-clock GM news coverage.
No Comments yet