NASCAR grants Larson’s playoff waiver

Kyle Larson has been granted a waiver by NASCAR to remain eligible for the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs after not starting the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Hendrick Motorsports requested the waiver after Larson was kept in Indianapolis to compete in the 108th Indianapolis 500. The start of the race (May 26) was delayed by 4 hours due to inclement weather. Larson qualified fifth (in the middle of the second row) in his Arrow McLaren machine and finished 18th after a late-race speeding penalty.

Justin Allgaier started the Coca-Cola 600 in Larson’s No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet and because of the driver change, Allgaier dropped to the rear of the 40-car field for the green flag.

The plan was for Larson to complete the Indianapolis 500 and take over his Cup Series car after arriving at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Larson arrived on pit road in Concord at approximately 9:30 p.m. ET and was preparing to get into the car when the race was red-flagged because of rain and then went into a lightning hold.

A severe thunderstorm then moved into the area, and NASCAR deemed the race official nearly two hours later due to the weather and high humidity hampering track drying efforts that would likely have pushed the resumption of the event past 1 a.m. ET.

Allgaier ran the race’s 249 laps and finished 13th. He will be the driver of record for the Coca-Cola 600, with Larson not earning points for the event because he did not start the car.

The waiver was necessary for Larson to remain eligible for the postseason because the NASCAR Rule Book 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.”