Joey Logano on Kyle Larson waiver decision: 'He put IndyCar ahead of NASCAR, that’s the facts'
Joey Logano said on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Wednesday that Kyle Larson prioritizing racing in the Indy 500 over the Coca-Cola 600 this past Sunday makes it tough to decide whether or not he deserves a waiver from NASCAR to remain eligible for the Cup Series playoffs.
Larson entered the day intending to run both races, but a four-hour delay in Indianapolis due to storms in the area forced him to choose one or the other. Larson chose to remain in Indianapolis and missed the start of the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Logano said that Larson’s situation falls into a gray area when it comes to granting waivers.
Joey Logano sounds off on NASCAR possibly handing waiver to Kyle Larson
“This is about the grayest rule we have in our sport,” Logano said. “It can be black and white, but it’s not. And so, it’s pretty gray. It’s one thing if you get hurt in the racecar. That’s black and white, in my opinion. If you’re driving a Cup car, you get hurt in a NASCAR cup car, the waiver makes sense to me to where you can still compete in the playoffs if you make the playoffs. If you get in a car accident driving down the road, does that deserve a waiver? Maybe, if you weren’t speeding down the highway, driving like an idiot. The scenario that happened last year, Chase Elliott gets hurt snowboarding. Do you get a waiver there? Pretty gray, pretty gray. I don’t know. I don’t know the right answer, but we all know what happened.
“This scenario — let’s be honest here. Super cool. What Kyle Larson did running the double — awesome. He got backed into the worst position possible for the scenario that happened, right? Because of the rain and delay of the Indy 500, all that. But he chose — he decided the Indy 500 is more important than the Coca-Cola 600. He made that decision, or his people, whoever, he is part of it. He put IndyCar ahead of NASCAR, that’s the facts, right or wrong. I don’t know. Waiver or not. I don’t know. I’m not here to make that decision, but the facts are, he thought IndyCar racing was a bigger race than NASCAR racing that day.
“I don’t know where you go with that. Don’t know where you go. I don’t know where to add to that either. I don’t want to make anyone mad sitting here. I’m just spitting the facts here of that’s what happened. I’m not taking anything away from what Larson did. I thought it was the most badass thing that anyone can do, to try to run both those races in one day.”
Kyle Larson has yet to file a waiver request, NASCAR exec says
Larson, who slipped to third in the points standings after missing the Coca-Cola 600, has yet to file a playoff waiver request, NASCAR senior vice president of competition Elton Sawyer said Tuesday. He finished P18 in the Indy 500 before jetting over to Charlotte. Larson arrived with 151 laps to go, but also at the same time that lightning and rain halted the race. He wouldn’t get the chance to run a single lap at Charlotte, with NASCAR calling the race before midnight.