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NASCAR insider 'has no issues' with new policy surrounding suspensions, playoff waivers

Brian Jones Profile Picby:Brian Jones•01/15/25•

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Phoenix
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A NASCAR insider supports a new policy involving driver suspensions and playoff waivers. On The Teardown podcast, Jordan Bianchi of The Athletic shared his thoughts on drivers not being granted playoff waivers if they receive a suspension.

“I think [NASCAR’s] messaging over the last few years has been if you right-rear hook somebody, especially on a fast track, there’s a penalty and it’s gonna be significant,” Bianchi said. “They have a pattern now of suspending, I don’t know how you deviate from that when you made it a very big issue.

“…I do like the fact that there’s more teeth now on a suspension than before. Maybe you could argue that it’s probably a little too much and maybe you could save all of your playoff points up until this point. But then again if you do that, a suspension in August is much more impactful than a suspension in February after two or three races. I don’t know how you do that.”

What is NASCAR’s new policy on suspensions and playoff waivers?

Bianchi added: “I really don’t mind this. I’m fine with this as long as the enforcement continues for on-track violations when you hook somebody and send them in the wall, which is a deliberate thing. As long as that doesn’t change, I have no issues with this.”

The policy change states “Should a driver miss a race for a reason other than injury, they would then forfeit any playoff points accumulated during that season. Drivers who miss a race(s) due to a medical reason are not subject to losing their playoff points,” Bianchi wrote last week. Drivers are required to compete in all 26 regular-season Cup Series races to make the playoffs, but NASCAR has given waivers to drivers for those who have excused absences.

The most notable example is Kyle Larson receiving a waiver for missing the Coca-Cola 600 last year. Larson did not compete in the race because he participated in the Indy 500 earlier in the day. He was planning to compete in both races, but inclement weather at both tracks prevented that from happening.