Jeff Gordon, the four-time Cup Series champion turned executive vice chairman of Hendrick Motorsports, is a little skeptical of two recent NASCAR rule changes.
The first is the change to the playoff waiver requirements that will now strip a driver of playoff points earned to date and through the end of the regular season if missing a race for reasons other than medical or family.
Gordon called it for what it for what it really is during an interview on Wednesday on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
“That’s obviously the Kyle Larson rule,” said Gordon with a laugh.
Larson missed the Coca-Cola 600 last May when his debut in the Indianapolis 500 was rain delayed. He rushed to Charlotte Motor Speedway upon completion of the Greatest Spectacle in Racing but the 600 ended up being rain shortened and Larson never got in the car.
NASCAR deliberated for over a week in whether to grant a waiver to allow Larson entry into the playoffs, which mandates an eligible driver to attempt every regular season race unless issued an exception. It ultimately did so but this rule change is a response to what happened and Gordon believes it is a bit of an overreaction.
“The one comment I’ll make about that is there’s a lot of debate over this, right,” Gordon said. “Last year, I was right there the whole time. I flew on the plane with Kyle from Indy to Charlotte and I don’t think (NASCAR) needed to take any further steps.
“Here’s my reason why: Because I saw the hurt on Kyle Larson’s face and I could feel him letting his team down. I had the conversations with Rick (Hendrick) and the conversations he’s having with NASCAR, Chad Knaus and Jeff Andrews. I heard it from fans and sponsors.
“And so, if you’ve never owned a team or driven a race car, then I understand why you feel like you need to take extra action. But if you ever have, (then you know) there is nothing harder than making that decision and dealing with consequences of not being in that car, Kyle not getting those points and having the opportunity to win that race because the car was great. Justin Allgaier did an amazing job but to let down the team, to me, that’s what drives the decision of why you do it or don’t do it in the future. Not necessarily whether you get a waiver or not. But I understand NASCAR’stuff decision and we’ll go by that.”
Then there’s the ‘Open Exemption Provisional,’ which grants a guaranteed entry into a race, as a 41st starter, where necessary for a ‘world class driver,’ and that’s where Gordon wants some clarity.
“I think that’s fantastic and, and we want to see Lewis Hamilton, right and others that are on that world class level to be in the Daytona 500,” Gordon said. “I also understand it’s a significant investment by somebody like Trackhouse or whoever to go about that to get that car and team ready to compete and influence in coming here.”What I’m a questioning or what I need more answers to is what’s the criteria that dictates who gets in and who doesn’t? Like, does it just become a popularity contest? And, what again, what popularity are you basing it off of? If it’s an F1 driver versus a sports car driver or IndyCar driver, I’m pretty sure most people would say ‘what’s going to get more eyeballs?'”Then you’ve got, you know, past champions, a seven-time champion like Jimmie Johnson. Where does he fit in that kind of criteria? So that’s my only question about it all, and I don’t have all the answers, but that’s certainly something I’m going to ask NASCAR when I get the chance to.”
