Kyle Larson hopes to never have to talk about playoff waivers ever again after the last two weeks of uncertainty concerning the consequences of missing the Coca-Cola 600 for the rain delayed Indianapolis 500 on Memorial Day weekend.
Ultimately, NASCAR granted him the waiver, but Larson says the possibility that series officials wouldn’t did not weight on him like some might have expected.
“Obviously, I think there’s definitely relief on my end even though I wasn’t paying a ton of attention to it, the waiver,” Larson said. “At least knowing now that I do personally get to race for the championship feels good.
“I’m sure there was a lot that went into it on NASCAR’s end, wanting it to be right. I think we all believed I would get the waiver but they wanted to make sure they had their ducks in a row first. I’m appreciative of it for sure.”
He also said he’s grateful that no one has to ‘deal with the drama anywhere’ as the whole process generated a ton of discourse throughout the industry over the past week and a half.
But Larson said he wasn’t too bothered about the decision not going his way because he was going to race for the owner’s championship no matter what. There is actually no money in winning the driver’s championship as the fund is paid through the owner’s standings.
“Sure, I cared but … the thing I care most about is the owners championship,” Larson said. “At least in that moment because that’s what pays the bills. I was a little less stressed out over it than you might imagine I would be.
“I’m just happy I get to, if I do win the championship, I get to have my name on the record books.”
Larson was very careful during his media availability last week at Gateway not to express too much emotion one way or the other about it. That was very much intentional. He also didn’t have any conversations with NASCAR officials about the matter either.
“I personally didn’t have any communication with NASCAR but I know Jeff Gordon, Jeff Andrews and Rick Hendrick were in constant communication with them so I was appreciative of the support from my race team and letting them handle it,” Larson said.
“I’m pretty bad with words sometimes and could have just dug a hole a little bit if I were to communicate. I’m just thankful we don’t have to deal with it. I’m thankful to be able to race for a championship and thanks to everyone there.”
Larson fell from first to third in the championship standings and that was the real penalty in missing the Coca-Cola 600. That’s a difference of eight bonus points across each playoff round. Now, Larson is back to second after a top-10 in Gateway. He’s 21 points behind Denny Hamlin.
He had a 30 point lead over Hamlin before the 600.
“Really, we just need to keep doing what we’re doing,” Larson said. “The key is to not overreact. If we keep doing what we’re doing, in my mind, we can get it back. We’re also still leading the owner’s standings. Don’t overreact, keep executing, something we’ve done really well this season, and something I don’t always do well so I’m proud of that. If we keep doing that, we can get the lead back.”
So now that this entire saga is behind him, how does Larson feel about the entire attempt to do the Memorial Day Weekend double?
“I said all along that I really enjoyed the experience and I wish it would have played out differently with the weather and showcasing Kyle Larson doing the double,” Larson said. “I wish that didn’t happen, but reflecting on it, I’m very fortunate to be one of the handful of drivers to have attempted it.
“Getting to race on two big platforms like that was awesome; to race the Indy 500 and to race a Cup car for a living, really. I’m really fortunate to be one of those guys.
“America is in a great spot for motorsports and I just wish it could have gone to plan. I hope there’s another year because I don’t really feel like I got to do it but we’ll see. Hopefully I can.”
Matt Weaver is a Motorsports Insider for Sportsnaut. Follow him on Twitter.