Larson gets waiver, eligible for NASCAR playoffs
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — NASCAR on Tuesday granted Kyle Larson the waiver he needs to remain eligible to compete in this year’s playoffs despite missing the Coca-Cola 600 because he instead ran the Indianapolis 500.
The decision came after nearly nine days of internal NASCAR debate over whether Larson should be punished for choosing to stay in Indianapolis, where rain delayed the May 26 race by four hours. That meant Larson had zero chance of making it back to Charlotte in time to start the Coca-Cola 600.
But it was always his intent to race at Charlotte Motor Speedway and Larson did make it to the track, only to have the race called for rain before he ever turned a lap in his No. 5 Chevrolet. Justin Allgaier started in Larson’s place and was credited with a 13th-place finish.
“This was without a doubt unchartered waters; in the past, those waivers had been given mostly for medical reasons or for drivers suspended from our event, and those waivers were granted fairly quickly,” said Elton Sawyer, NASCAR senior vice president of competition. “This one was unprecedented in that we had a driver miss one of our races, one of our Cup championship events, to be at another event. That’s why it took as long as it did. The time we took, which was a week, was exactly the right time we needed to make the decision.”
Larson appeared to react to the waiver with a meme he posted on social media of him giving the thumbs-up.
Larson, who has two wins this season that make him automatically eligible for the playoffs, had his Cup Series standings altered after Sunday’s race outside St. Louis. Although he was listed as second in the overall standings, all his playoff points had been wiped away.
The playoff points were restored in Tuesday’s standings.
“To not have Kyle Larson in our playoff and give our fans the opportunity, the chance to see him race for a championship, at the end of the day, that didn’t feel that was the right decision for us to make,” Sawyer said.
Larson, who finished 18th at Indianapolis in large part because of a late speeding penalty, had worked out a minute-by-minute plan with Hendrick Motorsports to ensure he’d make the start of the Coke 600. But when rain disrupted the Indy 500, Rick Hendrick made the decision to keep Larson in Indianapolis.
All of Hendrick Motorsports was in constant contact with NASCAR and under the impression there was no issue so long as Larson made it back to compete in the 600.
Sawyer said no one from Hendrick was ever guaranteed a waiver if Larson did not make the NASCAR race.
“Under normal circumstances, completing ‘The Double’ is one of the toughest tests in sports. Despite our best efforts, this year’s combination of weather conditions in Indianapolis and Charlotte made it impossible,” Hendrick said. “Although losing ground in the standings was hard to swallow, we were especially disappointed for the fans at the Coca-Cola 600 who were not able to see Kyle race.
“I’m extremely proud of everything he did to prepare and the months of planning by our team and our partners at Arrow McLaren to run these two crown jewel events. We hoped race day would play out differently, but the program was still incredibly positive for everyone involved. Kyle’s performance throughout May was a great reflection on the level of talent competing each week in the NASCAR Cup Series. We appreciate NASCAR communicating with us throughout the effort and granting our request for a playoff waiver.”
Larson was the fifth driver in history to attempt to run the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600 in the same day. Only Tony Stewart in 2001 completed all 1,100 miles.
There is concern now that NASCAR’s tough stance will deter drivers from trying the feat in the future. Larson had a two-year deal with Arrow McLaren and Hendrick to run Indy again in 2025, but it is not clear if NASCAR’s lengthy deliberations will upend those plans.
Waivers in NASCAR until now have been handed out like candy.
When NASCAR launched the playoff system in which a regular-season victory locked a driver into the playoffs, it wanted to ensure the driver wouldn’t start skipping races because their slot in the championship playoffs was guaranteed.
NASCAR said the drivers still needed to participate in all the events. But if they got injured? Well, then a waiver was available to excuse the absence from the Cup Series event.
Since then, the issue has become murky at best. NASCAR has granted waivers for physical injuries and illness but also for mental health and a suspension for accusations of domestic violence. Matt Kenseth, who had not driven in the Cup Series since 2018 when Chip Ganassi hired him during Larson’s suspension in 2020 for using a racial slur, even got a waiver.
Age waivers have been given in the Truck Series for drivers who missed the start of the season because they weren’t old enough to compete full time. Chase Elliott, Larson’s teammate at Hendrick Motorsports, last year was given two waivers: one for missing races while injured, the second for missing a race while he was under NASCAR suspension for intentionally wrecking Denny Hamlin.
The rulebook states that “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. If a starting position was not earned, then the driver(s) and Team Owner(s) must have attempted to Qualify, at the discretion of the Series Managing Director, for the Race.”
Sawyer conceded that although the rain in Indianapolis meant Larson was not at Charlotte in time for the start of the race, Larson made every attempt to race the 600.
“Our decision-making was, although we had the inclement weather in Indy as well as Charlotte, Kyle made every attempt to get to Charlotte,” Sawyer said. “He was standing in the pit box with his helmet on, ready to go, and unfortunately we had weather in Charlotte, as well, and we weren’t fortunate enough to get the race going again.”
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Adam Rittenberg
BOULDER, Colo. — Colorado coach Deion Sanders said he feels “healthy and vibrant” after returning to the field for preseason practices after undergoing surgery to remove his bladder after a cancerous tumor was found.
Sanders, 57, said he has been walking at least a mile around campus following Colorado’s practices, which began last week. He was away from the team for the late spring and early summer following the surgery in May. Dr. Janet Kukreja, director of urological oncology at University of Colorado Cancer Center, said July 30 that Sanders, who lost about 25 pounds during his recovery, is “cured of cancer.”
“I’m healthy, I’m vibrant, I’m my old self,” Sanders said. “I’m loving life right now. I’m trying my best to live to the fullest, considering what transpired.”
Sanders credited Colorado’s assistant coaches and support staff for overseeing the program during his absence. The Pro Football Hall of Famer enters his third season as Buffaloes coach this fall.
“They’ve given me tremendous comfort,” Sanders said. “I never had to call 100 times and check on the house, because I felt like the house is going to be OK. That’s why you try your best to hire correct, so you don’t have to check on the house night and day. They did a good job, especially strength and conditioning.”
Colorado improved from four to nine wins in Sanders’ second season, but the team loses Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter, the No. 2 pick in April’s NFL draft, as well as record-setting quarterback Shedeur Sanders, the son of Deion Sanders. The Buffaloes have an influx of new players, including quarterbacks Kaidon Salter and Julian “Ju Ju” Lewis, who are competing for the starting job, as well as new staff members such as Pro Football Hall of Fame running back Marshall Faulk, who is coaching the Buffaloes’ running backs.
Despite the changes and his own health challenges, Deion Sanders expects Colorado to continue ascending. The Buffaloes open the season Aug. 29 when they host Georgia Tech.
“The next phase is we’re going to win differently, but we’re going to win,” Sanders said. “I don’t know if it’s going to be the Hail Mary’s at the end of the game, but it’s going to be hell during the game, because we want to be physical and we want to run the heck out of the football.”
Sanders said it will feel “a little weird, a little strange” to not be coaching Shedeur when the quarterback starts his first NFL preseason game for the Cleveland Browns on Friday night at Carolina. Deion Sanders said he and Shedeur had spoken several times Friday morning. Despite being projected as a top quarterback in the draft, Shedeur Sanders fell to the fifth round.
“A lot of people are approaching it like a preseason game, he’s approaching like a game, and that’s how he’s always approached everything, to prepare and approach it like this is it,” Deion Sanders said. “He’s thankful and appreciative of the opportunity. He don’t get covered in, you know, all the rhetoric in the media.
“Some of the stuff is just ignorant. Some of it is really adolescent, he far surpasses that, and I can’t wait to see him play.”
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Adam Rittenberg
LSU starting quarterback Garrett Nussmeier aggravated the patellar tendinitis he has been dealing with in his knee but will not miss any significant time, coach Brian Kelly said Friday.
Kelly dropped in ahead of a news conference Friday with offensive coordinator Joe Sloan to tell reporters that Nussmeier did not suffer a severe knee injury or even a new one. According to Kelly, Nussmeier has chronic tendinitis in his knee and “probably just planted the wrong way” during Wednesday’s practice.
Nussmeier ranked fifth nationally in passing yards (4,052) last season, his first as LSU’s starter, and projects as an NFL first-round draft pick in 2026.
“It’s not torn, there’s no fraying, there’s none of that,” Kelly said. “This is preexisting. … There’s nothing to really see on film with it, but it pissed it off. He aggravated it a little bit, but he’s good to go.”
Kelly said Nussmeier’s injury ranks 1.5 out of 10 in terms of severity. Asked whether it’s the right or left knee, Kelly said he didn’t know, adding, “It’s not a serious injury. Guys are dealing with tendinitis virtually every day in life.”
LSU opens the season Aug. 30 at Clemson.
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