2024 Nascar Big 3

[chavez]

Having only recently returned to NASCAR after an absence of sometime, I was surprised to see that the Richmond race started on a damp track on wets.

Is this something new for the short tracks?

[broadrun96]

Yup, that was the test. And from all reports it worked a champ and will be continued. There were multiple rounds of testing previous but believe this was the debut

[NaBUru38]

Pretty impressive!

[Akrapovic]

Originally Posted by broadrun96

Yup, that was the test. And from all reports it worked a champ and will be continued. There were multiple rounds of testing previous but believe this was the debut

This is awesome.

[DoMw94]

I thought some here might enjoy this. last month I went to my first NASCAR race, and I put some words on a page about the experience:

https://dominikwilde.com/its-about-damn-time/

[fieldodreams79]

https://x.com/3YearLetterman/status/1794860001787560250

[fieldodreams79]

Kyle Larson has had himself a day.

[chernaudi]

For those who are following the situation, NASCAR officially granted Kyle Larson a playoff waiver this morning (Larson missed the start of the Coke 600 due to his and HMS' decision to run the Indy 500 after a rain delay). As I said elsewhere, it's only fair since NASCAR played loose and fast giving Chase Elliot (and I think 1 or 2 others in the other national series) playoff waivers after getting ejected/suspended from races for in-race disciplinary issues.

[Adam43]

I’m curious, was this ever actually an issue?

[chernaudi]

Waivers were originally introduced because of Denny Hamiln missing several races in 2013 due to a back injury sustained at California Speedway. The rule was if you were in the top 16 in points and/or win a race and in the top 30 at the end of the regular season, you were locked in even if you missed a race or multiple races and qualified for waiver for medical reasons. Notable instance, Kyle Busch in 2015 after he broke a leg during the Daytona 500 weekend.


Where NASCAR played loose and fast was when they gave a couple of drivers in their top 3 national divisions (most notably Chase Elliot) a waiver for getting ejected or suspended for on-track/at-track behavior issues.


My point is that if you're going to give out waivers for that crap, giving a waiver to a driver who missed a race trying to do something that was beneficial to NASCAR (and both NASCAR and Indy Car needed some good news going into Memorial Day weekend) should at that point be a no-brainer.

[Adam43]

I assumed that this example was never actually a problem. People were going on like it was. I didn’t follow that much, but assumed there was nothing in it.

[chernaudi]

I think that NASCAR milked it for drama/controversy. Especially given that Elliot got his waiver for dumping Hamiln in the 600 last year either the morning after or same day that HMS applied for it.



As I said, given that, it should've been a no brainer. I could see NASCAR getting a lot of backlash for not giving Larson his waiver for giving waivers for (at least IMO) less justified reasons. IMO, NASCAR opened a potential can of worms there with giving waivers for suspended drivers. BTW, I have no issue for waivers given out for injury, illness or hardship.


Then again, I'm not a fan of the chase/playoffs, period, let alone win and you're in (and since last year you don't have to be in the top 30 in regular season to win and get a playoffs spot, just have to intend to run every race in the season), but that's neither here nor there for here.