Can Kyle Larson do the unthinkable? Can he follow in the footsteps of Tony Stewart? And can he finally to put to rest his quest after failing just a year ago? We find ourselves asking these questions, ones that will be answered in just a few hours. Tighten your seatbelts, because NASCAR’s latest drama is hotter than a summer day at Daytona! But hold on, because some NASCAR fans aren’t happy about Kyle Larson.
NASCAR’s no stranger to favoritism accusations, and the whispers of bias have been around longer than some of the tracks on the circuit. But fans think Hendrick Motorsports gets special treatment on the track. Remember Talladega last year? When the Big One took out more than half of the field, Chase Elliott’s car was picked up first. As Kenny Wallace said at the time, “We have a 28-car wreck, and Joey Logano’s in-car camera, he’s screaming through his helmet. ‘Pick me up! Get me going!’ It’s like a Mad Max movie where there’s only one gallon of gas left in the world and everybody’s fighting over that…so the whole field wants to be towed in. And in front of Joey Logano’s in-car camera is Noah Gragson just obliterating his motor…He’s trying to get his car out of the grass. Guess whose car they picked up pretty much first? …(the No. 9).”
And let’s not forget the 2024 uproar when Christopher Bell spun William Byron at Martinsville, only for NASCAR to slap Bell with a penalty while Byron, a Hendrick driver, got off scot-free, leading insiders to cry foul over a “biased” storyline that seemed to protect Hendrick’s golden boy. Byron went on to win that race, while Bell fumed over the inconsistent rulings. Joe Gibbs’ comments at the time, as per Bob Pockrass, “Joe Gibbs said he would love to protest but they said they can’t. Wouldn’t comment on what he thought of the decision,” led some fans to think Hendrick was being favored.
Now, the favoritism fire is raging again, and fans are pointing straight at Hendrick Motorsports as the beneficiary of NASCAR’s latest eyebrow-raising decision. On May 24, 2025, NASCAR announced that Kyle Larson, a Hendrick driver attempting “The Double” by racing the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on the same day, would be excused from the mandatory drivers’ meeting and driver intros for the Cup race at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 25. Bob Pockrass revealed on X, “Kyle Larson is excused from drivers meeting and driver intros for the Cup race tomorrow. He won’t have to go to the rear if he misses either at Charlotte.” That means his crew chief won’t have to pay the $100 fine for the penalty.
Even more shocking? Larson won’t have to start at the rear if he misses either, a break from NASCAR’s usual rules that have fans crying foul. Social media erupted with accusations of Hendrick favoritism, with some even questioning if NASCAR has lost control of its own series.
David Hoots, NASCAR’s managing director in the past once revealed just how important these meetings are. “There are some safety rules put on the entry blank that apply to each particular racetrack and the driver meeting is a continuation of entry procedure. If you think of how we communicate with the competitors, it starts with the rule book. Then we add bulletins to the rule book to keep the rule book up to date during the course of the year. You have the entry blank, which is another layer and extension of that. The drivers’ meeting is the last real opportunity to update the drivers and crew chiefs of any procedural changes.”
The backlash isn’t just about Larson’s special treatment—it’s about a pattern of NASCAR seemingly bending the rules for Hendrick Motorsports, from playoff controversies to protests being shut down. With Larson’s exemption reigniting old debates, fans are fed up with what they see as “special rules” for Hendrick, and they’re not holding back!
Fans Cry Foul Play at NASCAR
NASCAR’s decision to excuse Kyle Larson from the drivers’ meeting and intros for the Coca-Cola 600, without forcing him to start at the rear has fans seeing red. “Special rules for Hendrick drivers, huh?” one fan tweeted, capturing the frustration over what they see as preferential treatment for Larson, who drives the No. 5 for Hendrick Motorsports. However, this fan might have to remember the waiver policy that has come into effect this year. Last year, Larson got off without too many consequences after missing the Coca-Cola 600. If he misses out this year, he loses his playoff eligibility.
The rule-bending hits a sore spot for longtime fans, like one Tony Stewart supporter who vented, “As a Stewart fan, that retroactively aggravates me. Might have won the ’01 600 without having to come from the rear. I know he spun lap 2, so it’s probably irrelevant, but complaining about something is apparently what NASCAR fans are supposed to do, so here’s mine for the day.” Stewart, who completed “The Double” in 2001 with a 6th at Indy and a 3rd at Charlotte, had to start at the back in the 600 due to NASCAR’s strict enforcement rules that fans argue are now being ignored for Hendrick’s star.
The outrage grew louder with another fan’s take: “That’s pure BS. I wonder how much of that is AMAZON and Title Sponsor decisions. I fear NASCAR has lost full control of the series.” his comments reflects a growing unease about NASCAR’s new media partners, like Amazon Prime, which is streaming the Coca-Cola 600 as part of its five-race exclusive deal. Larson is one of the fan favorites, and his storyline coming into Memorial Day weekend is important, especially if you think how incredible it could be for
Fans worry that big-money sponsors and broadcasters are influencing decisions, especially when Hendrick—a team with deep ties to Chevrolet, an American brand NASCAR often favors over foreign makes like Toyota—seems to benefit. Speaking of Toyota, fans pointed out NASCAR’s bias against Joe Gibbs Racing, a Toyota partner, with one noting, “If he was a Gibbs driver, he’d be starting in the back of the field.” Gibbs drivers, like Denny Hamlin, have faced harsher penalties in the past—like Hamlin’s 2023 Kansas penalty for spinning Kyle Larson, which dropped him from a potential win to 28th—while Hendrick drivers often get a pass, fueling the narrative that NASCAR prioritizes Ford and Chevy over Toyota’s foreign roots.
The Hendrick favoritism narrative isn’t new—fans still point to 2023, when Joe Gibbs Racing’s protest over a Hendrick car’s illegal modifications was shut down, despite clear evidence of rule-breaking. NASCAR’s decision to side with Hendrick, a Chevy team, enraged Gibbs fans, who argued the sport was protecting American brands at Toyota’s expense.
With Larson’s exemption for the 2025 Coca-Cola 600—allowing him to focus on Indy without penalty while others, like Stewart in 2001, faced stricter rules—fans see a pattern: Hendrick’s 16 championships, 339 wins, and 298 poles across NASCAR’s history seem to come with a golden ticket. As one fan put it, “NASCAR has lost full control,” and until the sport addresses these inconsistencies, the cries of favoritism will only get louder.
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