“Definitely, they should”: Richard Petty in favor of Kyle Larson getting waiver 

Richard Petty has recently expressed his support for Kyle Larson's cause as the Hendrick Motorsports driver remains ineligible for the postseason. The 2021 Cup Series championship-winning team has appealed to NASCAR to grant Larson a playoff waiver for missing this year's Coca-Cola 600.

Kyle Larson ran this year's rain-delayed Indy 500, which took place on the same day and finished 18th. However, he was late in heading back to Charlotte for the Cup series race. According to NASCAR's rulebook, win or lose, a driver must start in every point-paying race of the regular season to qualify for the playoffs.

Nevertheless, the 7-time Cup Series champion, Richard Petty feels NASCAR should grant Larson a waiver. In the latest episode of Petty Race Recap, the legendary driver said,

"Oh, definitely they should. Way back, they give a waiver for, I think 12 races for Kyle Busch and he wounds up winning the championship. So definitely. You know, last year they let the 9 car (driven by Chase Elliott). Plus, he's already won a race, so that would automatically put him in."

Over the last few years, NASCAR has granted waivers to two other Hendrick Motorsports drivers, namely, Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman. This year, Erik Jones of Legacy Motor Club too, received a waiver on account of a spinal fracture.

However, all the aforesaid waivers were handed out for medical reasons. Unfortunately, being late doesn't fall under 'medical reasons'. Therefore, whether Larson gets his waiver remains unanswered.

Currently, Larson is second on point, just 6 points ahead of his teammate, Chase Elliott. His next race is the Toyota Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway on June 10.

World Wide Technology Raceway honors Richard Petty

"The King" himself showed up at the World Wide Technology Raceway last Sunday to watch the 2024 Enjoy Illinois 300. To make it auspicious, WWT honored the Hall of Famer by pulling the curtain off of the newly built statue of the iconic cowboy hat that the 200-time Cup Series race winner wears everywhere he goes.

The signature hat statue stood next to Petty's 1979 Oldsmobile. Celebrating 75 glorious years of the Petty family in the arena of NASCAR, World Wide Technology Raceway posted,

"In 2024, the Petty family celebrates 75 years of @NASCAR. @LEGACYMotorClub honors this legacy with a season-long celebration and unique art installations of Richard Petty's hats at World Wide Technology Raceway and other tracks"

The honor meant a lot not just to Richard Petty, but to the entire Petty family.

"It started in 1949 with my dad. A Petty deal, it’s not just a Richard Petty, it’s the Petty family," Petty explained, as reported by Yahoo News. "To be recognized and have something at all the tracks I used to run on, it makes the family very, very proud."

Today, Richard Petty is the team ambassador at Legacy Motor Club and also owns the Petty's Garage, a renowned car shop in Level Cross, North Carolina.