After last week’s NASCAR meeting with the crew chiefs, Chris Gabehart, the brains atop Denny Hamlin’s pit box weighed in on the new DVP rules, stressing that NASCAR aims to avoid unfairly sidelining any driver and to keep the onus off their officials if they make an error in judgment.
Advertisement
Now, as the Bank of America Roval 400 race approaches, Hamlin has also offered his own views on these regulations. While the #11 Joe Gibbs Racing driver recognized that NASCAR has decided to make some decisions with crew chiefs and came up with the rules for this season, he expressed uncertainty about whether there has been an actual rule modification.
He was, however, sure that the interpretation had shifted.
Hamlin voiced his satisfaction and said, “They are going to play it the same from here on out and not change,” expecting consistency in how the rules will be applied moving forward in the remaining five races of the season.
Talking about the consequences of the rules, the JGR driver elaborated further: “I would say that – certainly, there is going to be unintended consequences to it, right? […] People need to pit, next thing you know, the tow truck is sitting in their pit stall.”
“There is going to be – while this has evolved – there will be some kinks in it that we don’t plan for, you just hope that I don’t know, if there is a multi-car wreck, you just hope that you are the first one to get towed because it will certainly be a big advantage,” he continued.
NASCAR’s outlook for the remainder of the season, as per Hamlin’s crew chief
Hamlin’s crew chief hinted that NASCAR might give teams more leeway in determining whether a damaged car can return to the track. However, he steered clear of making any official statements on behalf of Daytona HQ, opting to keep some cards close to his chest.
In a candid discussion on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Gabehart shared, “I don’t want to speak entirely for them on the specifics. I’m sure they’ll do that in the coming days but the gist of it is, it sounds like they’re gonna loosen up the reins a little bit with five races to go.”
As the season winds down, NASCAR plans to reevaluate the Damaged Vehicle Policy after the curtain falls on the final race at Phoenix. There is a buzz that a revised version of the policy will be unveiled before the 2025 season kicks off.
