NASCAR To Mend Its Ways With Controversial Damaged Vehicle Policy? Denny Hamlin’s Crew Chief Sheds Light

The massive final stage wreck in Talladega last weekend stirred up controversy over NASCAR’s Damaged Vehicle Policy (DVP). The promotion allowed multiple cars to re-enter the race despite having to be towed back to their pit stalls for repairs. This is in clear violation of the rule book and officials had to hold a meeting with teams in the aftermath to clear things up.

Chris Gabehart, the crew chief of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing team driven by Denny Hamlin, spoke to SiriusXM recently about what was discussed in this meeting and provided an optimistic update. He explained, “In black and white, it is stated that if you’re deemed in an accident and you can’t drive back to your pit box, you’re out of the race.”

“No matter how good or bad that rule is, just like in Kansas with Josh Berry, that was the rule and everybody can stomach it and understand it. What is confusing is when that doesn’t happen,” Gabehart added.

Over 25 cars were involved in the wreck in Dega. Not allowing a majority of them back into the race would have been detrimental to the completion of the race and hence was out of the question.

Although it was an unintended occurrence, NASCAR knew enough to have contingency solutions for such scenarios. Gabehart continued to detail that the promotion wanted to make clear what its intention was going forward.

“Their intent is to not put anybody out of the race that doesn’t mistakenly not need to be,” he said. “So, if they misjudge or damage, they don’t want to put it on their officials.”

NASCAR’s promise of a different approach through the remainder of the season

What it seeks to do is give teams more control of the policy. The crew chief mentioned that NASCAR was going to let teams play a bigger role in deciding if a damaged car is good enough to race again. However, he did not want to give out an official word on behalf of the Daytona HQ and refrained from complete disclosure.

He concluded, “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.” A more relaxed stance is required to close the doors on the ongoing season without further issues.

But once the race in Phoenix is complete, the promotion will get into work and conduct a complete analysis of the Damaged Vehicle Policy. Accusations of inconsistent decision-making are not something that is to be taken lightly. Hopefully, an updated version of the policy will be released before the 2025 season.