NASCAR has been time and again accused of doing what it pleases. Like recently, the 23XI racing and Front Row Motorsports in their refusal to sign the charter deal have called out NASCAR for unjustly displaying their monopoly in the sport. In another instance of being unjust, NASCAR’s Damaged Vehicle Policy has been making headlines.

NASCAR in two consecutive races made varied rulings leading to an uproar from the NASCAR community. However, recently the authorities have decided to update the policy, which has raised many questions. With only five races remaining in the season, could they have not waited till the season’s end? Denny Hamlin hopes NASCAR this time stays true to its word, as this could certainly have implications for the playoffs.

Denny Hamlin opens up on NASCAR’s DVP stance

What happened was, in the most recent Kansas race, Josh Berry was struck in the right rear with his car suffering minimal damage. However, he could not make it to the pit stall and NASCAR deemed him out of the race as per their rule. According to the earlier DVP, if a damaged car needs to be towed because it cannot make it under its power to the pit stall, it would be rendered an automatic DNF. Which is what happened in Berry’s case.

However, in just the next race at Talladega, there was a 28-car wreck. Where playoff drivers Chase Briscoe and Chase Elliott had their cars towed, repaired, and allowed to rejoin the race. This sparked outrage as NASCAR was called out for its double standards. But recently they have made a rule change ahead of the Charlotte ROVAL race, which came after a discussion with the crew chiefs. Now, as reported by NASCAR.com – “If a car suffers a flat tire during a race and can still move under its own power, but is unable to return to its pit for repairs, it will be towed back to the pit lane. Once in the pits, the team will have seven minutes to replace the flat tire, assess any other damage, and make necessary repairs.”

NASCAR conveniently changing rules as per their wish has Denny Hamlin hoping they’d stick with it this time. Hamlin ahead of the ROVAL race said, “We certainly play by the letter of the law for a very long time, and then we varied from that, so while, there has been a change since last week, at least if what they said was true, they are going to play it the same from here on out and not change.” Bringing such big changes mid-playoff is certainly going to bring some consequences. “I would have certainly rather it changed at the end of the year like they talked about, but here we are, and hopefully, we have some consistency for the last five,” the #11 added.

The Series is at its crucial stages as the next race is the eliminator. Followed by the Cup Series selecting its final four. Elliott is currently +13 points above the cutline and would have maybe found himself below it if the initial rule had been applied. As for Briscoe, despite his revival in the race, he is at the bottom of the pack with -32 points.

With the updated rule, the consequences can be severe. For instance, what if there are another 28 or more cars involving wrecks, including many playoff participants, who does NASCAR rescue first? How would they ensure fairness in that?

Denny Hamlin points out the consequences of DVP change

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Hamlin on the consequences said, “Certainly, there is going to be unintended consequences to it, right? That is going to be when you tow cars back to pit road. When do you open pit road? Do you just wait, wait, wait – then you have some fuel mileage issues? People need to pit, and next thing you know, the tow truck is sitting in their pit stall.”

Not just this, in the case of another big one like Kansas, who would be towed first. Would it be based on the severity of the damage? Track position during the wreck? There are a lot of unknowns. And especially nearing the end of the Cup Series, this rule can prove to be detrimental. “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,” Hamlin added.

On the other, Hamlin’s driver in the 23XI team had a rather unusual solution to the problem. According to Bubba Wallace, just try not to get involved in the wreck. Wallace, on the DVP update, said, “Here we go. Don’t get in the crash. Don’t worry about it. You’re putting the situation in their hands and never really works out in your favor…” Well, only time will tell what implications does the sport suffers with this new DVP.

How do you think it is going to affect the competition? Let us know in the comments below.