NASCAR is on the hotspot now. There has been a lot of controversy surrounding the DVP rule in recent races, mainly due to NASCAR’s inconsistent enforcement. It started with Ryan Blaney’s wreck at The Glen, where he was towed out of the race after the Lap 1 incident involving 5 cars. All the other cars were allowed to continue to race, but because Blaney’s car needed to be towed, according to the DVP, he had to retire. However, this was not the only incident that set the bar.

Another similar incident took place when Josh Berry had to retire from his Kansas race after his tires went flat. The on-track safety team tried to tow him away from the race, but Berry did not exit his car. In the end, Berry found himself among fans and out of the race, and NASCAR’s Cup Series Managing Director Brad Moran came forward to explain why. Fast forward to Talladega; the ‘Big One’ wrecked 28 cars on the grid, and although some managed to drive into the pits, NASCAR warranted other cars to be towed to the pits and let them continue their race. Fans have discussed these discrepancies all over, and now NASCAR owes people an answer.

NASCAR’s inconsistency with DVP is raising questions from the community

If NASCAR had not let Josh Berry continue his race in Kansas despite having only flat tires, it would have been fair for them to retire all the towed cars at Talladega. What adds to the controversy is the fact that despite pleas from fans, critics, and teams, Brad Moran stubbornly declared that there would be no modifications to the DVP rule until the season’s conclusion.

So when NASCAR ignored their guidelines for Talladega, it was only time that someone brought it up. On the Dirty Mo Media channel, Jeff Gluck and Jordan Bianchi spoke about the DVP and how NASCAR handled the situation. Jeff Gluck started by stating, “We’re told as recently as last week, with the Josh Berry situation, that the rule is: if you are involved in an incident and you have flat tires, you cannot drive it back. If you’re involved in an incident in any way, you’re out of the race.”

That’s when Bianchi stepped in to ask Gluck, “So, how did the 9 and the 14, who had damage and were involved in this accident, get towed back to pit road and then were able to continue? Please explain.” Gluck revealed that he had just spoken to Elton Sawyer, the senior vice president of competition at NASCAR, just minutes before the X video was shot, and stated, “[Sawyer] said that it was never intended to take good race cars out of the race.”

Ultimately, it came down to trying to keep as many drivers in the race as possible. Gluck explained how Chase Briscoe and Chase Elliot were towed back to the pits after the wreck as they were allowed to resume the race. Defending NASCAR, Gluck told Bianchi, “Basically, they’re trying to use common sense, I guess, and change the policy a little bit.” 

Bianchi held Brad Moran’s words against Gluck and said, “But they said they weren’t going to change the policy; they weren’t until the end of the year. So, I’m confused.” Unable to answer Bianchi’s doubt, Gluck simply ended the conversation by saying, “Well, that’s… Yes, that’s a problem.” The fact that NASCAR came forward to make an official statement saying that they won’t change the rules after being asked to makes the situation much worse for the governing body. It is one thing to keep the show running, but another to make it look like they are being partial.

Although most of the controversy in NASCAR surrounds drivers and teams, during the 2024 playoffs, it looks like the governing body of NASCAR is under fire. With the officials being served an anti-trust lawsuit, going back on their words is not a good look for them.

What did NASCAR have to say about retiring Josh Berry at Kansas?

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Fans and teams have already been frustrated with how NASCAR has been handling the recent DVP situations. Talladega might just take things into overdrive. Although NASCAR was clear about the rules they put in place, the two drivers who had to retire because of the DVP rule were unhappy with the ruling. The situation would have been a little calmer if Brad Moran had not made a bold statement about not changing the rules just one race ago.

However, NASCAR made their moves, and now it looks like it’s coming to bite them in the back. Berry’s car sustained multiple flat tires and light damage after contact with Harrison Burton on lap 1, making it ineligible for a tow back to pit road, but despite there being minimal damage, NASCAR decided to park the No. 4.

Giving an explanation as to why NASCAR did not let Berry race, Moran mentioned: “If it’s just sitting there with flat tires, you spun out, we’ll even give you a light scuff [in contract], that would be one thing; that vehicle would have been towed in. … From the reports I had, the car really wasn’t damaged and probably could have participated.” Although this is what Moran mentioned, the fans are not convinced.

This inconsistency has not only caught the attention of critics, but fans are also unhappy with how NASCAR handled the three DVP situations. With the lawsuit filed against NASCAR, it might be in their best interest to have more people on their side, especially as the opposing party has highly influential figures like Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin up against them.

Do you think that NASCAR made the right move by letting the drivers continue? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.