One of the biggest controversies in NASCAR over the last week finally has some clarity ahead of the Round of 12 postseason finale.
Last week, NASCAR found itself in hot water after towing Chase Elliott and Chase Briscoe back to their pit stalls for repairs after a 28-car pileup at Talladega Superspeedway – the single-biggest wreck in the history of the sport.
That drew the frustration and confusion of other drivers after Josh Berry wasn’t afforded that same treatment after sustaining minor damage to his vehicle before getting booted at Kansas Speedway.
Following a week of debate and criticism, NASCAR finally attempted to “clarify” the rule with just five races left in the postseason.
NASCAR revises damaged vehicle policy after Talladega drama
Earlier this week, NASCAR officials held a meeting with Cup Series crew chiefs to address the Damaged Vehicle Policy, which had come into question after those inconsistent rulings over the last two weeks.
In general terms, any vehicle that suffers too much damage to race without repairs is deemed ineligible to continue the race.
That became a grey area last week after some vehicles were stuck in the grass but appeared to suffer minor damage, as NASCAR ultimately towed two cars to pit road.
After Thursday’s meeting with crew chiefs, NASCAR released a statement on Friday and stated that it’ll follow the same policy it used for Talladega.
If a vehicle has flat tires but appears able to continue the race with assistance, it will be towed back to its pit stall within seven minutes. If the damage appears too significant to continue racing, that driver’s day is over.
That still leaves plenty to the discretion of NASCAR after each incident, but it’s at least slightly more clarification than we had after the mayhem at Talladega.
Elton Sawyer admits mistake at Kansas: ‘Should have made a different call’
The “clarification” to NASCAR’s DVP rules came after Elton Sawyer, the senior vice president of competition, admitted to mistakes in how the governing body handled Berry’s wreck at Kansas.
In the immediate aftermath of last week’s race at Talladega, Sawyer said that NASCAR’s goal was to “air on the side of our competitors” after what he considered a mistaken decision to disqualify Berry after a minor wreck on Lap 1 ended his day.
“Our goal was never to put good cars out of the race,” Sawyer said. “Last week, as we got looking at that (incident at Kansas) and digesting that, we could tell that maybe we should have made a different call.”
At that point, Sawyer pointed to the offseason as a time to make potential “major” changes. But, clearly, the sport felt an immediate clarification was worth putting out before this weekend’s Round of 12 finale.
READ MORE: NASCAR drivers sound alarm about ‘violent’ turn at Charlotte ROVAL: ‘A concussion every lap’
The DVP could play a key role for Sunday’s Bank of America ROVAL 400, which features a new road course layout that seems likely to cause even more chaos than usual at Charlotte.
With a sharper hairpin around Turn 7 and tight elevated curbs on Turn 16, cars could be flying around the course as they were throughout Saturday’s Xfinity Series race at the redesigned ROVAL.
Shane Van Gisbergen won the pole for both races and will lead the Cup Series drivers to the start line for Sunday’s race, which begins at 2 p.m. ET on NBC.