NASCAR has taken steps to clarify its DVP rules. After the debacle surrounding Kyle Busch at Daytona International Speedway, the sanctioning body felt the need to alter the language for its rulebook to leave no room for interpretation or misunderstanding. The move comes after the No. 8 Chevy team tried to use the new Damage Vehicle Policy rule after damage was incurred to Rowdy’s vehicle, only for things to take a turn for the worst when they tried to re-enter the race.
The NASCAR’s hierarchy has made the updated Damage Vehicle Policy easier to understand to avoid confusion about the new rules. Could the change help avoid a situation similar to Kyle Busch’s incident in the future? Time will tell.
NASCAR leaves no room for misinterpretation
The scenes were chaotic at Daytona International Speedway. Kyle Busch found himself stranded on the track with four flat tires after a wreck in Lap 187 because of Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Joey Logano. After the air jack system had failed to work, the No. 8 Chevy was towed back into the garage for repairs. Determined to get back in the race as soon as possible, the tires were promptly replaced, and the team got back onto the track by leaving the designated ‘work area’ before returning to the garage for further repairs while the race was still in caution.
However, the Richard Childress Racing team was in for a rude awakening as they were automatically disqualified from the race after returning. This incident prompted an angry reaction from Samantha Busch, who wrote on X, “Driver, crew chief everyone yelling don’t hook it up just need a push it yet no one listens?! I’m confused what’s the protocol here genuinely wondering? @bobpockrass @jeff_gluck do you know.” Kyle Busch wasn’t too far behind, and he went on to say, “I don’t even think they (NASCAR) know their own rules or procedures.”
To avoid confusion about the updated Damage Vehicle Policy going forward, the sanctioning body has reworded the language in the rulebook to ensure there is more clarity about the procedure going forward. As per the new rules, “Vehicles returning to the racetrack from the designated garage repair area will have one attempt to meet the posted minimum speed requirement and may not re-enter the garage area prior to attempting minimum speed.” This is the point of confusion between the No. 8 team and NASCAR during the season-opener, as they went back into the garage during caution even though they failed to make minimum speed on the racetrack.
This relates to Kyle Busch at Daytona but a NASCAR rule book update today specifies that a driver cannot re-enter the work area after leaving and before making their sole three lap attempt to meet minimum speed. pic.twitter.com/xuCEoLAwZe
— Matt Weaver (@MattWeaverRA) February 26, 2025
According to the updated rules, if the time limit has expired when the car was getting repairs on the pit road, the vehicle will need to go into the garage to finish repairs. A stop-and-go penalty will be incurred if repairs continue on the pit road. With only two races over in the 2025 campaign, NASCAR is hoping to avoid more confusion about the Damage Vehicle Policy rules after Kyle Busch’s controversy. It’ll be interesting to see if the updated rules ensure fewer cars are forced to retire in the long run, ensuring more points are shared between racers going forward.
NASCAR official reacts to Busch’s DVP policy outburst
It wasn’t a pretty sight. Kyle Busch was hoping to start his new Cup Series campaign on a positive note, especially after going winless for the entirety of the 2024 season. Despite having a competitive car, ‘Rowdy’ was forced to retire early because of a misunderstanding of the Damage Vehicle Policy (DVP) rules. As expected, tempers were flaring at Daytona International Speedway, with the Richard Childress Racing driver expressing his dissatisfaction in the post-race interview and on social media.
Speaking on the Hauler Talk podcast, NASCAR’s managing director of communications, Mike Forde, said, “Kyle came out of the media center and ripped NASCAR without knowing the rule. Didn’t feel like he got enough, then ripped us on X. Crew chief did come to our managing director of the NASCAR Cup Series, Brad Moran, and say, ‘My bad, we did get that wrong.’ Randall Burnett and Brad had that conversation, that did happen, so.”
It’s a controversy that should not have happened. NASCAR had held multiple learning sessions for drivers and crew chiefs about the DVP rules going into the 2025 season and assumed all the stakeholders were clear about the situation. However, it seems like Kyle Busch and Randall Burnett didn’t get the memo, going by the events at the Daytona 500. Given how the situation played out at the season-opener, it’s fair to say that teams will now be well aware of the updated policy to avoid similar incidents in the future. It seems like the sanctioning body is taking no chances, though. To foolproof the changes, the rulebook alterations leave no room for misinterpretation, ensuring that the updated policy is followed to the letter going forward.
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