The NASCAR race at Talladega Superspeedway saw lap 183 became a point of scrutiny after a huge crash involving 28 vehicles erupted. This massive collision brought to the forefront crucial debates over NASCAR's Damaged Vehicle Policy. The drama on the track impacted key playoff contenders, pulling NASCAR's current regulations into question for substantial stakeholders.
The heart of the controversy lies in NASCAR's Damaged Vehicle Policy, which stipulates that drivers who leave their car during a race are disqualified from re-entering. This rule forced drivers like Chase Briscoe and Chase Elliott to remain in their cars, stranded in the infield grass, to avoid automatic disqualification. Briscoe’s crew chief, Richard Boswell, instructed him to stay put, something that Briscoe described as “the most disorganized deal in my life.”
"I have never seen a more disorganized deal in my life."
— Jordan Bianchi (@Jordan_Bianchi) October 6, 2024
Chase Briscoe
As efforts to manage the chaos continued, affected drivers, with the help of their teams, attempted to return their cars to the pit road for repairs. The subsequent handling of the red flag situation further confused the situation. NASCAR opted to lift the red flag without moving the pace car forward, leading drivers to question what was actually going on.
Christopher Bell, among others, voiced his annoyance over what unfolded.
Christopher Bell team is incensed that NASCAR lifted the red flag and put the yellow out, but did not move the pace car.
— Jeff Gluck (@jeff_gluck) October 6, 2024
Joey Logano painted a picture of the aftermath, criticizing some of the latest modifications to the car, which includes a system that raises the car to mitigate issues from having a flat tire.
“I didn’t feel it go up, but I had some stuff broken too so it’s kind of hard to say if the lift system worked or not. But it’s kind of comical. I get out of the car, and I just see a bunch of cars that after a red flag we’ve been sitting there for 10 minutes. Everyone’s just sitting there hoping they can roll a little bit. It’s just goofy.”
Meanwhile, Josh Berry, echoing the sentiments of many, took a more sarcastic tone regarding the policy:
Josh Berry with sarcastic commentary about the DVP rules pic.twitter.com/s6eM9JN6nJ
— Matt Weaver (@MattWeaverRA) October 6, 2024
“All I know, is that all those cars parked in Turn 3 better not get towed to pit road buddy. Because that’d be breaking the Damaged Vehicle Policy.
“F***ing 42 car is out there doing burnouts, slinging rubber all over the safety workers trying to get going. But if you have four flat tires and you get towed to pit road, you’re done right?”
NASCAR now faces the challenge of balancing these safety protocols with practical race management to prevent similar confusions in the future. As discussions continue and feedback from drivers and teams is gathered, adjustments to the policy could well be considered.
