Bubba Wallace Slams NASCAR DVP Chaos – ‘Bullsh*t’

23XI Racing driver Bubba Wallace has addressed the recent changes to NASCAR’s Damaged Vehicles Policy after the 28-car crash at Talladega. Amidst ongoing concerns over fairness and clarity, Wallace bluntly described the DVP adjustments as “bulls**t.”

Previously, cars that sustained flat tires during a race were often forced to retire. However, the modified rule now allows such vehicles to be repaired and re-entered into the race, provided the repairs can be completed within a specified timeframe.

The swift implementation of these changes has resulted in inconsistencies and confusion. NASCAR elaborated that as of the 2024 season, only cars involved in significant incidents that cannot return to their pit under their own power are to be declared out of the race. Vehicles with flat tires but capable of continuing, however, can be towed back to pits for repairs, allotted a maximum of seven minutes for the process.

Yet, this policy has been criticized, particularly during incidents at Kansas Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway. For example, Josh Berry’s vehicle was disqualified at Kansas following a minor collision, despite sustaining only slight damage, which brought the strict application of the DVP into question.

On the other hand, at Talladega, numerous cars involved in a substantial wreck were permitted to return to the track post-repairs, raising queries about the uniformity of enforcement.

Bubba Wallace commented on the DVP changes ahead of the race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. He explained:

“Bulls**t, it’ll change again. Who knows?… It don’t matter what’s right or wrong or fair or not fair.”

Elton Sawyer, NASCAR’s Senior Vice President of Competition, admitted that alternative decisions might have been made under different circumstances, particularly concerning the Talladega race. Sawyer also confirmed that there would be a “deep-dive” into the DVP in the off-season. He explained, as previously reported by Newsweek Sports:

“On the heels of last week at Kansas, our goal was never to put good cars out of the race,” he said.

“Last week, as we got looking at that and digesting it, maybe we should’ve made a different call last week. As we went into Talladega, we wanted to make sure we aired on the side of the competitors.

“We didn’t anticipate seeing 25 cars down there, some of them in the grass, high-sided, weren’t sure why they couldn’t continue. That’s why we made the decision to tow the No. 2 to pit road. The No. 9 and No. 14 both met minimum speed, so we felt like that was the right call at that time.

“We will take a much deeper dive into this in the offseason. (The) DVP has been challenging, and we’ll go to work on that in the offseason.”