NASCAR's DVP rule under scrutiny after Ryan Blaney’s early exit, insider Bob Pockrass advocates playoff reforms

Ryan Blaney's lap-one crash in Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series playoff race at Watkins Glen forced the defending Cup champion out of the race before it hardly even started. Since his No. 12 Team Penske Ford was towed away from the accident rather than driven away, his day at the 2.45-mile road course was done.

Blaney's early exit has sparked displeasure from those around the sport, including NASCAR on FOX reporter Bob Pockrass. The racing insider commented on the controversy and whether there should be adjustments to the sport's damaged vehicle policy (DVP). He said:

"His [Ryan Blaney's] car was stopped on the track after a crash, he's out of the race. But is that the way it should be? No, it shouldn't be that way. Especially in the playoffs. Especially when these drivers, who have worked all year, are stuck in these three-race rounds to try to have to prove something, to try to have to do something, to try to have to earn points or wins."

NASCAR's DVP is a rule that was put in place back in 2017 that restricts cars that are too damaged from on-track incidents to continue the race. If a car is involved in an accident, its team has a set number of minutes depending on the track to repair the damage and get their driver back in the race. If they're unable to fix the car in time or not repair it well enough, they're out of the race.

If a car is stopped on the track following a crash and is unable to make it back to pit road under its own power, the car is towed away without the opportunity to make repairs and is subsequently out of the race.

Pockrass believes that the 12-time Cup race winner got the raw end of a deal in Sunday's lap-one incident and wouldn't mind seeing NASCAR change the rules by allowing a damaged car to be towed back to the garage for repairs. He added:

"Let them at least look at the car. Let them at least see if they can change it. I know what you're going to say. You're going to say, 'Bob, something will fall off a damaged vehicle in the playoffs and cause a caution.' Well, I think you saw today that playoff drivers can cause cautions, plenty of them, on their own. It's the rule, but I still think that Ryan Blaney got the raw end of it."

A race fan wrote under the NASCAR on FOX X post calling for the sport to bring the old policy back, which would allow teams as much time as needed to fix the damaged car and return to the race before the checkered flag. However, Pockrass responded by saying some see the old rule as dangerous:

"Some viewed old policy as dangerous. Crew members working tens of minutes underneath car dripping hot fluids while scrambling around a car with jagged edges. And if need significant repair, damage is so much that more pieces could fall off and/or safety of car compromised."

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Ryan Blaney remains above the cut-line for the Round of 12

With one race remaining in the Round of 16, Ryan Blaney holds a 29-point advantage over the cut-off despite a last-place effort at Watkins Glen. The last race of the first round is set to be held next Saturday at the Bristol Motor Speedway for the Bass Pro Shops Night Race.

Blaney is a two-time winner this season, winning at Iowa in June and at Pocono in July. The Ohio native has also posted eight top-fives and four stage wins this season.

Blaney became the 2023 Cup Series champion after making it to last year's championship race at Phoenix, placing runner-up in the race to claim the title. He won three races last year, which included Charlotte, Talladega, and Martinsville.