“You can’t change it now”: Denny Hamlin criticizes NASCAR for “changing” DVP rules after Josh Berry’s Kansas incident

NASCAR has made a controversial move after the Talladega Superspeedway wreck, and Denny Hamlin strongly disagrees with the new Damaged Vehicle Policy (DVP) rule. After the Josh Berry incident at Kansas Speedway, he couldn't complete a single lap and was sent to the pits at the start of the race.

This DVP decision received considerable backlash from NASCAR fans and insiders. However, the racing association changed the DVP policy after the biggest wreck of modern-era racing at the YellaWood 500 on October 6, 2024, and recently, on his podcast Actions Detrimental, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver expressed his conflicts of opinion on the new rule.

Denny Hamlin highlighted that "you (NASCAR) can't change it now (the DVP rule)" in the middle of the playoff because several drivers's seasons were decided based on this rule. He touched upon Josh Berry's incident from the last race, calling it "stupid," but "it was by the rules."

"Brad Moran clarified it did he not publicly yeah we did it by the rules so while it looked screwed up and it probably was it doesn't matter we played by the rule this weekend they did not play by the rules they changed them and they changed their mindset and didn't notify one team member of that change of mindset," stated Denny Hamlin. [37:18]

The Florida native was able to avoid the wreck and finished in tenth place, clinching one more top-ten finish. He also illuminated that Hendrick Motorsports' Chase Elliot brought up the change of rules and expressed his opinion. Hamlin concluded that the situation "was a sham at the best."

After facing scrutiny from Denny Hamlin NASCAR, Chase Elliot demands points reconsideration

Hendrick Motorsports #9 Chevy Camaro ZL1 driver Chase Elliot was one of the eight playoff drivers who were collected in the biggest wreck of the NextGen racing. He finished in P29, earning only 17 points to add to his playoff points pool.

In a post-race interview with NASCAR veteran Bob Pockrass, Elliot expressed that he met the minimum speed of the DVP rule and two drivers ahead of him were not able to do so. He's now curious to see the outcome of the DVP.

"I’m really curious to see how they police the DVP thing because not all the cars that got fixed made, you know, got themselves off a DVP. So I think it’s really important to at least get their scoring right because our guys did a good job to get our car fixed and we met minimum speed, which if the race was not in green-white checker situation, they would’ve been parked and we would’ve kept going,” Elliott stated.

The Hendrick Motorsports driver wants a reconsideration of points highlighting the two drivers who were not able to meet the minimum speed. Elliot is now in eighth place in the Cup Series Playoff standings and Denny Hamlin is in fourth place. He now only has a 13-point buffer from the qualifying line.