Chase Briscoe crew chief Richard Boswell believes NASCAR 'needs work' on Damaged Vehicle Policy

Just when we all thought we knew the rules, NASCAR made sure to bend and possibly break them with Chase Briscoe and others. With four laps to go at Talladega, 28 cars were involved in a single wreck, a Cup Series record.

It was clear from the jump that the safety crews were outnumbered. Drivers who could manage to keep moving made sure to do so. But for many, the low-profile Next Gen cars were stuck in the grass, on pavement, and everywhere on the track with flat tires.

Richard Boswell, crew chief for the No. 14 team, had a few ideas on the Damaged Vehicle Policy. He was adamant about Briscoe staying in the car no matter what the safety crews were telling him.

“It needs work but it’s new and I expect it to need work. I’ve already talked to Brian Goebel explaining the issue we had with the safety workers trying to lift our car, maybe not 100% getting it, and then not knowing how they got it. So there’s definitely some work that needs to be done, but I don’t expect it to be any different, right?

“It’s a new system, it’s an effort to make everything better for everybody with the Next Gen car when you’ve got such low ride heights and tires go flat, you end up on roadblocks. We probably gained four or five spots because we were able to get back to pit road. So, from that standpoint, I’m happy about it.”

When the smoke cleared, confusion replaced it. This wreck was massive and forced NASCAR to make decisions. Did they make the right decision?

Chase Briscoe has issue with air jack system

Chase Briscoe and his team were in a tough spot. They knew they would end the race with a big point deficit. But in the NASCAR Playoffs, any point can be the difference between making it and not making it to the next round.

Even the new air jack systems some teams installed did not work. Flat tires on this car mean you aren’t going anywhere. But at Watkins Glen and Kansas, we saw Ryan Blaney and Josh Berry given no chance to make repairs or change tires and were instead taken out of the race.

For Chase Briscoe, Chase Elliott, and others – that was not the case today. Tow trucks pushed and towed cars to pit road and NASCAR allowed for repairs to be made. So, what’s the deal?

NASCAR has to be clear on its rules. Fans do not mind tough rulings and decisions on teams and drivers. What they do mind is when you can’t keep track of who should be punished. Or who should be given leniency. When they bend the rules, it makes fans question the legitimacy of the sport.