Insider calls on NASCAR to remain consistent on towing policy in wake of DVP changes

A NASCAR insider shared his thoughts on towing as the Damage Vehicle Policy (DVP) has been changed. On The Teardown podcast, Jeff Gluck of The Athletic said NASCAR needs to remain consistent with towing with the updated DVP.

“The towing thing as it continues to be this unresolved thing, I just want to see that consistent,” Gluck said. “If a car can’t drive it back, don’t tow them to their pit stall, tow them to this area in the garage. I don’t want to hear about at the Daytona 500, ‘Well, they got towed to their pit stall and we just changed four times are now we’re back out, where this other person just had four tires, they had to go to the garage. They lost laps.’ You really got to be fair about it.”

Last week, NASCAR announced it has updated the DVP for the Cup Series starting this season, adjusting the rule that damaged cars are either driven or towed to the garage will be out of the race. For the 2025 season, cars will be permitted to continue in the race after repairs in the garage. Any vehicle unable to be driven to pit road because of crash damage or flat tires will be towed to the garage.

More on NASCAR’s DVP for the 2025 season

“I think this is a win overall, you know, let the teams decide if they continue in the race,” Gluck said when talking about the DVP. “They feel like, you know, it’s worth trying to get back out there, 40 laps down to pick up a point or two if you can. Let them decide that. That’s fine, and you know, the towing thing as it continues to be this sort of unresolved thing, I just want to see that consistent then.”

Gluck isn’t the only NASCAR insider to praise the DVP changes. Bob Pockrass of Fox Sports shared approval of the DVP ahead of the 2025 Cup Series season.

“Just as every time NASCAR makes a rule, there are questions of unintended consequences,” Pockrass wrote Tuesday. “Will a driver who was suspended and qualified for the playoffs race with a different approach knowing that there are no playoff points on the table? There be a flurry of teams and drivers attempting to get the provisional designated for a world-class talent who isn’t a full-time NASCAR driver? Will wrecked cars that previously would have been sidelined by the damaged vehicle policy now return to the track and create cautions? It’s all possible. For better or for worse, though? It seems for the most part these rule changes are for the better.”