Chase Elliott is calling for a reconsideration of the final points after the chaotic Talladega race, arguing that NASCAR’s Damaged Vehicle Policy (DVP) wasn’t applied correctly. Speaking to veteran NASCAR reporter Bob Pockrass, Elliott revealed that while he met the DVP’s minimum speed, some drivers who finished ahead of him did not, creating a points discrepancy that could impact the playoff standings.
Piloting the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro for Hendrick Motorsports, Elliott finished 29th at the YellaWood 500, five laps down after being swept into the massive 28-car wreck on lap 184, one of the biggest crashes in modern NASCAR history. Despite the damage, his team worked diligently to repair his car, and Elliott was able to meet the minimum speed requirement. Yet, he expressed frustration during a post-race interview, noting that some of the cars that were repaired during the race did not meet the same standard.
“I’m really curious to see how they police the DVP because not all the cars that got fixed met the minimum speed,” Elliott said. “Our team did a good job getting our car back up to speed, and if the race hadn’t been under green-white-checkered conditions, those cars would’ve been parked while we would have kept going. The scoring needs to reflect that.”
According to NASCAR’s rules, cars that fail to meet the DVP’s minimum speed within three consecutive laps are parked. However, because the race ended in a two-lap green-white-checkered finish, two cars that didn’t make the required speed stayed on track, finishing ahead of Elliott. This is why he believes the final scoring should be re-evaluated, particularly since his team met the rules.
Elliott’s 29th-place finish at Talladega earned him 17 points, dropping him from 7th to 8th in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoff standings, where he now holds a 13-point cushion above the cutline. With drivers like Joey Logano lurking just below the elimination line, Elliott’s playoff future could be influenced by these final points.
Elliott was also one of the many drivers caught in the colossal crash that reshaped the race. Running in fourth place with five laps to go, he was collected when Austin Cindric, after contact with Brad Keselowski, spun out and caused the multi-car pileup. Despite the setback, Elliott now faces a critical race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course, where his playoff survival will be on the line as he fights to stay above the cutline.
