NASCAR increases allowed repair times with revised DVP

NASCAR has announced an increase to the damage vehicle policy (DVP) clock, beginning this weekend with the Cup Series playoff opener at Darlington Raceway.

Cup Series teams will now have 10 minutes to make repairs on pit road after being involved in an on-track incident. That's a four-minute increase from what had been a six-minute DVP clock. NASCAR stated the changes come after feedback from teams as they’ve learned throughout the season the required time to work on the Next Gen car.

Next Gen is built differently than its predecessor and takes more time to take apart and get to the parts and pieces that need attention.

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The damage vehicle policy was introduced before the 2017 season, and it requires that teams make repairs on pit road within a certain amount of time. If the clock expires before a team has made the necessary repairs, NASCAR officials park them for the remainder of the race. After the repairs are complete, the car must make minimum speed before the clock resets.

With the policy, it eliminated a driver being able to take their car into the garage for crash repair and return to the race. All work must be done on pit road. The policy is meant to keep cars off the track that could shed parts and pieces that would lead to more cautions.

Teams are only allowed to take their vehicle to the garage and return to the race if it is listed as a mechanical or electrical issue.