NASCAR has introduced new rule changes in the Craftsman Truck Series and O’Reilly Auto Parts Series. The change has been made to the Damaged Vehicle Policy after incorporating feedback from the competing teams. The sanctioning body introduced the Damaged Vehicle Policy to the Cup Series last season, which allowed cars damaged in a crash to complete repairs behind the wall. This gave them a chance to return to the track and compete at a minimum speed. However, this was not possible for the cars in the sport’s lower tiers. But it all changed on Wednesday when NASCAR’s senior director of racing communications, Amanda Ellis, announced the same on the “Hauler Talk” podcast. DAYTONA BEACH, FL – FEBRUARY 12: Layne Riggs 34 Front Row Motorsports Love s Travel Stops Ford races in turn 4 during practice for the NASCAR, Motorsport, USA CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Fresh from Florida 250 on February 12, 2026 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, FL. Photo by Jeff Robinson/Icon Sportswire AUTO: FEB 12 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Fresh From Florida 250 EDITORIAL USE ONLY Icon2602122137250 “With points being how they are now, we’ll often hear teams say ‘every point counts’ and this helps them with that. I think there has been continued conversations from the start of the season, and this felt like a good time to start that change,” Ellis explained. The Damaged Vehicle Policy will apply to the Truck series and the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series starting from Charlotte Motor Speedway this weekend. Before the DVP was introduced, NASCAR’s policy was that if the car did not meet the minimum speed, it was sent back to the garage. Which meant it was out of the race. Besides the introduction of the Damage Vehicle Policy, the sanctioning body also introduced a new change in the Truck Series. NASCAR Eliminates Practice Time Penalty for Truck Series Before this week, the teams in the Truck Series were penalized by cutting down their practice time if they failed pre-practice technical inspection. During the practice session at Dover, four trucks were held back for 10 minutes. A fifth car was held back for nearly 20 minutes. While talking about the same in the aforementioned podcast, Ellis explained, “What was happening was just an unintended consequence. The reasoning for those penalties was needed, and some structure and boundaries were put into place in the Truck Series around tech for all good reasons.” She further pointed out how this penalty impacted a rookie’s experience at the track. “But what was happening was you would potentially have a rookie driver who was getting practice time cut because of these penalties.” The Truck series will again follow in the footsteps of the Cup Series. The team that fails the inspection will be sent to the back of the tech line. With these new changes introduced to the lower series, it will be interesting to see how the teams perform in the remaining races. Trending slideshow: Revisiting Top Coca-Cola 600 Moments That Shaped NASCAR History
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