Published 12/07/2022, 12:30 PM EST
NASCAR and the Next Gen race cars – a topic of controversy since the start of this season. However, after several deliberations with the team owners and drivers, the governing body finally decided to make changes to the new cars. With an aim to make them safer for drivers. And now, all that is to be seen is how the tweaks reflect in the 2023 Cup Series season.
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However, the journey to these changes was not a cakewalk. NASCAR drivers raised concerns over the safety of the Next Gen cars on several occasions. May it be Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin, or Kevin Harvick. And while addressing these comments on behalf of the sanctioning authority, NASCAR president Steve Phelps talked about how the comments from the driver made him feel. His response was, “It’s not true.”
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In an interview with the Athletic, Phelps said that he doesn’t believe that the drivers actually feel that NASCAR does not care about their safety. He stated, “I think in some cases, the drivers say those things to try to have an impact, that we’re going to accelerate change. But overall, if that’s truly how the drivers feel, how does that make me feel, personally? It’s not true.”
Further, he said that the driver’s statements just make him sad because he believes that they are not true. He said, “Do I really believe that drivers think that we don’t care about their safety? I don’t believe that’s a true statement.” He continued, “I really believe that they think we care about their safety. I believe that.”
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However, he assured that the governing body is ready to incorporate certain changes. He revealed, “And we need to make sure that they understand that we’re going to make the changes necessary in order to keep them safe. That’s what we’re doing.”
What did the NASCAR drivers exactly say?
After a series of concussions and injuries, NASCAR drivers criticized the Next-Gen cars. They questioned the safety of drivers in the new charters. When asked about his experience after a crash in his new car at the Toyota NCS Playoff, Joe Gibbs Racing‘s Denny Hamlin said, “The best way I can describe it is like I got beat up at a bar and somebody was kicking me in the ribs while I was on the ground.”
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Also, in one of his interviews, Hendrick Motorsports driver Chase Elliott talked about Kurt Busch and Alex Bowman‘s concussions. He said, “I’m not a doctor. But I’ve watched a lot of cars back into the wall and the guy would be fine. No one’s immune to it. It could be me next week. It could be any of my peers or fellow competitors. I just hate to see us go backward, and I’m afraid that we have.”
Moreover, in one of his rants against the cars, Kevin Harvick too described how a crash in the new cars felt pretty different. He said, “They say, ‘Whoah! It’s only a 15G hit, but I am telling you those 15G hits feel like 50 compared to what they have been in the old cars.”
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Apart from them, many other drivers and team owners have spoken up. Kyle Busch, Corey LaJoie, and Dale Earnhardt Jr expressed their concerns with the new cars. And now, with the new season approaching, the only thing the drivers want more than anything is to be able to drive safer charters on the tracks.