CONCORD, NC – NASCAR says it’s had an effective test of its new car and promises drivers that solutions to some of their safety concerns will be in place next season .
NASCAR top management held a 75-minute meeting before Saturday’s practice session at Charlotte Motor Speedway. It says it expects a new rear clip, rear bumper structure and center section on next year’s Next Gen car. Those parts are now too stiff, and drivers have complained throughout the season that they feel the force from crashes more often than before.
Alex Bowman and Kurt Busch both are sidelined with concussions in collisions in the Next Generation and Cody Shane Ware will not be in Sunday’s race because he has a broken leg that will put too much pressure on the mixed track / Charlotte’s oval lap. It is the first time in at least two decades that three of the Cup’s full-time drivers will miss a race.
NASCAR prepared a slide show, but two different drivers likened the session to an episode of “Seinfeld.” Erik Jones described it as a “broadcast of grievances” while Brad Keselowskidriver and part owner of RFK Racing, said “people have a bit to say, this could be a bit of Festivus.”
“It was definitely stressful on the driver’s part. NASCAR did a great job trying to answer the questions asked, but you can tell there was frustration,” said the driver. Christopher Bell speak. “We passed two slides. I believe they have a much larger presentation for us, but we have trouble having an open conversation that takes up most of the time.”
Drivers said NASCAR presented them with data from Wednesday’s crash test and outlined the improvements found during the exercise. One of Next Gen’s main goals is to cut costs, and to do so, the new car is built to be durable, withstanding collisions without being destroyed so that teams only need a fleet of 7 vehicles. pcs for the 38 race season.
The car has proven to be safer in many areas, and drivers believe they will be protected in catastrophic crashes. But the impacts to the rear of the cars were jarring, and after claiming they had complained to NASCAR throughout the entire design process that the Next Generation was too stiff, the drivers ended up being too stiff. began after Bowman’s concussion two weeks ago and went public with concerns.
“We just wanted to feel less inside the car,” says Bell. “But our bodies seem to be absorbing most of the impact instead of the car absorbing the impacts. We just want the car to help us tackle places where we don’t absorb as much.”
Busch, who will miss his 12th straight race, attended the meeting. Ryan Blaney said drivers met last week in Talladega to present a united front in the meeting.
Among the NASCAR representatives present were NASCAR president Jim France, president Steve Phelps and the leaders of the Next Gen project.
“Unfortunately we knew about this tool before it came out this year and we thought it would be fine but it wasn’t,” Blaney said. “It’s harder. Heck, you’ve got people saying immediately in pre-season testing like ‘These hits feel a lot harder than last year’ and for us, it’s disappointing to see No one listens or trusts because we are the only ones who feel these hits.
“Nobody from NASCAR is walking and going and feeling these hits. I’ve always said, ‘Okay, put it on and break it at 160 (mph) with the old car and then break it. this new one is at 160 and you let me know how you feel after the shot.’ You’ll know it’s harder. That’s what it’s designed for, but certainly some medium impacts are harder. the last car.”
However, Blaney said he didn’t allow himself to think about his safety when he got inside his Ford.
Kevin Harvick, one of the veterans with a voice on the Next Gen car, said very little when leaving the meeting. He was fined this week for an illegal modification found on his Talladega vehicle, and NASCAR has denied the penalty was retribution for his comments.
Drivers and teams are clearly fed up with NASCAR. In an unusual move on Friday, representatives from some of NASCAR’s top teams said the sports business model had broken down and they had to come to a new revenue-sharing agreement with the federation to keep it going. determine team.
Group representatives gave an unprecedented amount of detail about their business models and financial struggles to make their plight public. NASCAR replied that they wanted to work with the teams to solve their challenges.
