By David Morgan, Associate Editor
CONCORD, N.C. – Safety has been the big keyword in the NASCAR Cup Series this season with all of the issues surrounding the Next Gen car and on Saturday at Charlotte Motor Speedway, the sanctioning body sat down with the driving corps to try and carve out a path forward.
Earlier this week, NASCAR tested proposed changes to problematic areas of the Next Gen car, namely the rear end of the vehicle, in a crash test in Ohio and on Saturday, they explained that the test went well and would lead to changes being implemented starting in 2023.
Per a NASCAR spokesperson, the changes that will be made are corrections to the rear bumper, rear clip, and some changes to the center section of the car to make it less rigid and lessen the impact on the driver’s bodies that have led to two drivers being on the sidelines with concussions.
“The only thing that we know is that it hurts when we wreck,” Daniel Suarez said of the current issues with the Next Gen. “That’s all we know. There are a lot of smart people working very, very hard to make these cars better and better, and I’m sure we’re going to get there. We just have to work together.
“We have to remember and remind ourselves that we’re all in the same boat on this journey. If we’re fighting with each other, we’re going to go nowhere and the boat is going to go down. We have to continue to work and get this boat moving forward.”
After Saturday’s meeting, which Christopher Bell classified as “tense,” it appears there may be a light at the end of the tunnel when it comes to the safety of the Next Gen car.
“The screen they showed us, they have made improvements with the rear impact, so that’s a good step in the right direction,” Bell said.
“We want to feel less inside the car. You look at it from the outside and you watch crashes and it doesn’t look like anything is happening, but our body seems to be absorbing the majority of the impact instead of the car absorbing the impact. We just want the car to help us out, where we’re not absorbing as much of the impact.”
Defending Cup Series champion Kyle Larson added that it was a productive meeting between the two entities, with both sides able to provide valuable input on charting the path ahead.
“It was good conversation, I think,” Larson said. “Like I said, everybody got to voice their frustrations and stuff. I think NASCAR knew the frustrations before we…
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