Is the Next Gen Car Safe?
After last weekend’s crash at Pocono Raceway, Kurt Busch will miss his second consecutive race this weekend at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course.
Kurt Busch spins on a turn in the final qualifying run for the pole at
Pocono Raceway, slamming into the wall and causing major rear damage.
Busch’s crash in Saturday’s qualifying session at Pocono left him with concussion-like symptoms that prevented him from being medically cleared to compete. After being evaluated before Sunday’s Verizon 200 at the Brickyard (2:30 p.m. ET, NBC, NBC Sports App, IMS Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), Busch was not cleared to participate in this weekend’s events.
Some drivers told NBC Sports last month that they felt harder impacts this year with the Next Gen car than with the previous car. More drivers spoke up about the matter Saturday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Kevin Harvick questions how much NASCAR is prioritizing safety in light of driver complaints about feeling harder impacts this year and Kurt Busch missing his second consecutive race due to concussion-like symptoms.
“The concerns that the drivers have just haven’t seemed to resonate into a really, really quick response into trying to make that better,” Harvick said. “That’s concerning. I know that everybody will tell you that they’re working on it.
“I don’t think they understand the extent of it and actually the extent of how bad it is when you hit stuff. … I don’t think anybody really understands, except for the drivers that have crashed into something, the violence that comes in the car. It doesn’t seem to be a high enough priority to me.”
John Patalak, managing director of safety engineering for NASCAR, told NBC Sports earlier this month that crash data this year looks similar to past years. Drivers acknowledge that but say they are feeling the impacts more.
Daniel Suarez remains confident that NASCAR will find solutions for the drivers.
“It is a bit concerning that the impact that our friend Kurt Busch had in Pocono had this kind of results,” Suarez said. “The impact didn’t look that hard, but NASCAR has a very big group of smart people working on that, and I’m sure they’re going to find answers to the questions we have.”
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The team's official statement on the status of @KurtBusch. pic.twitter.com/YEHt7Pf7jJ
— 23XI Racing (@23XIRacing) July 27, 2022
— Kurt Busch (@KurtBusch) July 27, 2022
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