Security questions surrounding Subsequent Gen automobile persist regardless of modifications for 2023 NASCAR season

By the top of the primary season for NASCAR’s Subsequent Gen automobile in 2022, there have been two main points that clearly wanted to be addressed for the sake of driver security. For one, the rigidness of the automobile led to an excessive amount of of the pressure of impacts being transferred to the motive force, significantly within the case of rear impacts. For an additional, there have been a number of incidents of fires starting within the exhaust and rocker field space of the automobile knocking drivers out of races and posing an apparent hazard.

With a view to try to clear up each issues, various technical modifications had been carried out by NASCAR for the 2023 season. However final week’s Busch Mild Conflict on the Coliseum confirmed that it stays to be seen whether or not the modifications made had been efficient on each fronts.

In observe on Saturday, an alarming sight occurred when Ty Gibbs’ automobile burst into flames from its proper aspect, resulting in the 20-year-old Cup rookie having to shortly bail from his machine. Gibbs was unhurt and his automobile was repaired, and NASCAR would find yourself figuring out that the hearth was an “remoted incident” brought on by improper set up of mufflers close to the exhaust, that are getting used this yr to melt the noise degree of vehicles on smaller tracks.

“We labored intently after that incident with the workforce. First time at an occasion with mufflers and the set up wasn’t fairly the place it wanted to be,” NASCAR Senior VP of Competitors Elton Sawyer instructed SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, per Motorsport.com. “We labored with the workforce, we received there after the incident and received it corrected. They received the whole lot tight and the place it wanted to be.

“The nice factor was, they used the identical automobile, the identical door, the entrance fenders. I believe they modified the door foam and the windshield after which they had been able to go for the function there. , we had 35 of them that had been in nice form and ran races and all, however we had one which was just a bit little bit of an outlier. We received that straight and moved ahead.”

However whereas NASCAR was working to find out what induced the hearth on Gibbs’ automobile, the dialogue on inflexible rear bumpers was as soon as once more ignited by Denny Hamlin. Talking on his new podcast “Actions Detrimental,” Hamlin claimed that taking bumper hits nonetheless damage, whereas additionally sharing that he needed to take oxygen on his flight residence as a consequence of fume inhalation from what he believed was contact in each bumpers.

“I do not really feel something softer,” Hamlin stated. “… I imply, when you begin bumper-tagging within the corners, your HANS (gadget) locks out and you may really feel a jar in your head. It is nonetheless fairly abrupt.”

After a number of drivers missed races as a consequence of concussions stemming from rear impacts final yr, NASCAR had introduced the implementation of a brand new rear bumper construction and rear clip with the intention to make that space of the automobile crumple higher and switch extra pressure away from the motive force. On his podcast, Hamlin alluded that NASCAR should still be testing softer bumpers.

Whether or not each points observe NASCAR past the Conflict and into the 2023 season stays to be seen, as Speedweeks in Daytona will provide the primary true take a look at of Subsequent Gen security updates at speeds far past what had been run in final weekend’s Conflict.