"No one’s immune to it": When Chase Elliott feared NASCAR safety took a step backward with Next Gen car

Hendrick Motorsports driver Chase Elliott once shared his concerns about the Next Gen car taking a step backward in terms of safety after teammate Alex Bowman suffered a serious crash and missed several Cup races.

Bowman had suffered a concussion at Texas Motor Speedway after the rear of his car hit a wall in September 2022. In October of that year, the former NASCAR Cup Series champion talked about the safety of the then new car.

"These types of incidents that result in injuries. ... 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 backwards and I’m afraid that we have," Chase Elliott said (via Associated Press).

Bowman went on to miss five playoff races during the 2022 season but returned for the series finale. However, Kurt Busch, who was also sidelined with concussions after rear-end impact in Next Gen cars at Pocono Raceway in July that year, did not. The former 23XI Racing driver retired from NASCAR after that injury.

The Next Gen car, introduced at the start of the 2022 season after delays from a planned 2021 debut, was initially praised for its promise in cost-cutting, competition parity, and innovative design. However, the stiff rear structure which made the car durable meant that a large percentage of the energy was actually absorbed by the driver.

"No excuse for going backward" - Chase Elliott slammed NASCAR for safety

Chase Elliott further criticized NASCAR's Next Gen car and said that there was no excuse for its safety flaws. He pointed out that teams had more than enough time, including an extra full year due to COVID‑19 delays, to test the car before its debut. The Georgia native also expressed frustration about the lack of improvement.

"There's no excuse for going backward. We have too many smart people, too much technology, too many years of crashing. We should not be in the position we are in. When you come out with a new product, you should step forward, not stay the same or go backward, especially in the safety category," Chase Elliott said.

NASCAR responded by redesigning rear and center chassis clips for the 2023 season. The sanctioning body added points called "triggers" to create sacrificial crush zones to collapse on impact and protect the drivers in rear collisions. The redesigned car also removed some bars and tubing.

NASCAR also mandated new data recorders to better understand impact forces added and optional mouthpiece sensors to track what drivers experience during crashes.

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Edited by Tushar Bahl