The contrast between Bristol and Watkins Glen was striking, but one moment at The Glen hasn’t gotten enough attention. Despite multiple crashes, including a hard collision between Brad Keselowski and William Byron, many wrecked cars still finished the race. Keselowski’s No. 6 car, though damaged, managed to complete the race in 26th place.

The real story? The resilience of the NextGen cars. Despite the severity of the crash, Keselowski’s car held up, showcasing the durability of the new design. When pictures of the wrecked but intact Next Gen car surfaced, fans were left amazed. It’s clear: these NextGen cars are built tough.

Brad Keselowski damaged his roll cage

Inside a Cup Series car, drivers have a protective roll cage to make sure that the car does not cave in. The accident between Keselowski and Byron was so intense that the roll cage ended up getting dented. Although it took a hit, it maintained its shape, keeping the driver safe inside. This is what NASCAR has been trying to achieve with the safety parameters of the NextGen cars, and The Glen was proof of it working.

When William Byron and Brad Keselowski crashed, they both ended up in the wall. But Byron’s car went up in the air before ending up with its right front tire entering Keselowski’s car. That was a close call to something disastrous. Luckily, the car held up with minor damage as the two drivers reversed out of the entanglement and continued to drive like it never happened.

NASCAR made it a mission last year to work on the NextGen cars after Kyle Larson’s incident at Talladega. Kyle Larson’s car was sent up the banking during a high-speed pack race, where Ryan Preece collided with it, severely damaging Larson’s safety cage and causing a piece of tubing to come loose. Having the roll cage fall apart is not an option, so NASCAR worked on improving the fortification.

The images of Brad Keselowski’s roll cage surfaced on Reddit, and fans were impressed with how well the cars held up. On X, multiple images show the damage the roll cage sustained, and on Reddit, fans shared how amazed they were with the outcome.

Fans in awe of NASCAR’s improvement to safety

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The original poster of this thread beat this fan at making the reveal. Their message stated, “Was just about to post this myself, glad someone else did, because these pictures are pretty damn amazing. A 3400-pound car hit the roll cage right at a potential point of failure and only created that small ding. Like the car or hate it, but it’s definitely very safe.”

Fans discussed how the heavy car moving at a high speed hit the cage where things could have browned down, only to see that there was just a tiny dent in it. Many fans don’t enjoy the NextGen cars, but this fan believes that they are safe for sure.

“The physics of it is absolutely remarkable,” said another fan who replied to the comment above. It was a recipe for disaster; however, because of all the work put into driver safety, the drivers live to tell the story of it. The fan is surprised that considering Byron’s car almost entering Keselowski’s window, the cage was strong enough to keep the danger out.

From the physics the fan meant; factors like aerodynamics, downforce, independent rear suspension, transaxle, and Newton’s laws of motion.

• Stepped front splitter, hood vents, and rear diffuser reduce side force and increase downforce.
• Rear diffusers aid following cars by enhancing their downforce.
• Independent rear suspension offers better handling on varied surfaces.
• Combined transmission and rear gears enable potential future electrification.
• Newton’s laws govern the car’s motion, affecting acceleration and collisions.

One fan directly addressed NASCAR and gave credit where it was due. Their comment read, “Big credit to NASCAR. I’d be interested into seeing how the roll cage on the Gen 6 would’ve reacted compared to the Next Gen.” The fan is also curious to see how the last-gen cars would stand in such a situation.

In response to the above comment, a fan also said, “It would have still withstood the hit but you probably would see a larger dent.” This fan in particular believes that NASCAR has had safe cars for a while now, but the Gen 6 cars would take more damage than the Gen 7s.

A fan even got lost in the memory of the crash and just shared what went through their mind after seeing the dents. The comment read, “Terrifying scenario that crash was. Car hurdling right at the drivers window…yikes.” Luckily nothing went wrong, and both the drivers were unhurt. NASCAR has proved that the NextGen cars are safer, and these pictures are a testament to that.

Are you as impressed by the safety that the NextGen cars bring to NASCAR?