NASCAR is a dangerous sport. With V8 engine stock cars roaring at 200 mph on formidable tracks, the risk factor is considerable. Count that in with frequent fenders and paint-trading, as drivers tussle with each other to snatch the lead. That is what Corey LaJoie was trying to do, fueled by his desperate attempt to prove himself. What resulted was a bone-chilling crash, which Dale Earnhardt Jr. thinks is still not that bad.

A terrifying wreck stands glaringly in the veteran driver’s family history. So Dale Jr. knows which one is more life-threatening—contact with the wall or a ride in space. He concurs with Denny Hamlin’s judgment of LaJoie’s mishap, as both believe far more serious damage was avoided.

Past memories jolt Dale Earnhardt Jr.

NASCAR has many times witnessed drivers undergo horrific wrecks. For instance, Bobby Allison’s car tore through the fence at 200 mph in a 1987 Talladega race. Then most recently, Ryan Preece’s car barrel-rolled several times on a grassy stretch in Daytona last year. But one wreck stands out to prove why the latter instance was safer. In the 2001 Daytona race, Dale Earnhardt slammed the outer wall at a tremendous speed and lost his life.

That is what Dale Earnhardt Jr. was reminded of when Corey LaJoie flipped at Michigan International Speedway. On the Dale Jr. Download, he agreed with Hamlin’s stance as he said, “Denny Hamlin said on his podcast…he’d rather flip than hit the wall in this car. That makes perfect sense to me. Yes, flips can get violent…people have been killed in cars that get airborne. But the potential for that violent G forces and impact that you tend to feel in wall contact…the potential is a little bit less I think, in a flip.” 

This was when Corey LaJoie lost control of his No. 7 trying to overtake Noah Gragson, and the No. 7 Chevy went mid-air as it flipped and slid through the straightaway for 15 long seconds. This marked the second time somebody somehow occurred in Michigan—Kyle Weatherman also underwent a similar experience in Xfinity.

Even then, Dale Earnhardt Jr. emphasized that a wall hit is way more bone-rattling. “As disorienting and unpleasant as getting airborne is…It’s scary to anybody who’s never been in a race car…Heading toward a wall, knowing you are going to hit it at 150 mph is more terrifying and always going to be.”

However, despite dialing down the risk margin in airborne crashes, Dale Earnhardt Jr. acknowledged the reasons for LaJoie’s flip.

The dots point to Next-Gen again

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After Dale Earnhardt’s terrifying Daytona wreck in 2001, NASCAR undertook safety measures on a war footing. For instance, the SAFER barrier was installed, and head-and-neck restraints were made mandatory for all racers. Over the years, deaths and even severe injuries due to crashes declined. However, when the Next-Gen car debuted in 2022, drivers again faced problems. Kurt Busch retired due to a concussion that year. Although NASCAR has worked on the car since then, Corey LaJoie’s death-defying crash is clear evidence that more path is left to tread.

Sharing his bit after he went airborne and was released from the infield care center, Corey LaJoie said, “That’s just about the way the year’s gone, We have a good car and I find a way to flip it upside down.”

Further sharing the in-car issues during the flip he added, “There’s like rocks and dust and dirt and my eyes are kind of like closed because my stuff, like there’s sparks and stuff hitting me in the face. I’m like why am I getting stuff in my eye here, I’m like, ‘Oh, my visor’s open.’ So I shut my visor and I’m like holding my visor like this, then I hit the wall upside down and the wheel like rips out of my hand and I was like, ‘Oh, shoot, I’m still going pretty fast, let me grab my seatbelts.’ Then I got to the grass and it was like ugh, ugh, ugh. Bigger than a softball size clump of grass landed right in my lap.”

There’s definitely a lot of room for change. While we wait for more comments from NASCAR officials, especially senior VP Elton Sawyer, Dale Earnhardt Jr. has already voiced the need for change. He said, “That’s where we always need to be working to improve—the car’s crushability, the car’s ability to take those kinds of impacts. When we worked on the Next Gen car…we know now that the car lost a lot of its ability to absorb. And NASCAR’s working now to reverse that.”

He also added the unique circumstances in Michigan, saying, “There were high winds…15-20 mph winds with gusts of 25-30 mph in the direction of getting these cars turned around.”

Evidently, NASCAR has some work to do to ensure the double mishap in Michigan can be avoided. At the end of the day, we are all relieved that Corey LaJoie walked away unscathed, as Dale Earnhardt Jr. emphasized.