The Next-Gen car has come under plenty of criticism recently. Whether it’s because of the quality of short-track races or the number of incidents that have taken place. Corey LaJoie’s flip at Michigan International Speedway was an eye-opener, prompting NASCAR to introduce a right-rear air deflector to prevent cars from going airborne. However, that didn’t make much of a difference, as Josh Berry’s No. 4 Ford flipped upside down at Daytona.

Denny Hamlin, who has previously voiced a strong defense for the Next-Gen car, has criticized NASCAR for making changes ahead of the 2024 YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.

Denny Hamlin isn’t a fan of NASCAR’s proposal

The one thing that most people agree on is that the Next-Gen car is extremely robust. Ever since its introduction in 2022, drivers have not faced serious injuries behind the wheel of their cars, despite plenty of incidents taking place on track. From head-on collisions to multiple flips, the car has been tested to its limits in a variety of circumstances and has emerged on top every single time. However, that doesn’t mean that there is no room for improvement, as we have seen with recent incidents involving Corey LaJoie and Josh Berry. The Next-Gen car tends to go airborne without much encouragement, which could prove to be a safety hazard in the future.

With NASCAR intending to make changes to the car at Talladega by increasing the liftoff speed, Fox Sports journalist Bob Pockrass asked Denny Hamlin about his views as a Cup Series team owner and driver. The 43-year-old said in the pre-race press conference at Kansas Speedway, “From an owner’s standpoint, no. From a driver’s standpoint, yes. I thought that I heard drivers say that they didn’t like what was being proposed simply for visibility reasons amongst other things. Certainly from aesthetic reasons, certainly don’t love it. You know they are trying to make the best educated guess that they can on what can fix it but you know, I’ve said a million times, don’t think that rollovers are necessarily a bad thing.”

Denny Hamlin makes a valid point. While he isn’t asking drivers to be tolerant about rolling over on the racetrack, the Next-Gen car is built in such a way that there are no serious repercussions in the event a car flips upside down. A situation such as this slows the car, reducing the impact if there is a collision with the wall. If a rollover didn’t happen, cars would collide into a solid surface at a much faster speed, increasing the chances of a serious injury. If NASCAR truly wants to prevent cars from rolling over, it will have to reduce the Next-Gen car speed, which could increase the magnitude of wrecks on track.

Would NASCAR’s “educated guess” make a difference on Talladega Superspeedway? Time will tell. But if history is any indication, wrecks are a common occurrence on such tracks and that isn’t likely to stop anytime soon. However, when it comes to implementing changes in the Next-Gen car to improve safety standards, NASCAR has been extremely prompt to its credit. While the right-rear air deflector experiment didn’t provide the desired results, it is possible that the sanctioning body could succeed by going in another direction.

Hamlin breaks silence amidst potential sponsor’s exit

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He may have not won a championship yet, but Denny Hamlin’s Cup Series career will leave a legacy that will be remembered for years to come. Since 2005, FedEx has remained a loyal sponsor for the Joe Gibbs Racing driver, even when the Florida native was in the Xfinity Series. The multi-billion dollar corporation has stuck by him since then, throughout the highs and lows of his NASCAR career, but that relationship may finally come to an end. According to reports, the company has been steadily downsizing its operations and terminating deals as a cost-cutting measure and could finally end its longstanding association with the driver.

Reflecting on the impact that FedEx has had on his career, Denny Hamlin said, “It’s been a fantastic partnership that we’ve had nearly 20 years. They’re the ones that really took a risk on me when I was just running the Xfinity Series about P5-P8 every week…that risk paid off for many many years and couldn’t be happier to be aligned with FedEx and certainly I got to do lot of great things. It’s made my career, it made a lot easier being aligned with someone for that long and we’re gonna continue to represent on and off the racetrack for the time to come.”

It won’t come as a surprise if FedEx does decide to pull out from its sponsorship with Joe Gibbs Racing. The logistics company has reduced its backing of the racing team since 2022 and has gone from financing the entire season to just 10 races this year. The COVID-19 pandemic hit FedEx particularly hard, as delayed shipments resulted in significant business losses for the company. Even though a driver such as Denny Hamlin wouldn’t lack alternate sponsors, the relationship between him and FedEx will always be a unique one.