Currently, NASCAR is in the midst of its Playoff run in the 2022 Cup Series season. Although many have enjoyed the Next Gen cars and the racing it is producing, there are still some issues to iron out. Chief among them is the issue of driver safety inside the car. First and foremost, there have been a few fires breaking out in the car, something Kevin Harvick can attest to. Now, Noah Gragson has highlighted another problem.
More @NoahGragson on safety of the Next Gen car. Specifically on his hard wreck at Atlanta this year:
🗣 "I moved 7 inches in the belts, and that was as tight as I could get them. My head hit the steering wheel." Video of crash attached. pic.twitter.com/hEazZ2KlH7
— Davey Segal (@DaveyCenter) September 13, 2022
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To be precise, Gragson opened up on an earlier accident that he suffered at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. As it turned out, he lost control of his car and slammed into the outside wall, nose-first. Speaking of the accident, he said, “I moved 7 inches in the belts, and that was as tight as I could get them. My head hit the steering wheel. I’ll go risk whatever it is with not even a thought of wrecking in the Xfinity car. The Cup car, you race at 90% because the hits are so hard.”
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Is there any evidence to back Noah Gragson up?
Admittedly, there is a lot of evidence to back up the drivers’ complaints. The biggest one is the Pocono qualifying crash involving 23XI Racing driver Kurt Busch. This accident is significant because it sidelined the 2004 Cup Series champion for a while, and he is still absent to this day. As a result, teammate Bubba Wallace was forced to step into his #45 car in order to help the team fight for the owner’s title.
There were plenty of other hard hits over the course of the season, so drivers have a right to be concerned. The fires breaking out within the cars have also caught the attention of many, with Harvick championing the cause. He was particularly mad about the matter and is hoping that NASCAR provides a solution to safeguard the drivers’ lives.
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WATCH STORY: “Calm Down” – Bubba Wallace Calls Out Noah Gragson for “Overdoing It” in NASCAR