Exploring the optimizations of the Next-Gen cars has long been a priority for NASCAR. Ever since NASCAR announced the concept of it, drivers and experts have been continuously adding their feedback about the cars to improve their experience. However, at times, drivers have also voiced their disappointment over the most important aspect of the car: driver safety. One such instance would be Kevin Harvick bashing NASCAR for their negligence over last year’s issue at Kansas.

Recently, the events at Daytona in the final race of the regular season have also been under heavy scrutiny. One of the victims of the crashes was Ryan Blaney, who had to endure a violent head-on collision with the SAFER barrier. Having been cleared out by medical experts, Blaney quickly expressed his gratitude towards NASCAR, thanking them for their efforts.

Kevin Harvick slammed NASCAR for treating driver safety as ‘second fiddle’

Last year, in September, when Kevin Harvick was asked about his opinion, he was visibly upset with the pace of proceedings. Prior to the race at Kansas, NASCAR visited Texas, which turned out to be a horror show for them and even more so for 2020 champion Chase Elliott.

Elliott’s right rear tire underwent a problem that forced him into a collision with the wall. The impact was quite hard, but what followed was unexpected, to say the least. The #9 Camaro’s chassis was engulfed in flames. This incident frustrated Harvick, who had to watch his fellow drivers race in a car that could not protect the driver in a time of need.

“There needs to be some better leadership on just the whole safety situation,” said Kevin Harvick, speaking in a post-race press conference.

Harvick was the one who suffered the most from the low durability of Next-Gen cars. In a situation similar to Chase’s, the fire erupted in the final stage and forced Kevin Harvick to park it immediately.

“You know, my road’s shorter than most. Everybody’s injured so I think it was just after the whole fire thing at Darlington and the reaction on Tuesday was drastic but way too late. I think as we look at the fire problem, for me I start digging through how that whole thing had transpired and gone down and then you look at the car and you start asking questions. You’re like why did everything melt? Well, this is really not 100 percent fire resistant.”

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Slamming NASCAR for its delay in taking the necessary steps to protect their drivers, he added, “So we’ve seen a lot of these instances and it’s just a really really slow reaction. I think if the teams were in charge of stuff like that and the proper input was put in place, we would have never had more than two fires if the teams were in charge of the whole field. So the whole safety thing is kind of second fiddle right now. I just don’t think that’s fair to the drivers.”

However, if Blaney’s words are anything to go by, the difference in NASCAR’s approach then and now is huge.

Is Ryan Blaney happy with NASCAR’s progress?

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Speaking to prominent journalist Bob Pockrass, Blaney’s response was in stark contrast to that of Kevin Harvick. A nudge by Joe Gibbs Racing youngster Ty Gibbs set off a series of violent events that were similar to Dale Earnhardt’s fatal crash in 2001.

“I knew everything about it,” said Ryan Blaney when asked about how NASCAR has gone on with the process of identifying the problem.

“Me and some NASCAR folks, they were in talks the week after Daytona and they kind of went over some data with me. Sensor data to the mouthpiece data. So I knew a lot of it. They went over some photos of the car clip that I didn’t see yet.”

This is a great step taken by NASCAR. Cooperating with the drivers, taking in their opinions, and implementing the required changes based on those are rewarding methods to solve their concerns. Blaney’s answer will also mean good news for other drivers who will be worried about such crashes in the future.

“From what I saw from it, they were very positive. They crushed in the places that these guys put the holes in which is good. That’s what they were designed for. I think they really helped out a lot. So it’s nice to go with that. I think we got some good ways going forward to help.“ added Blaney.

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Another driver involved in one of the worst wrecks at Daytona was Ryan Preece. Preece’s vehicle flipped multiple times and sent the community into a state of horror. Fortunately, he has been cleared to race again, and it seems that NASCAR has worked its magic behind the scenes.