Since the time a stock car entered a race track for the first time, prayers have been uttered in the names of the drivers. Those prayers have been answered and gone unanswered in equal measure over the last several years. One of the more fortunate moments was during the Talladega race earlier in 2023. As the grid formed up for the Geico 500, the contest extended from 188 to 196 laps under the cloudy skies of Alabama. As the race entered its closing stages, an accident that shook the entire racing community unfolded.

Involving Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson and Stewart-Haas Racing’s Ryan Preece, the former entangled himself in a situation that could have easily turned fatal for him and others.

The dark day at Talladega could have ended up fatal for Kyle Larson

Taking history into account, crashes and accidents at the Talladega Superspeedway are not new. The track has high-speed and close-cut maneuvers built into its very DNA. And, in April of this year, the GEICO 500 went down as scheduled at the track with these characters in mind. In what could’ve quickly turned tragic and added weight to the track’s history, Kyle Larson avoided a tragedy by drawing a narrow line.

During the race, Ross Chastain raced from P3, behind Legacy Motor Club’s Noah Gragson. Being the aggressive driver that he is, Chastain tried making use of an opening that Gragson left. But instead of giving up his position, Gragson held on to it, starting off a string of events.

His No. 42 car wobbled and clipped Chastain’s No. 1, ultimately hitting the wall. At the same time, Kyle Larson’s No. 5 Camaro veered infield before getting back into the line of Ryan Preece’s No. 31 Mustang, which collided with him at over 130 miles per hour. Fortunately, it was the car’s passenger side that took the hit. Though Larson was able to escape without injuries, the impact completely wrecked his car.

Speaking to racer.com in the aftermath, Larson said, “Obviously it’s unsettling when you see things that could have easily gotten me in the car, whether it be the bars that had completely broken off and could have shanked me. Or what if I had a second impact?”

Considering the pace of the track at the time, a second hit might have had greater implications, but thankfully, both Larson and Preece were evaluated to be physically alright. The crash served as a stark reminder of the inherent danger of stock car racing and forced NASCAR to voice out and take some action.

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NASCAR’s investigation and subsequent safety improvements to Next-Gen cars

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With the No. 5 Camaro being totally wrecked, Stewart-Haas Racing’s No. 41 Ford had sustained heavy damage in the front. Both vehicles were later taken to NASCAR’s Research and Development facility for evaluation. The promotion’s investigation included a recreation of the entire incident through the use of computer-aided designs.

Larson said, “I’m not knocking NASCAR at all on that. They’ve worked really hard on this car to make it safer. I’ve been very thankful they took both my car and Preece’s car afterward to dive deeper into it and see how they can make it safer yet.”

The question that many of the drivers had at the time was about the outcome of events: had it been the driver’s side that received the impact? Clearing that up, a NASCAR spokesperson disclosed that the driver’s side of the construction was multiple times stronger than the other. While many called for NASCAR to implement immediate changes, Rick Hendrick’s driver had thrown himself into the promotion’s support. He’d said of them, “There’s no other form of racing, in my opinion, that takes safety more seriously than them. But that doesn’t mean the sport is safe.”

Though immediate action wasn’t taken to make changes to the car, NASCAR eventually got there the following June. Bringing alterations into effect for the race at the Atlanta Motor Speedway, the promotion took the No. 5 Camaro’s broken doorbar into account and announced that it would allow teams to add six door-bar gussets to stop them from breaking in such future scenarios.

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Months have gone by since the terrible accident at the Talladega, and here we are, once again facing the track for the playoff race. Prayers will be uttered once more in the names of drivers and fans for a safe and entertaining race!