It has been a season to forget for Corey LaJoie! After confirming his exit from Spire Motorsports at the end of the 2024 Cup Series campaign, his future remains uncertain. While he needs to put in some impressive performances, things went horribly wrong for him at the Michigan International Speedway on Sunday. While his car went airborne, LaJoie escaped any injuries but the incident left Kevin Harvick worried.

One of the primary reasons for the introduction of Next-Gen cars was to bring more safety to the drivers. While NASCAR believed the Gen-7 car would serve this purpose, in reality, the situation has been somewhat debatable. Veteran driver Kevin Harvick analyzed the Corey LaJoie incident and raised his safety concerns.

Kevin Harvick left shocked witnessing the behavior of the Next-Gen car

What happened with Corey LaJoie on Sunday was highly unexpected. The Spire Motorsports driver was battling with Noah Gragson for a place in the top 20 during the final stage of the race in Michigan. While he made contact with the left rear of Gragson’s car, he spun to the inside apron and went airborne in a blowover crash.

It only got more concerning as the #7 car slid upside down, transiting its way from the asphalt to the infield grass. In the process, the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 rolled multiple times. Luckily for Corey LaJoie, no physical harm was done. However, it does not undermine the fact of how unexpectedly the car went airborne. In fact, it was the second incident in Michigan.

Earlier on the weekend in the Xfinity Series, even Kyle Sieg faced a similar fate. In light of these incidents, questions have to be raised about the Next-Gen car. In the latest episode of his podcast “Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour,” the veteran driver looked uncertain about the safety available with the Gen-7 car. Speaking about the Corey LaJoie incident, Harvick said, “I think Corey was trying to get the side draft and actually ran into the left fender and got himself out of shape. And the way that he spun out, kind of got that car sideways.”

However, he didn’t hold back doubting the risks involved with the Next-Gen car. He said, “I was really shocked at how easily it [car] just flipped over on its own and I think that is going to be a high concern. I heard Jeff Burton say this on the broadcast a high concern for all the drivers, all the technical guys, all the teams for as easy as that car turned over. There’s just no reason that those race cars should turn over like that when they’re all by themselves.”

While Kevin Harvick indirectly hinted at NASCAR to address these concerns, he cited the example of Ryan Preece going airborne at Daytona last year. In fact, he looked worried at the frequency of such incidents. The 48-year-old said, “We’ve seen that happen several times when somebody’s pushing on the left side door and helps them kind of get lifted off but that car just lifted off all on its own…We’ve seen a few of these cars flip over and it seems like when they get to just these weird instances.”

Certainly, Harvick’s right with his concerns. However, he would find some comfort with what his former colleague and veteran Denny Hamlin had to say about the cars.

Denny Hamlin spits out his candid verdict addressing safety concerns following Corey LaJoie’s Michigan incident

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It is no secret how Denny Hamlin has never sparred NASCAR when given a chance. Given his outspoken nature, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver has more often than not been candid about his thoughts. While he could have easily criticized on Sunday following the Corey LaJoie incident, Hamlin sided with NASCAR as he addressed the safety concerns.

Speaking to the media after the race, he spoke positively about the Next-Gen car. He said, “I mean, the cars I feel like are pretty safe in roll-over situations. Seems like between that and intrusions, that’s kind of the strong point of the Next-Gen car. We saw with [Ryan] Preece, he had some bloody eyes, but he had a pretty violent one. His body was banged up, but he didn’t have any serious injuries. That’s what the goal of it was.”

While Hamlin admitted that LaJoie couldn’t have done much about it, he revealed feeling safe in the Gen-7 car. He said, “I can’t speak for him, but certainly feel like we have a pretty safe car. I feel comfortable with the speeds that we’re at. There’s just going to be a way, when you turn these things sideways, with that pan underneath the bottom, it’s literally like a wedge, the air is pushing that thing right over the top. Short of getting rid of the underbody, I just don’t know how you’re going to stop it.”

Despite Denny Hamlin being positive, Kevin Harvick’s concerns cannot be just ignored. The fact that the car went airborne without much contact is concerning, to say the least. Undoubtedly, NASCAR will be looking into the matter and hopefully, will be addressing it in the best possible way.