NASCAR Meets With Drivers About Safety

NASCAR drivers met with NASCAR executives and safety engineers for 75 minutes Saturday morning as NASCAR presented results from a recent crash test.

As important as the data on the screen was, the words and the discussion possibly meant the most.

Drivers indicated that the meeting did get tense at times, but they generally were pleased that the crash test Wednesday will allow for improvements for 2023.

NASCAR did not provide anyone to speak after the meeting, with a spokesman confirming only that the test went well and that changes to the rear bumper construction, rear chassis clip and center chassis clip will be implemented for next year. With just a month left in the 2022 season, there is not enough time to build new clips for this year.

The meeting Saturday was the result of a driver uproar over the safety of the car, the likes of which the sport hasn’t seen in decades. Three full-time drivers will miss the Cup race Sunday at the Charlotte Motor Speedway road course. Kurt Busch has missed the past three months due to a concussion, Alex Bowman has missed the past two races due to a concussion, and Cody Ware will miss this week’s race because of a broken ankle suffered two weeks ago.

NASCAR has been working with a drivers advisory council chaired by former driver Jeff Burton to communicate with the drivers, but they acknowledged that more communication is needed. There was talk Saturday about another possible meeting Sunday.

Fox Sports