New car concussions get drivers mad

NASCAR drivers are angry and concerned about their safety in the new Next Gen cars as the playoffs roar into one of the most chaotic and dangerous tracks on the circuit.

Alex Bowman will miss Sunday’s race at Talladega Superspeedway with a concussion diagnosed four days after he crashed. Bowman hit the wall early at Texas Motor Speedway but finished Sunday’s race despite radioing his Hendrick Motorsports crew: “I can’t drive the rest of the day.”

“I don’t understand how (the car) is still rolling. That’s the hardest I’ve crashed anything in my entire life,” Bowman added.

Now he is on the sidelines alongside Kurt Busch, who will miss his 11th consecutive race because of his own concussion. He crashed in July during a qualifying run when he spun and backed his car into the wall.

Busch said his vision and balance are not at 100% but he hopes to race again this season.

Complaints about the Next Gen — introduced this season as a cost-saver and a way to bring some parity to the grid — have reached a critical level following four difficult playoff races and three injured drivers. Cody Shane Ware will race Sunday despite a fractured foot suffered in a hard crash.

Drivers amplified their complaints as soon as they learned of Bowman’s concussion. They have been concerned since an exaggerated tale emerged of an ominous NASCAR crash test of the Next Gen at Talladega in 2021. The rumor was that the crash-test dummy had suffered forces in the collision that would have killed a human.

“Completely unacceptable that those in charge have let things get to this point,” Kevin Harvick wrote on Twitter.