Elliott questions Next Gen car’s safety

NASCAR’s most popular driver said Saturday the sport has taken an unacceptable step backward in safety with its new Next Gen car, a rare public offering of opinion by Chase Elliott. NASCAR’s top drivers have displayed their anger as they head into Sunday’s playoff race at Talladega Superspeedway. Alex Bowman and Kurt Busch are both sidelined with concussions, and Cody Shane Ware will race with a broken foot. All three drivers were injured in crashes in NASCAR’s new Next Gen car. The car had a honeymoon phase when it debuted because it delivered on its promise to improve the racing and level the playing field. And while the Next Gen faced some bugs in the first seven months, the car is now experiencing serious problems. That’s created a growing sense of urgency from the drivers that NASCAR must soften the rear of the cars for safety. Bowman and Busch were both injured when the rear of their cars hit the wall. Because the Next Gen was designed to be durable, their crashes looked routine, when in reality most of the energy from the impact was absorbed by the driver.