When Corey Lajoie flipped unexpectedly at Michigan, NASCAR took action. The sanctioning body introduced another fin on the roof of the cars on the right side to match the existing one of the left, which was designed to provide stability for the car at speed and stop it lifting off.
But at Daytona, even with that new fin, a car lifted off. Austin Cindric, off of a hard push by Kyle Busch, was turned into Josh Berry. As a result, Berry veered to the inside of the track and quickly took flight as air got underneath the car, going up and over on his roof.
He then rolled on his lid into the inside SAFER barrier, making contact upside down and spinning a few more times before coming to a stop upside down. Fortunately, Berry was able to get out of his car under his own power. But it raised questions just a week after a promised fix.
Joey Logano had said coming into the weekend that, while he was glad that NASCAR was hurrying to make fixes, he wasn’t sure whether the fin would work. After seeing the wreck from inside the care center, having been involved in a separate wreck in which Michael McDowell got into the air after making contact, Logano was more critical.
“Got to figure out how to keep the cars on the ground, not doing enough to fix that,” Logano said.
Not all drivers were quite so unhappy. Cody Ware, for instance, who ended up fourth at Daytona when all the carnage worked itself out, suggested that flips are an inevitability, particularly with the current car design.
Indeed, the driver who suffered an ankle injury in this new car that forced him to get medical clearance to compete in the next race in 2022, praised the safety advancements of the Next Gen car.
“With the nature of the next Gen cars, it’s just more of a possibility, but I say all, you know, seeing Corey Lajoie’s flip last weekend in Michigan, Josh Berry, people aren’t getting hurt like they used to. So I’d say overall just glad to see these cars are safe.”
And one change that NASCAR’s made has worked. Daytona International Speedway removed its infield grass following Preece’s harrowing barrel-roll flip last year that left him injured, though fortunately not seriously. While Berry’s wreck was also bad, the car did not dig in and barrel-roll.
That process has continued – it was partially done in time for the Daytona 500 and was finished ahead of this race. Multiple drivers praised that move as improving the track’s safety. Track president Frank Kelleher said that was a collaborative effort between Daytona and NASCAR to improve the safety.
It’s a change that other tracks have made as well. Charlotte, notably, replaced its grass with artificial turf, designed to all be the same level and prevent cars from digging in.
Still, on a race weekend where Daniel Suarez also suffered a bizarre fire after a backfire on pit road ignited his rear, there’s a lot for NASCAR’s R&D Center to look at ahead of Darlington and the remainder of the season.
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