A sport like NASCAR demands that safety parameters are given the utmost importance in order to protect drivers at all times. However, every once in a while, some flaw surfaces that makes fans question the preparations and the promises. Such was the case for Noah Gragson, who recently fell victim to yet another instance of receiving concussion-like symptoms following a hard impact.
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Just last year, controversy regarding drivers taking hard impacts during wrecks caused major concern, especially after Kurt Busch had been rendered out of the competition altogether following his wreck at Pocono. Subsequently, he announced his retirement during the 2022 season. Thereafter, NASCAR brought along changes for the 2023 season. Yet once again, the problem seems to have returned with the Gragson incident.
Noah Gragson will not race in Sonoma citing a Kurt Busch-like injury
It was announced that Gragson would sit out this weekend’s race at Sonoma after suffering from concussion-like symptoms. Legacy Motor Club released a statement regarding the update, appreciating Gragson to focus on his health taking over the next race with the injury.
Meanwhile, the team also announced that the #42 car would see a replacement in the form of NASCAR Truck Series driver, Grant Enfinger, marking his debut in the Cup Series. As per the statement released by the team, it stated, “Noah’s health is the highest of priorities and we commend him for making the decision to sit out this weekend…”
Gragson’s crash had occurred due to a brake rotor failure during the race, which had him rear-impact the wall hard, then spin and hit the front again. But he was not alone to have suffered such a mechanical issue during the race last Sunday.
Bubba Wallace explains how he saved himself from having a similar incident to Gragson
23XI Racing driver Bubba Wallace was another driver who had faced a similar mechanical failure with the car. With just five laps to go, Wallace suddenly lost the brake rotor. However, after his quick thinking, he decided to somehow turn right and ride up the wall in an effort to slow the car down.
When Bubba Wallace had brake rotor failure at WWTR Gateway, he turned right into the wall to try to lessen the impact of the crash. Wallace explains when he learned that was the best move and reacts to Noah Gragson being out with concussion-like symptoms. pic.twitter.com/I6L7TCkBjt
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) June 8, 2023
In an interview following the race, he told Bob Pockrass, “Once I felt our brakes go out at the start-finish line, I knew to turn right and ride the wall. The only bad thing is where the wall kinda kicks out on entry into one. So it kicks you out…”
Wallace had been able to save himself from a hard impact against the wall, mostly because of the location of where his brakes had blown up. Had the failure occurred while he was turning the vehicle, the story would have been similar to that of Gragson. Thankfully, he was able to walk away from it without any injuries. Meanwhile, for Gragson, fans look forward to him recovering as soon as possible and returning to racing once he gets better.
