“Changed the Game”: Denny Hamlin Hails NASCAR Safety Measures to Prevent Driver Injuries

Throughout the long and illustrious history of NASCAR, there have been a few grim moments where we have lost iconic talents and drivers due to issues pertaining to safety. However, in the modern era, the number of fatalities has seen a sharp decline. Of course, several things, from the SAFER barriers, to the very cars, have changed since the sport began focusing on limiting driver injuries.

Recently, while speaking about these safety improvements over the years, Cup Series driver Denny Hamlin praised NASCAR for their continued quest to make sure that driver injuries stay towards the minimum.

Denny Hamlin praises NASCAR measures to improve drivers’ safety

During the latest episode of Actions Detrimental, Hamlin’s co-host began speaking about how the Ryan Blaney wreck at Daytona which would have had a completely different result some 20-22 years ago, especially considering what happened on the same track in 2001. For Hamlin, the two scenarios were “hard to equate.”

“Certainly, the safety innovations that we come up with the HANS being the number one thing. I don’t know if they are the HANS or they’re SAFER barriers. I would say probably the HANS, but it’s close,” he described.

“Just the head-neck restraint in general has changed the game and certainly made it more safer as far as a fatal impact is concerned. But I mean, Blaney’s taken some massive hits in the wall in the Next Gen. Lucky for us, we got to hear him talk in an interview afterwards.”

Hamlin claimed Blaney’s racecar deflected more from the changes NASCAR made to the Next Gen car’s front clip that made it compress more compared to how much it would’ve last year.

Dale Earnhardt Sr’s fatal wreck spearheaded the safety revolution

Before the fateful day when Dale Earnhardt Sr. died while racing at the Daytona Superspeedway, NASCAR and its member tracks were totally fine with the concrete barriers. It was only after such a massive shock did NASCAR started the so-called safety revolution within the sport.

This is where the introduction of the SAFER and the mandatory use of the HANS barriers came into play. Over the years since its introduction, several racing drivers across the NASCAR universe have thanked these safety measurements for saving their lives. These Steel And Foam Energy Reduction barriers have now been installed at almost every other race track, hence cushioning the impact in case someone veers off toward the wall.

So in a way, Earnhardt’s tragic and unfortunate demise ended up paving the way for future generations to walk out of wrecks, which otherwise would have been far more devastating than what they are now.