Denny Hamlin Approves NASCAR Next Gen Car’s Safety Level: “I Feel Comfortable”

Corey LaJoie’s scary moment at Michigan International Speedway on Sunday saw the driver of the #7 Chevrolet make contact with Noah Gragson going well over 180 mph, which caused the former to flip over in dramatic fashion. The car landed on its roof and slid upside down for a long period of time before coming back down on all four wheels.

It raised a matter of safety with the Next-Gen car, despite Lajoie exiting the car safely on his own. Speaking on the issue after the race, Denny Hamlin did not seem too worried since he believes that current cars are sturdy enough to safely cushion an impact like a rollover and protect the driver.

This is not the first time the Next-Gen car has flipped over. Last season at Daytona, Ryan Preece’s car went airborne and barrel-rolled several times before coming to a halt as a mangled mess. But it was still able to protect the driver as there were no serious injuries. As far as Hamlin is concerned, he would rather flip the car over at 180-plus mph than drive it into a wall at that speed. The former is safer thanks to the sturdy roof but the #11 driver still has a solution to stop it from flipping over.

“I feel comfortable with the speeds that we’re at. There’s just going to be a way, when you turn these things sideways, with that pan underneath the bottom, it’s literally like a wedge, the air is pushing that thing right over the top. Short of getting rid of the underbody, I just don’t know how you’re going to stop it,” he explained in a post-race interview.

The veteran race car driver had a good run in Michigan despite having a spin on the first day of the race. He managed to recover from that and finish in an impressive P9. He still has not won a race since Dover, however, and will be looking to change that as soon as possible.

Hamlin shares health update before playoffs

For him to pick up as many race wins as he did is quite impressive given his shoulder injury. He underwent intensive surgery after the 2023 season but revealed that his shoulder was not at its best. Despite that, he has been driving as well. The #11 driver is towards the end of his racing career and is yet to win the championship. He hopes that 2024 will be his year regardless of the hardships.

“I had some internal stuff that needed to be repaired, and now it is repaired, but even though it has been nine months since surgery, the rotator cuff can take forever, and I’m not as young as I used to be, so I don’t recover quite as quick as I used to,” he explained.

With only two races remaining in the regular season, Hamlin will be looking to pick up as many points as possible before the playoffs. A win would be ideal in a scenario like this to strengthen his position.