No matter how much you prepare, some things are just out of your control when something goes wrong on the race track. The same was the case for Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson during the race at Talladega Superspeedway earlier this year. Larson was involved in a hard wreck, after which he had a near-life-threatening experience owing to the impact on his car. Thankfully, ever since that accident, NASCAR has made significant changes to the overall car to make sure such a thing never takes place again.
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Recently, while speaking to the media ahead of the race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, the HMS driver was quizzed about the recovery process after a hard wreck such as the one at Talladega. Larson then answered the question while citing teammates Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman.
Kyle Larson is appreciative of NASCAR’s quest to increase driver’s safety
Answering at the press conference, Larson stated, “Thankfully, I’ve never had anything too serious happen to me. I’ve never been diagnosed with a concussion. I’ve never had anything like that happen. Typically, I mean for me – in some wrecks, you’re not even sore at all. Even the Talladega (Superspeedway) one, I wasn’t really sore the next day.”
“I think me being hit from the side; my body didn’t really have anywhere to go. So my neck wasn’t stiff.. nothing hurt. So I think that’s just a testament to the cars and the safety. You always want to see it getting safer. But yeah 10 years ago, I might have felt differently.. or maybe longer ago than that.”
Larson praises Hendrick Motorsports for looking after their drivers
Speaking further, Larson mentioned how he had been fortunate enough to have never had serious injuries happen to him during the wrecks. Though, he did mention that such a thing was beyond his control and could happen on any given weekend. He then moved on to cite how Hendrick Motorsports looked after their drivers when they had injuries.
Larson commented, “But I’ve been fortunate, knock on wood, to not have anything serious happen to me yet. I know there’s an opportunity every weekend for that. I’m sure if the situation ever comes up where I am injured, I know that Hendrick Motorsports has great people, resources, and contacts for whatever I’m sure you’re dealing with.”
“Alex (Bowman) had his injuries. Chase (Elliott) had his earlier this year. They have, unfortunately, a lot of experience with it. But yeah, hopefully, I don’t run into anything like that”
Although both Bowman and Elliott had their injuries outside of the NASCAR Cup Series, both drivers got back into their race cars after recovering. It is evident that a powerhouse team like Hendrick Motorsports would definitely have some of the best personnel to look after their drivers when things go south.
