One could’ve seen roof flaps deployed atop Corey LaJoie’s No. 7 Chevrolet Camaro when it went airborne in Michigan earlier this month. The flaps were present as a mechanism to keep the car on the ground when it turned backward and tried flipping over. They are one of the most important safety innovations in NASCAR and actively prevent many severe accidents.
Advertisement
The origin of these flaps stretches back to the 1980s. It wasn’t uncommon to see cars flying around tracks like Daytona and Talladega in those days. NASCAR wanted to implement a measure that would prevent these occurrences. It tried using restrictor plates to slow down the cars but they did little to help. It was in 1994 that roof flaps were introduced as a solution.
What these flaps did was change the airflow structure around the car. When a car turns around backward, the air gets trapped in its bottom and forces it upwards. The flaps counteract this force and keep the car on the ground. Tethers connect those flaps to the car and keep them exactly at 90 degrees. The NextGen car that is in use currently went a step further with this.
Another flap was added at the back of the rear diffuser. This piece helps prevent air from getting underneath the car in the first place. Together, all the flaps present a crucial safety combination. But it is not always that they work as intended. LaJoie’s flip in Michigan and Josh Berry’s flip in Daytona happened despite their functioning.
How well do the roof flaps work in preventing flips?
There is no question about the fact that the flaps have helped keep cars and drivers safe to a large extent. But they’re not 100% failproof. The NextGen car has a smooth underbody which presents a significant threat. Once enough air gets underneath it, there aren’t a lot of possibilities but that of the car flipping. Ryan Preece’s Daytona wreck in 2023 is a prime example.
His car barrel-rolled multiple times in the air before coming to a halt in the infield grass. LaJoie’s Camaro lifted off far too easily in Michigan upon the slightest contact with Noah Gragson. The incident forced NASCAR to take an additional step and install air deflectors on the right side of cars for last weekend’s Daytona race.
But the deflectors did not prove to be very useful with Berry flipping near the end of the race. The roof flaps are one of the most impactful safety innovations in the sport. In light of recent incidents, the officiating body could work on improving them to suit the current level of danger present in the sport.
