CONCORD, N.C. — NASCAR says it had a productive check of its new automotive and promised drivers that options to a few of their security considerations needs to be carried out by subsequent season.

NASCAR’s prime management held a 75-minute assembly forward of Saturday’s apply at Charlotte Motor Speedway. It mentioned it expects a brand new rear clip, rear bumper construction and heart part on subsequent 12 months’s Subsequent Gen automotive. These components are too stiff proper now and drivers have complained all season they’re feeling the pressure from routine crashes greater than earlier than.

Alex Bowman and Kurt Busch are each sidelined with concussions suffered in crashes within the Subsequent Gen, and Cody Shane Ware will not race Sunday as a result of he has a damaged foot that may be beneath an excessive amount of pressure on Charlotte’s hybrid street course/oval circuit. It is the primary time in no less than 20 years that three full time Cup drivers will miss a race.

NASCAR had a slide presentation ready, however two totally different drivers likened the session to an episode of “Seinfeld.” Erik Jones described it as an “airing of grievances” whereas Brad Keselowski, driver and part-owner of RFK Racing, mentioned “everyone had just a little bit to say, this can be just a little little bit of a Festivus.”

“It was undoubtedly tense from the driving force facet. NASCAR did job of attempting to reply the questions requested, however you may inform that there is frustration,” driver Christopher Bell mentioned. “We bought by means of two slides. I imagine that that they had a a lot bigger presentation accessible to us, however we bought caught in open dialog that took up the vast majority of the time.”

Drivers mentioned NASCAR offered them with knowledge from Wednesday’s crash check and outlined the enhancements discovered within the train. One of many foremost objectives of the Subsequent Gen was to chop prices and in doing so, the brand new automotive was made to be sturdy and face up to crashes with out being destroyed in order that groups want solely a seven-car fleet for the 38-race season.

The automotive has confirmed to be safer in lots of areas and drivers imagine they are going to be protected in catastrophic crashes. However the impacts to the rear of the vehicles have been jarring, and after claiming they’ve complained to NASCAR throughout the complete design course of that the Subsequent Gen is simply too stiff, the drivers lastly snapped after Bowman’s concussion two weeks in the past and went public with their considerations.

“We simply wish to really feel much less contained in the automotive. You look from the skin and also you watch crashes and it does not appear like something is going on,” Bell mentioned. “However our physique appears to be absorbing the vast majority of the impacts as an alternative of the automotive absorbing the impacts. We simply need the automotive to assist us out the place we’re not absorbing as a lot.”

Busch, who will miss his twelfth consecutive race, attended the assembly. Ryan Blaney mentioned drivers met final week at Talladega to current a unified entrance within the assembly.

Among the many NASCAR representatives current had been NASCAR chairman Jim France, president Steve Phelps and the leaders of the Subsequent Gen mission.

“The unlucky facet is we knew about these things earlier than coming into this 12 months and we thought it will be OK and it wasn’t,” Blaney mentioned. “It’s tougher. Heck, you had guys saying immediately in preseason testing like, ‘These hits really feel so much tougher than what it was final 12 months,’ and to us it is irritating that nobody listened or believed as a result of we’re the one ones who really feel these hits.

“Nobody from NASCAR is strapping in and going and feeling these hits. I’ve at all times mentioned, ‘All proper, go strap on this factor and go wreck it at 160 (mph) with the outdated automotive after which go wreck this new one at 160 and also you inform me how you’re feeling after the hit.’ You are gonna know it is tougher. That is what it is designed for, however among the medium impacts really feel approach tougher than the final automotive, for certain.”

And but Blaney mentioned does not enable himself to consider his security when he will get inside his Ford.

Kevin Harvick, one of many extra vocal veterans in regards to the Subsequent Gen automotive, mentioned little or no as he left the assembly. He was penalized this week for an unlawful modification discovered on his Talladega automotive, and NASCAR has denied the penalty was retribution for his feedback.

Drivers and groups are clearly fed up with NASCAR. In a unprecedented transfer Friday, representatives of a few of NASCAR’s prime groups mentioned the game enterprise mannequin is damaged and so they should come to a brand new income sharing settlement with the league for crew stability.

The crew representatives gave an unprecedented quantity of particulars about enterprise fashions and monetary struggles to publicize their plight. NASCAR responded that it needs to work with the groups to unravel their challenges.