TALLADEGA, Ala: Brad Keselowski has a unique view on the current safety issues being raised by the drivers and teams with the sudden emergence of blown tires and concussions that are taking place in the elite NASCAR Cup Series.
As the driver and owner of the No. 6 Kohler Generators Ford Mustang, Keselowski seems to be more understanding of the process to make these Next Gen cars safer for the drivers.
“I think there are people working on it,” Keselowski said Saturday morning at Talladega Superspeedway. “It would be one thing if there was a magic wand with a solution and just wasn’t being applied. It would be one thing if nobody was working on anything, but there are people working on things right now and there are projects underway.
“I have reasonable expectations of those projects. The fact that there’s movement and there’s acknowledgement and NASCAR is working on things, confidence is fine for me.”
As a driver for RFK Racing, Keselowski has had the team make adjustments to his car out of caution for his safety.
“We changed some of the padding to that regard and really tightened up the back of my head rest so I can’t have a really sharp movement backwards for this week,” he said. “I think that should be helpful.”
As a team owner though, Keselowski doesn’t seem to think that the cost of making changes to the Next Gen Car is that costly. Coming from the point of view that anything they can do to keep everyone safe Keselowski seems supportive of making changes.
“Honestly, I don’t think the projects that I’m aware of, at least are that expensive,” he explained. “The rear clips are a couple thousand dollars. If we have to replace every one of them next year, in the grand scheme of things it doesn’t mean anything to our budget.
“I can’t speak for every owner either, but I think changing some rear clips and changing the rules on them for next year is really not a big needle mover for cost.”
Fixing any or all of the issues to these Next Gen Cars seem unlikely before the end of the season but it seems that most are cautiously optimistic to have something at least done by the time the season opener at Daytona comes around in February 2023.
“I don’t see that, just being realistic,” Keselowski said about changing the car before the season concludes at Phoenix Raceway next month. “I would like to think it would be but given the timelines, we only have three to four weeks left in the season.
If you think the Phoenix cars are all being built next week or in two weeks – just the way the teams rotate the cars. They’re usually three to four weeks ahead, so I don’t see us having anything different before the year is over.
“I think we need to be working right now to have something for Daytona.”
Keselowski has talked about concussions in the past and has continued to do so. He is of the mind that it should be a decision that both the doctors and driver should make.
“It’s no doubt that it’s an inexact science, diagnosing a concussion,” he said. “I think any doctor would tell you that. Ultimately, I still believe in empowering athletes or drivers that if they feel good enough to race, they should be allowed to race.”
With that being said, NASCAR has scheduled a crash test in Ohio next week and drivers and teams alike are looking forward to seeing better indications of what is causing these harder crashes and significant concussions.
Follow Grace Krenrich on Twitter @Grace3140.
