September 19, 2024

After the dramatic conclusion to the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway, Joey Logano openly criticized NASCAR’s safety measures following two significant crashes in the race’s final laps.

The chaos unfolded with just nine laps to go when Michael McDowell, after contact with Austin Cindric, collided with Logano. A few laps later, Josh Berry suffered a horrific crash as his car flipped over on the backstretch and slammed into the wall after a crash with Cindric.

In a post-race interview with NBC Sports, as quoted by Yardbarker, Logano explained:

“It’s hard to say exactly how it started. I’m assuming he got pushed into the corner and just came right across in front of me and just nothing you can do.

“It’s the end of a speedway race and you’re trying to position yourself in the best place you can for a wreck.

“It always starts in the lead, and you just saw another one there with Josh Berry which I hope he’s OK. I think he’s OK.

“Gotta figure out how to get the cars on the ground. We’re not doing too good on that part, so hopefully we can figure out how to do that better.”

Despite NASCAR’s attempts to enhance safety by introducing a new right-side rear-window air deflector at Daytona, the incidents involving Logano exaggerated the inadequacy of these measures under real-race conditions.

The crashes had a substantial impact on Logano’s race outcome. Having led for 34 laps, he was a strong contender for the win, but his hopes were dashed, relegating him to a 31st-place finish.

These consecutive crashes not only jeopardize driver safety but also raise questions about the effectiveness of NASCAR’s current safety measures.

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