Chase Elliott: NASCAR safety going 'backward' in Next Gen car

NASCAR's most popular driver says the sport has taken an unacceptable step backward in safety with its new Next Gen car, a rare public offering of opinion Saturday by Chase Elliott.

NASCAR's top drivers essentially have turned into an angry mob as they head into Sunday's playoff race at Talladega Superspeedway. Alex Bowman and Kurt Busch are both sidelined with concussions, and Cody Shane Ware will race with a broken foot. All three drivers were injured in crashes in NASCAR's new Next Gen car.

The car had a honeymoon phase when it debuted at the start of the year because it delivered on its promise to improve the racing and level the competitive playing field. While the Next Gen faced some bugs in the first seven months, the car is now experiencing serious problems during the playoff portion of the season.

That has created a growing sense of urgency from the drivers that NASCAR must soften the rear of the cars in the interest of safety.

Bowman and Busch were both injured when the rear of their cars hit the wall. Because the Next Gen was designed to be durable, their crashes looked routine, when in reality most of the energy from the impacts was absorbed by the drivers. Busch is out for an 11th consecutive race. Bowman crashed on Lap 98 on Sunday at Texas, radioed his team to say it was the hardest hit of his life, appeared unwell on his in-car camera and yet continued to drive 231 laps. He was diagnosed with his concussion Thursday.

«These types of incidents that result in injuries… I'm not a doctor, but I've watched a lot of cars back into the wall and the guy would be fine,» Elliott, who is teammates with Bowman at Hendrick Motorsports, said Saturday before qualifying at Talladega, adding, «No one's immune to it. It