Joe Gibbs Racing driver Christopher Bell's crash at Michigan during the FireKeepers Casino 400 reignited concerns about NASCAR's Next Gen cars, with William Byron arguing that the nature of the vehicle contributed to the incident.

Italian motorsports legend Max Papis later backed Byron's criticism. Drawing on experience from Le Mans, Formula 1, and Champ Car, Papis shared his thoughts on how downforce behaves across different generations of race cars.

"Great realistic assessment. @NASCAR current cars are more and more similar to an @IndyCar majority of DF is from bottom of car when u drift u loose big time DF," Papis wrote.

Byron first raised those concerns while discussing Bell's crash at Pocono on Sunday. "You wouldn't see a guy in Gen 6 overcorrect," he said.

"And like you wouldn't see that kind of crash as violent as that was which in 6. So you're seeing that crash because of the nature of the tire and the aero and everything with these cars. So It's a violent impact."

Notably, Bell suffered a 63-G crash at Michigan, which fractured his left wrist and bruised his foot. Although he was able to avert a major injury, the crash was nonetheless risky.

"But that impact to me is way larger than what we would have had in the past with a bigger sidewall and a different tire," Byron further added on Bell's crash and the Gen 7 issues. "I think that wreck was caused because of the nature of this car."

The Next Gen car has faced criticism from drivers over handling, safety concerns, and reduced driver control, with its low-profile 18-inch tires often cited as a contributing factor.

When Chase Elliott Questioned the Safety of Next Gen Cars

In October 2022, Chase Elliott called out the safety standards of the Gen 7 cars. Driver concerns grew rapidly during the first year of the Next Gen car after injuries to Alex Bowman, Kurt Busch, and Cody Ware fueled questions about safety.

"There's no excuse for going backward," Elliott said, calling out the safety concerns.

"We have too many smart people, too much technology, too many years of crashing. We should not be in the position we are in. When you come out with a new product, you should take [a step] forward, not stay the same or go backward, especially in the safety category."

Elliott received the support of fellow driver Denny Hamlin and former driver Kevin Harvick, who pointed out how NASCAR paid no heed to their feedback and objections. Fast forward to 2026, and the Next Gen cars are still in play.

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Written by

Sabyasachi Biswas

Edited by

Pulkit Prabhav