Fans Rally Behind Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick’s “TIME TO LISTEN TO THE DRIVERS” Appeal Amid Worsening NASCAR Safety Situation

Published 09/30/2022, 4:38 AM EDT

Speculation turned to confirmation when it was announced that Alex Bowman will not be able to race at Talladega following his crash at Texas Motor Speedway due to concussion-like symptoms. This is the second time a driver has suffered such injuries this season after a collision. Veteran NASCAR drivers Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin took a united stand on behalf of the drivers and spoke out against NASCAR for ignoring these safety issues. Fans soon rallied behind them.

In a strongly worded Twitter post, Harvick stated, “Completely unacceptable that those in charge have let things get to this point. I remember it like it was yesterday @dennyhamlin in the presentation of the new car to the drivers pleading that the car was to stiff. Data didn’t agree. TIME TO LISTEN TO THE DRIVERS CRASHING THEM!“

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In a separate post, Denny Hamlin also argued, “Pretty disappointing that our sanctioning body refuses to acknowledge or accept any responsibility for drivers getting hurt. It’s the same THEY said. WE knew better. It’s wrong these drivers continue to get taken advantage of by the system.“

Fans agree with Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick in their stand against NASCAR

Fans too were upset and rallied alongside the veteran drivers as they criticized NASCAR for failing to adhere to top-quality safety standards and putting drivers at risk.

People stated that unfortunately NASCAR only acted during situations regarding safety after a driver gets hurt or something seriously goes wrong. They pointed out how major safety changes such as the HANS device were only implemented after the tragedy involving Dale Earnhardt Sr.

Completely unacceptable that those in charge have let things get to this point. I remember it like it was yesterday @dennyhamlin in the presentation of the new car to the drivers pleading that the car was to stiff. Data didn’t agree. TIME TO LISTEN TO THE DRIVERS CRASHING THEM! https://t.co/Q9urnlbaWa
— Kevin Harvick (@KevinHarvick) September 30, 2022

Pretty disappointing that our sanctioning body refuses to acknowledge or accept any responsibility for drivers getting hurt. It’s the same THEY said. WE knew better. It’s wrong these drivers continue to get taken advantage of by the system.
— Denny Hamlin (@dennyhamlin) September 30, 2022

I agree with Denny for once. Something has to be done for the drivers safety. Who knows, Kurt may be done now. We don't know. And who knows how long Alex will be out now. You never wanna see drivers get hurt no matter how good the racing is. Safety comes first. Not racing
— Austin Rains (@AustinRains96) September 30, 2022

Denny, is there any way for all the owners to get together to address NASCAR and find a solution? I’m afraid someone is going to die at this rate.
— God bless the mess (@maveness) September 30, 2022

How many more of y'all are going to get hurt before they actually do something? This is getting out of hand
— Sam🏁 (@SamanthaRae43) September 30, 2022

Sadly it takes a great many problems, like Daytona and the loss of Senior for NASCAR to implement changes like the HANS device and SAFER barriers. It very well may take a catastrophic incident like a driver being hurt to the point of retirement early for nascar to change things
— Death_From_Above (@brent_devin) September 30, 2022

I follow and listen to @MartinTruex_Jr and he said on the scanner how hard of a hit this was and I've been watching for 30 plus years and shocked when he said it about this hit. This car is not safe. Sorry guys. https://t.co/GEBc7O1Ukp
— Gary (@Kid67y) September 30, 2022

I think designing a “revolutionary” car on a computer with almost no testing should be the first major red flag.
Teams have the best engineers, let them fix this car.
Test, test, test, I give Goodyear the benefit of the doubt too, they also have had such limited testing
— Trey Ryan (@realRyanT1920) September 30, 2022

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This scenario reminds me of the rear-impact issues the IRL had with the first gen Dallara and Panoz chassis in their first year of use in 1998. People were breaking backs and getting concussions… had to make mods and add an attenuator to the gearbox. Proactive measures.
— Bryan White (@LowPassBW) September 30, 2022

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Do you agree with Harvick and Hamlin? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section.

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Written by:

Srijan Mandal is a NASCAR author at EssentiallySports. He is currently pursuing his Master’s in Journalism and has been writing for his own blog as well, covering NASCAR, F1, F2, W Series, MotoGP, DTM, IndyCar, WRC, and WEC. Following motorsports for more than a decade, he has become a devout supporter of McLaren Racing, Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Bubba Wallace, Sir Lewis Hamilton, and Ayrton Senna.

Edited by:

Ankit Sharma