Jeff Burton’s Duality Laid Bare in the Open Amid Denny Hamlin’s Radical Stance

Over the past few races, there have been increasing calls to improve driver safety in NASCAR. So far, Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick have been leading the charge. On the back of Alex Bowman withdrawing from Talladega on the grounds of his health, the calls have intensified. Now, Hamlin has taken an aggressive step and called for a change in management in NASCAR.

In light of this, former NASCAR driver Jeff Burton is in a tricky position. Aside from being a commentator, he acts as a link between NASCAR and the drivers. This is because he is the head of the Drivers Advisory Council for the NASCAR Cup Series. Earlier last week, ahead of the Talladega race, he called a meeting with drivers to review safety-related data from NASCAR. He even urged them to communicate via proper channels instead of airing grievances in the media.

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Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick are not making Burton’s job easier

Unfortunately, NASCAR is not planning any changes until 2023, and drivers are not happy about suffering through this. According to Hamlin, things got to a stage where drivers refused to participate in the “Race for the Championship” docuseries last year. He said that the sport just wanted to get the car out on the track, no matter what.

The #11 driver has a unique perspective because he is a driver and a team co-owner. Not one to mince words, he blamed poor leadership for the current situation where drivers are risking injury. He even accused the sport of being negligent with the lack of testing before the Next Gen’s official reveal.

Owing to that, he is of the opinion that NASCAR needed “new leadership”. According to him, Kurt Busch took many hard hits over the course of this season, and that played a role in the July crash at Pocono. As veterans in the sport, he and Harvick feel that they need to pressure NASCAR into forcing overdue changes.

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