For years, NASCAR fans have questioned whether the sport has done enough to protect its drivers. Safety has always been part of the discussion, but the arrival of the Next Gen car pushed those concerns to a new level. Built to modernize the sport and create competitive parity, the car carried big expectations. Many hoped it would enhance both racing and safety, but its rollout has been anything but seamless.

Now that the debate has entered the courtroom, the antitrust trial has exposed rising tension between teams and NASCAR leadership. One statement has pulled an old concern back into focus. The crash that ended Kurt Busch’s full-time career still weighs on fans, and new testimony has stirred those worries again. As questions grow about NASCAR’s commitment to driver safety, attention is turning to how the sport’s leaders respond.

Steve Phelps Calls Next Gen the Safest Car

Wednesday in the Charlotte courtroom, NASCAR President Steve Phelps took the stand and made a bold claim: the Next Gen car is the safest race car in all of motorsports. He said it plainly and confidently if it were the final word on the subject.

For many fans, Phelps’ comment sounded reassuring. For others, it hit hard. Kurt Busch was driving a Next Gen car when he crashed at Pocono in 2022, suffering concussion-like symptoms that never fully went away. He attempted a comeback, but the issues persisted, ending his full-time Cup career.

Busch wasn’t just another driver. He was a champion, a veteran, and one of the sport’s toughest competitors. He raced for 23XI Racing, co-owned by Michael Jordan. His crash didn’t just end a career; it became the symbol of every concern tied to the new car.

Fans quickly pushed back on Phelps’ claim. Some viewed it as disrespectful to Busch. Others pointed to drivers like Denny Hamlin, Alex Bowman, and Ryan Preece, all of whom suffered significant impacts in the Next Gen era. Hamlin said the hits felt harsher than before. Bowman missed races with concussion symptoms after Texas. Preece survived a violent 2023 flip that stunned the garage.

Phelps says the Next Gen car is the safest ever: “I believe this is the safest car in all of motorsports,” said Phelps.

The drivers who absorbed those hits say otherwise. And with Busch’s career-ending crash tied to Michael Jordan’s team, the tension surrounding that claim is impossible to ignore.

Michael Jordan himself warned NASCAR that the sport was heading in the wrong direction. He talked about power imbalance, about teams not having a real voice, about things needing to change. He didn’t mention Kurt by name, but the timing lines up. One of the biggest names in sports is looking at the same car that took Kurt Busch out of the seat and saying This isn’t right.

The Next Gen was supposed to be the future, safer, fairer, better for everyone. Instead, it has become the symbol of a sport that moved too fast and maybe didn’t listen closely enough. Kurt Busch paid the price. His retirement isn’t just a sad story anymore. It is part of the reason people are in court, asking if NASCAR cares more about control than the people inside the cars.

The same trial that brought up Kurt Busch’s crash also put NASCAR’s charter negotiations under the microscope. Steve Phelps, now the commissioner, spent Tuesday talking about two-plus years of talks that felt like pulling teeth.

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Steve Phelps admits the charter talks were a nightmare

He said Curtis Polk, Michael Jordan’s right-hand man, led the teams and never budged. Teams wanted more money, permanent charters a real say in rules, and a third of any new revenue. NASCAR came back with less money than asked no permanent charters no governance voice and a take it or leave it deadline.

Steve Phelps called it one of the hardest negotiations he had ever been part of. He said the TNC never wavered from its four pillars. It was just the same thing, the same thing, and that was very frustrating. Teams asked for 720 million a year. NASCAR said that would put them out of business. They landed at 431 million, no permanent charter, and told teams to sign by midnight or lose everything.

Denny Hamlin and Bob Jenkins from Front Row Motorsports said no. Everyone else signed. Phelps thought it was a fair deal. The three who walked away are now in court, saying it is proof that NASCAR runs the sport like a monopoly that does not care about teams or drivers.

From Kurt Busch’s career ending in a Next Gen crash to Michael Jordan saying the sport is going the wrong way to Steve Phelps admitting the charter talks were a nightmare, it is all connected. The car that was supposed to save NASCAR might have hurt one of its champions. The deal that was supposed to keep teams happy pushed two owners to sue. And the man at the top says it is the safest car ever, while the trial shows how little teams really control.

Kurt Busch isn’t in the courtroom, but his story is. And every time someone talks about safety money or power, his name comes up quite clearly.