Though Zane Smith was unhappy with John Hunter Nemechek for causing a startling wreck at Kansas Speedway, NASCAR was pleased with Smith’s No. 38 Ford after its wild ride.
During the latest episode of the “Hauler Talk” podcast, Mike Forde, NASCAR managing director of communications, said the at-track inspection after the crash went so well that the car was returned to Front Row Motorsports instead of being transported to the R&D Center for further scrutiny.
The contact with Nemechek’s No. 42 Toyota squeezed Smith’s car into the SAFER barrier. After turning onto its driver side, the No. 38 rode along for several hundred feet at a 90-degree angle to the asphalt before barrel-rolling and landing back on its wheels.
“We never like seeing that, so there is concern that it happened, but from the structural integrity of the car, we’re not concerned,” Forde said. “We were very, very happy with how all that went down. … Nothing was bent, nothing was abnormal, so we gave the car back to the team, and they brought it back to the shop.”
Upon the car’s return from Kansas, NASCAR officials took more photos and met with team members about the incident.
Dr. John Patalak, NASCAR’s vice president of safety engineering, also reviewed the Incident Data Acquisition System that measures G-forces and has a high-speed camera to review the response of driver restraint and cockpit safety devices.
“(Patalak) really liked what he saw from the safety systems,” Forde said. “Zane came away really good there as far as how his seat positioning was, and there was no concern there, either. So, I think the next steps are we’ll look at the race track, look at some more of the data as far as how it got up on the wall. Because cars do get pinched up against the wall often, and you don’t always see that. But all in all, we’re pretty happy with how all that went from a car standpoint. … Everything was good — so good that they may be able to use that chassis again and just pop a new body on it. We’ve had definitely other chassis that were in much worse shape than that one.”
Forde confirmed that security was summoned to Smith’s team hauler, which coincidentally was parked beside John Hunter Nemechek’s hauler in the Kansas garage. In an interview after being released from the infield care center, Smith angrily blamed Nemechek for the wreck.
“It’s not our first rodeo, so sometimes when we see that there might be trouble brewing, we send (security),” Forde said. “That was just trying to keep the peace, get ahead of it and make sure that there were no issues between those two drivers, and there were not. So, I think we’re good there.”
Other topics covered by Forde and NASCAR senior director of racing communications AmandaEllis during the 35th episode of “Hauler Talk,” which explores competition issues in NASCAR:
— How NASCAR handles power-steering problems during races.
— The rule Brad Keselowski broke that caused his free pass to be rescinded.
— The ejections of two crew chiefs for inspection violations.
— New temporary lighting at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval for a 5 p.m. ET Xfinity start.
— Post-race inspection procedures for a cutoff race in the playoffs.
Click on the embed above to listen or search for “Hauler Talk” wherever you download podcasts to hear it on your phone, tablet or mobile device.
Nate Ryan has written about NASCAR since 1996 while working at the San Bernardino Sun, Richmond Times-Dispatch, USA TODAY and for the past 10 years at NBC Sports Digital. He is a contributor to the “Hauler Talk” show on the NASCAR Podcast Network. He has also covered various other motorsports, including the IndyCar and IMSA series.
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