CONCORD, N.C. — When NASCAR unveiled the reconfigured Roval layout, the tight hairpin in Turn 7 sparked concerns about dive bombs. However, a different issue has drawn the attention of the drivers after practice and qualifying.
The frontstretch chicane has large turtles that can launch a car into the air and drop them roughly back onto the track surface. This is a hit that the drivers have to take in pursuit of fast lap times, but it's not one that they enjoy.
"It feels like you get a concussion every lap, basically, if you hit them," Martin Truex Jr. said after qualifying. "So yeah, not much fun.
"...It just hurts when you hit those turtles and the car bottoms out when it lands. It's just... it's pretty crazy."
Hit the turtles at your own risk. 🐢 pic.twitter.com/UFKZ3V1TwL
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) October 12, 2024
The 2017 Cup Series champion was not the only driver who voiced concerns about the hard landings after launching off the large turtles in the chicane. Todd Gilliland said that it wasn't the initial launch that was the problem, it was the hard landing with the car's lower ride heights.
Kyle Busch agreed with Truex's assessment, saying that the comment about "concussions" was not overblown.
"It's 1,000% correct," Busch said. "I don't know when I'll get the data (from his mouthpiece), probably not 'til Monday, but it fu...my head hurts."
Busch also noted that the drivers don't truly have an option other than to hit the turtles. They can either get two tires in the air and then have a hard landing, or they can miss the exit and the second set of turtles.
The mouthpiece Busch referenced is a piece of technology many NASCAR drivers wear. The Wake Forest University School of Medicine Biomedical Engineering developed this wearable, which has made its way into the top series in stock car racing.
The data provided by the mouthpieces has led to changes in pursuit of safety. This includes changing the Bus Stop section of Watkins Glen International after a previous race showed 1,000 "impact events" in this particular part of the track. The race did not have any wrecks, but the mouthpiece data showed violent collisions.
NASCAR removed the turtles in the first part of the Bus Stop to prevent these impact events.
"(The Roval), I think it's a sharper, faster hit," Busch said. "But it's one versus the Bus Stop — the old Bus Stop at Watkins Glen — it would be three of them going through there."
With the drivers making comments about the hard hits, would NASCAR consider making changes ahead of Sunday's elimination race? It wouldn't be unprecedented considering that competition officials removed some curbing from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course in 2021 after numerous Xfinity Series wrecks.
At this point, it's unlikely that NASCAR will do anything to the track before Sunday's race. At least, the drivers don't expect to see any turtles removed before they take the green flag.
They will just deal with the pain on Sunday and move forward with the rest of the season.
"I signed my rights away," Busch said.
