As one of the premier motorsports in the world, NASCAR annually brings in a huge amount of viewership and cements itself at the top with other motorsports big names such as Formula 1 and MotoGP. The biggest races such as Daytona can also compete with big events for punters around the world and other big offers like Melbourne Cup offers to bet on the race. With just twelve races remaining, the majority of the 2021 NASCAR season is behind us, but big crashes is a question that is often asked every year and is not any fault of NASCAR.
If you’ve been a viewer for any period of time, stock car crashes are quite common. They do get an uproar from the fans, for the most part, depending on the situation and/or the drivers involved. Crashes are most commonly a small tap into the barrier or a spin, but much of the fans interest is still pointed towards what is called “The Big One”, or the part of a race that leads to a pile-up of race cars taking many drivers out of the race. It can first appear that there’s a lot of carnage and destruction, it’s also important to remember that these cars are designed to break apart to minimize any serious injuries to the drivers involved.
It comes after a number of big accidents across other motorsports, but it’s all part of the risk of racing. In recent years there have been greater measures taken to ensure that if accidents do happen that the risk is minimized as much as possible. In most motorsports, if an accident does happen it is taken seriously, particularly those at higher speeds. NASCAR is one of the few motorsports events where big crashes are still widely common, but with all of the great safety measures in place, they are usually not serious crashes.
Ultimately as long as the drivers feel safe and are safe, it may not be too important if the crash culture is healthy and celebrated since it is a form of entertainment after all. But that doesn’t mean there may not be pressure coming from other angles in light of some of these big recent crashes to ensure that not only NASCAR, but all motorsports are taking driver safety seriously. These cars are only going to get faster and more powerful over time, which may only lead to bigger and more destructive crashes in the future. This could make the risks go higher for the drivers and teams involved.
