NASCAR abandons ‘air deflector’ for NextGen cars as they present three solutions for the Talladega race

NASCAR has been on the lookout for a solution to stop cars from going airborne during a racing event. An insider recently shared an update on three potential changes to a racecar ahead of the playoff race at Talladega Superspeedway.

The flipping incidents started in the Xfinity Series race at Michigan International Speedway where Kyle Seig's #28 Ford flipped in the final lap of the Cabo Wabo 250, after making contact with a spinning Chandler Smith.

The incident was mirrored in the Cup Series race at Michigan where Corey LaJoie, who was piloting the #7 for Spire, flipped and went belly up before doing a few barrel rolls and coming to a halt.

Moreover, similar incidents were witnessed at Daytona International Speedway where Michael McDowell nearly went airborne after a multi-car wreck, bringing out the caution flag. As the race restarted, SHR's Josh Berry made contact with Austin Cindric, losing control of his #4 Ford and flipping around on its hood.

Here's a look at Berry's harrowing incident at Daytona.(via NASCAR on NBC's X)

Ever since, NASCAR has been working towards a solution for the Next-Gen car to keep it grounded at such high speeds. Fox Sports Journalist Bob Pockrass recently shared a few updates ahead of the Yellawood 500 playoff race at Talladega Superspeedway. Pockrass wrote on X:

"NASCAR won’t use front windshield air deflector that it considered for Talladega to reduce chance of cars getting airborne. Will add fabric on right side of hinge of roof flap to block air, rocker side skirt, right side roof rail extends two inches."

Before the Cup Series race at Daytona, a new air deflector was introduced above the right-side window to reduce the risk of cars flipping during on-track incidents. The deflector was designed to raise the minimum speed needed for a car to flip.

However, Josh Berry's flip at Daytona exposed the deflector's shortcomings in preventing such accidents.

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NASCAR promises rule reevaluation after Josh Berry's controversial elimination at Kansas

Stewart Haas Racing's #4 driver Josh Berry met with an untimely end in the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway. Harrison Burton and Ty Dillon made contact in the first lap of the race, tangling Berry into the mix. This led to a four-tire puncture on the #4 Ford.

In a controversial decision, NASCAR towed Josh Berry's car to the campgrounds instead of pit road, preventing him from continuing the race..

Afterward, NASCAR official Brad Moran defended the application of the Damaged Vehicle Policy (DVP) in Berry's case in Kansas. Moran explained the decision, stating (via SiriusXM):

"It'd be a real bad situation because we wouldn't change the rule. When the incident recorder goes off, that's a pretty big hit. The driver needs to go to the care center. All these other items have to happen for safety. And, yeah, we certainly wouldn't want that to happen. But the rule hasn't changed. It's been that way."

He added:

"It's just on that particular incident (Josh Berry's incident), it didn't feel right or look right, but it was done correctly, and it's again, something we're going to review over the winter. And it may change."