NASCAR acts at Watkins Glen after Cup driver complaints, Aric Almirola explains severe headaches in next-gen car

Aric Almirola has explained the issues NASCAR drivers faced while racing at Watkins Glen last season because of a curb on the track that drivers were bouncing through. NASCAR made changes prior to this year’s race at the circuit, replacing the curbs with rumble strips.

As NASCAR heads to Watkins Glen International for the second playoff race of the season, there is a painful recollection of the race for many drivers. One of the few road courses on the calendar, the track has multiple curbs that drivers are required to drive on to gain maximum advantage.

However, one such curb did not sit right with the stiff suspension of the NASCAR next-gen car. Almirola stated that the stiff suspension caused the drivers to bounce around in the car while riding the curb. It got worse with the tight headrest around the drivers.

At the same time, however, this was not a major issue with the Xfinity Series car, as the suspension on those is softer. Following the issues from last year, the authorities replaced the curbs for rumble strips, making the ride rather smoother for the drivers.

“It hurt," he told Bob Pockrass. "Mostly with the Cup car, the Xfinity cars run a little bit more on standard suspension so it’s not as violent because the car is a little bit more forgiving. There’s a lot more body movement in the Xfinity car so it absorbs the high velocity of the curbs better. But the Cup cars are so rigid and they run them so stiff and they bottom out on the shock limiters. So, when you hit those curbs in the Cup car, it was just violent."

"We run such tight head surround foam for the headrest that your head just kinda feels like a bouncy ball in between the left and right side of the headrest. It would, it would literally hurt, Bob. When the race was over, Watkins Glen was probably the worst headache I’ve had from any race I’ve ever run, and it wasn’t carbon monoxide poisoning or from being dehydrated, it was from my head bouncing off of the headrest."

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NASCAR's mouthpiece data led to the required changes around Watkins Glen International

NASCAR requested the data from the mouthpiece at Watkins Glen after the 2023 season. The mouthpiece is a device that drivers wear, used to collect data about the vibrations felt by drivers during the races.

After the data was analyzed, it revealed over 1,000 impact events from the race, which was surprising because not only were there no wrecks in the race, but the entire season accounted for just 3,400 such impact events.

The data showed that the "Bus Stop" corner at Watkins Glen consisted of elevated rumble strips. This was the cause of the drivers' discomfort while driving and headaches, as Almirola explained.

The authorities took it into action and changes were made earlier this year. The elevated rumble strips were removed and replaced with a smoother curb transition.