Denny Hamlin addresses car safety after Corey LaJoie's terrifying Michigan crash

Denny Hamlin had a lot to say about car safety after Corey LaJoie was involved in a scary crash at Michigan International Speedway on Monday. During the post-race press conference, Hamlin was asked if he was concerned about the safety of the Next Gen cars after LaJoie’s car flipped multiple times.

“I mean, the cars I feel like are pretty safe in roll-over situations. Seems like between that and intrusions, that’s kind of the strong point of the Next Gen car,” Hamlin said. “We saw with [Ryan] Preece, he had some bloody eyes, but he had a pretty violent one. His body was banged up, but he didn’t have any serious injuries. That’s what the goal of it was.

“His looked obviously less violent. He was just right in the middle of the straightaway probably doing 185 or so when he turned sideways. I just don’t know that you’re going to be able to slow it down enough to keep the car on the ground in that situation.”

Denny Hamlin shares more on Corey LaJoie wreck

Hamlin continued: “As a driver, I haven’t rolled one over, but I almost would rather roll one over than hit a wall head-on at that speed. I just feel like you’re at least getting rid of energy as you are tumbling. I can’t speak for him, but certainly feel like we have a pretty safe car. I feel comfortable with the speeds that we’re at. There’s just going to be a way, when you turn these things sideways, with that pan underneath the bottom, it’s literally like a wedge, the air is pushing that thing right over the top. Short of getting rid of the underbody, I just don’t know how you’re going to stop it.”

The accident led to LaJoie not finishing the race and placing 32nd. It’s been a tough year for the 32-year-old as he recently announced he will not be with Spire Motorsports in 2025. In his Cup Series career, LaJoie has not won a race in 259 starts.

“That’s just about the way the year’s gone,” LaJoie told NBC Sports after Monday’s accident. “You know, we have a good car, and I find a way to flip it upside down. Twice this year, we’ve been upside down, and I haven’t been upside down in my whole career. Unfortunately, that’s how the year went for our No. 7 team. We’ve had speed, just haven’t been able to put it all together.”