Cody Ware injured in scary wreck during Texas playoff race, putting focus back on Next Gen car

David Suggs

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Cody Ware injured in scary wreck during Texas playoff race, putting focus back on Next Gen car image

Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series playoff race at Texas Motor Speedway took a scary turn when Cody Ware's car crashed hard into the outside wall between Turns 3 and 4.

The one-car incident occurred on Lap 168 during Stage 2 of the AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 500. Ware's car made contact with wall at high speed and then was pushed out onto the middle of the track. Ware was unable to regain control of the car as it barreled down pit road.

Ware's car only stopped after it rammed a pit road wall. It narrowly avoided hitting crew members. So as bad as the collision was, it could have been so much worse.

MORE: NASCAR at Texas live race updates

The damage to the vehicle was significant: the front bumper appeared to be shaved off as a result of the impact. It also looked as if one of the crush panels was demolished prior to the car hitting the pit road barrier.

Ware was heard on his radio saying "I need help," according to Dustin Albino of Jayski.com and The Athletic.

NASCAR officials rushed to Ware's car and eventually helped him out of the smoldering vehicle. But Ware looked in a bad way physically. He received early treatment before being loaded into the ambulance.

Ware was placed onto a stretcher and transferred to the track's infield care center.

Per NBC's broadcast, Ware was released from the infield care center later in the day.

Still, his wreck puts the spotlight back on NASCAR's Next Gen cars. Billed as a less expensive vehicle for manufacturers to produce, the cars have received serious criticism since their debut earlier in the season.

The cars have come under fire recently because of Kurt Busch's concussion and complaints from Kevin Harvick after he was knocked of the first playoff race of the Cup Series season. Harvick noted that collisions have been more violent in Next Gen cars than he can ever remember.

“I think when you look at the things that happened with the accidents, I think these are the exact concerns that the drivers had from the very first day we saw the car,” Harvick said, per Racer.com. “There hasn’t been a lot of progression other than we changed some of the rear clip stuff; we changed some of the impact stuff. But these cars don’t crash like the other cars crash. They’re violent impacts, and they feel a lot different than what the crash data g-load is. It goes straight through the driver’s body.”

David Suggs

David Suggs Photo

David Suggs is a content producer at The Sporting News. A long-suffering Everton, Wizards and Commanders fan, he has learned to get used to losing over the years. In his free time, he enjoys skateboarding (poorly), listening to the likes of Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye and D’Angelo, and penning short journal entries.