NASCARs worst performances of 2022: Intentional wrecks and Next Gen car issues

June 28, 2024

There was no question about the worst moment of the NASCAR season. That came on the morning of Championship Sunday at Phoenix Raceway, when news broke that Coy Gibbs, the Joe Gibbs Racing executive who had just celebrated his son Ty’s Xfinity Series championship hours earlier, died in his sleep at an area hotel.

But this story is part of a series about the worst “performances” in each sport, not the worst “moments.” So what are NASCAR’s worst performances of 2022? And what defines a “performance,” anyway?

For our purposes, we decided to view a performance as a singular event rather than a trend — although sometimes that means the occurrence could be related to a larger issue.

Anyway, let’s get to it. Here are The Athletic’s five worst NASCAR performances of 2022, as selected by Jeff Gluck and Jordan Bianchi. (Our picks for the best performances of the year can be found here.)

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Bubba Wallace intentionally wrecks Kyle Larson at Las Vegas

What happened: In a flash of anger over a mistake by Larson, Wallace retaliated on the frontstretch of a 1.5-mile track by hooking the No. 5 car in the right rear and sending it toward the wall. Larson was thankfully uninjured, but it was a dangerous move that caused Wallace to be suspended for the next week’s race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Why it mattered: It was a bad look for Wallace to make such a move at a high-speed track in a season when safety had become such a major topic and cost him any goodwill he’d earned by his improved performances on track (including a victory at Kansas two weeks earlier). At the same time, it also took out Toyota teammate Christopher Bell — who later rallied to salvage his season by winning at Martinsville to make the Championship 4.

What it means now/for the future: The suspension for an on-track incident was the first in the Cup Series since 2015 (Matt Kenseth) and seemed to draw a line over what qualifies as acceptable payback. But now retaliations will be closely watched, because any similar incident will spark calls for other drivers to receive a punishment consistent with the one Wallace got.

Quotable: “You live and learn, and I intend to learn from this.” — Wallace

Kyle Larson hits Bubba Wallace.

Wallace spins him out, and #NASCARPlayoffs driver Christopher Bell is involved! pic.twitter.com/TlxcEV5T6q

— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) October 16, 2022

Ty Gibbs takes out Brandon Jones at Martinsville

What happened: In the final laps of the penultimate Xfinity Series race of the season, Ty Gibbs forcefully and deliberately shoved aside Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Brandon Jones to take the lead. The contact sent Jones spinning into the Turn 1 wall while Gibbs went on to take the win, earning the 20-year-old driver widespread scorn from both fans and fellow competitors.

Why it mattered: Had Jones won the race, he would’ve locked himself into the four-driver Xfinity championship final, which Gibbs had already qualified for. The incident was unnecessary, entirely avoidable and only further perpetuated the belief that Gibbs still has a lot of growing up to do if he’s going to fulfill his vast potential. That it cost JGR from having two drivers vie for the championship also made Gibbs appear as someone who puts his own self interests above that of the organization. In the bigger picture, one driver blatantly crashing another to win a race raised questions whether NASCAR should begin policing such situations instead of falling back on its longstanding principle that NASCAR is full-contact and drivers are allowed to get away with such behavior if they’re racing for a win.

What it means now/for the future: In a season in which Gibbs often found himself embroiled in controversy, this incident certainly felt like the tipping point, the young driver learning that his actions have consequences. And NASCAR has come to the realization that sometimes full-contact racing for the win does, in fact, have limitations. There are now discussions underway whether to mete out penalties should a similar situation occur.

Quotable: “It was definitely not a clean move, for sure. I definitely didn’t want to wreck him, but I definitely wanted to move him out of the groove so I could go win. I felt like we lost the spring race getting moved by him. … We got moved out of the way earlier this year so, it’s part of it.” — Ty Gibbs

Ty Gibbs WRECKS Brandon Jones to WIN at Martinsville!

Jones is eliminated from the #NASCARPlayoffs. pic.twitter.com/jWpU9LpxCX

— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) October 29, 2022

Next Gen car struggles with preventing head injuries

What happened: Dating back to the Next Gen car’s initial on-track development, drivers had been voicing concerns about how they felt the energy was dispersed upon crashing — specifically that they were absorbing the brunt of the impact rather than the new car itself. But it wasn’t until Kurt Busch crashed heavily during qualifying for the Pocono race that a driver had sustained a serious injury. Busch suffered a concussion that ultimately sidelined him for the season, necessitating him to vacate his playoff spot and leading to him announcing he would not race full-time in 2023. Alex Bowman then became the second driver to suffer a concussion when he crashed during the playoff race at Texas. The injury forced the championship-eligible driver to sit out five playoff races, ensuring his elimination from the playoffs through no fault of his own.

Why it mattered: This was the biggest safety crisis in the sport since 2001 when Dale Earnhardt Sr. was killed on the final lap of the Daytona 500. And that a design flaw had left them vulnerable — a flaw that, in their estimation, was preventable — prompted an outcry among drivers that NASCAR take immediate action, with some even going so far as to publicly question NASCAR’s leadership. Although no immediate changes were made, NASCAR acknowledged its missteps and responded by announcing changes would be made to the rear of the car for the following season to better protect drivers.

What it means now/for the future: It remains to be seen whether the new rear clip featuring a bumper that’s more energy-absorbent will solve the problem, but NASCAR said testing at a crash facility in Ohio indicated the redesign should produce a safer car.

Quotable: “We threw up red flags over a year ago and they just didn’t respond. They just kept pushing that this car has to be on the racetrack at all costs.” — Denny Hamlin

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Rain crashes field at Daytona regular-season finale

What happened: With 21 laps to go in the regular-season cutoff race at Daytona International Speedway, the entire field suddenly hit rain while going through Turn 1. The crash wiped out the top 13 cars and 14th-place Austin Dillon inherited the lead (and later won the race after it was restarted).

Why it mattered: The crash potentially altered the playoff picture for a handful of drivers, whether it was those in win-to-get-in situations or some who simply needed more playoff points (Hamlin was leading and would have made the Championship 4 with an additional five points from a win, for example). It also directed more criticism at NASCAR’s race control, which had a tough season at times with missed calls and controversies.

What it means now/for the future: In addition to its current radars and spotters around the track, NASCAR is looking at different technology to see if it can detect rain in the immediate vicinity of the racing surface.

Quotable: “The tires did not meet the road anymore. It was wet. When we’re running 200 miles per hour, you can’t do that.” — Justin Haley

Texas Motor Speedway

What happened: Despite the Next Gen’s stellar performance on intermediate tracks that reshaped the perception of how fans and the NASCAR industry view such circuits, the 1.5-mile Texas track found itself unable to join in the party. It had two stinkers for Cup Series events, which were voted as the worst and second-worst races in the 261-race history of our Twitter “Was It A Good Race?” poll (just 11 percent of voters thought the All-Star Race was a good race and 13.4 percent said the same about the playoff race in October).

Why it mattered: Texas showed that no matter the type of car, it is apparently unable to put on a good stock car race under the current configuration. Even in a year when it should have been able to shine — it hosted the All-Star Race and a playoff race with a car people looked forward to watching — Texas still underwhelmed.

What it means now/for the future: Texas is going to need drastic changes to reestablish itself as an important place for NASCAR. It lost the 2023 All-Star Race to North Wilkesboro and now has just one Cup race per season (the playoff race next fall).

Quotable: “I would like them to demolish this place first. Then start over from scratch.” — Kyle Larson

GO DEEPER

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(Illustration: John Bradford / The Athletic; photo: Will Lester / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

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