NASCAR star Jeff Gordon was critical of the sport after he hit a piece of unprotected wall in a lap 69 crash at Atlanta Motor Speedway Sunday. Eight days removed from Kyle Busch being sidelined with broken bones in his feet and legs in a horrific wreck at Daytona, the four-time champion Gordon was vocal in his frustration.

“I’m very frustrated the fact that there was no SAFER barrier down there,’’ Gordon said after exiting the infield care center unharmed.


“I know it was a hard hit. I didn’t expect it to be that hard. I go out and looked and ‘Oh well, big surprise I found the one wall on the back straightaway that doesn’t have a SAFER barrier.’ ‘’

In the wake of Busch’s crash and the ensuing backlash by drivers and media alike, Speedway Motorsports Inc. and Atlanta Motor Speedway installed 130 additional feet of protective wall.

Regardless, Gordon was hit late in a wreck also involving Denny Hamlin and Jamie McMurray and careened toward the inside wall in a similar fashion to Busch last weekend.

“I can’t believe it. That’s amazing to me.” Gordon added. “Anyway, hopefully that will get fixed soon.

That was a pretty hard impact.”

Not just one of the esteemed veterans in the garage area and faces of the sport, Gordon has been involved in a number of accidents where SAFER (Steel and Foam Energy Reduction) barriers became a discussion including Dover in 2009 and Las Vegas in 2008.

Entering his final full-time season in the Sprint Cup Series, Gordon’s “victory lap” season has started with finishes of 33rd at Daytona and 41st at Atlanta.

With a career that has spanned the entirety of NASCAR’s safety revolution, Gordon continues to be critical of NASCAR and an advocate for SAFER barriers on every inch of the track.

“I don’t think we can say any more after Kyle’s (Busch) incident at Daytona,” Gordon added.

“Everybody knows we have to do something and it should have been done a long time ago.  All we can do now is hope they do it as fast as they possibly can.”