Stacking Pennies: Mike Helton talks ongoing safety discussions, Dale Earnhardt, hauler stories and more

When the face of NASCAR’s most significant safety revolution speaks, ears perk.

Mike Helton — NASCAR’s president from 2000 until a promotion to become vice chairman of the sport in 2015 — joined Corey LaJoie’s “Stacking Pennies” to discuss myriad key topics currently encapsulating the premier stock-car racing entity. Helton, who still commands respect in the garage and everywhere he goes, leaned into the conversation surrounding safety that has peaked in recent weeks — and also told a good Dale Earnhardt story or two.

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“I’ve got a lot of faith in the current leadership of the sport, but particularly in the leadership around competition and the leadership around doing everything we can every day to make the sport safer,” Helton told LaJoie during their recording of the podcast episode. “And it is a lot safer today, but this still is a very dangerous sport.”

Safety has been at the forefront of most discussions throughout the NASCAR garage in recent weeks as Alex Bowman was sidelined with a concussion after a rear-impact crash on Sept. 25 at Texas Motor Speedway. Bowman became the second driver to miss races this season due to concussion-like symptoms, joining 2004 champion Kurt Busch.

On Oct. 9, NASCAR leadership met with all Cup Series drivers at Charlotte Motor Speedway for 75 minutes to discuss the ongoing work behind the scenes. The weeks leading up to the meeting were dotted by competitors voicing their concerns through media outlets. Helton, charged with overseeing the sport‘s safety revolution after tragic accidents at the turn of the millennium, understands the current driver corps‘ outspoken nature.

“We‘ve always had personalities in the sport,” Helton said. “Sometimes, it‘s different, but we have got some strong personalities. And we listen to everybody. Every stakeholder in this sport we have an open-door policy for. Most of that works. Every now and then, you get, for whatever reason, it doesn‘t work. So they feel the best way to communicate their issues is not directly with us but through the media or through digital and social, which is kind of a modern version of the consumption of all of our sport, on and off the race track.”

Helton also noted that some of the criticism that seeps through the airwaves and digital screens lacks the full context necessary to produce fruitful discussions.