Wow...Jim went around FAST! And he still won the race? Impressive.

I think Jason (Siani, the driver of the Miata that hit) would have been in doo doo pre OR post modifications. Last year, he would have wiped the side off the car. This year, he nosed it into a unmovable barrier.

Probably more damage this year.

It all depends on the tangent you go off at. Before the changes, nearly any tangent was painful. Now, if you have an issue early corner, you have a lot more room before you hit something, and that something is softer, as there is more room to stack tires 2 or 3 deep as opposed to one deep as before.

But........if you go off on a mid to late corner tangent, you are no longer hitting the barrier side first, as the barrier now has a bit of "catchers mitt" to it. So, you'll stop, as opposed to bounce. More of a head on than a glancing blow.

So, it's a trade off. Better for some crashes, worse for others. IMHO, of course.