Plenty of blame to go around after 'Dega wreck

TALLADEGA, Ala. -- It wasn't exactly The Big One, but with 16 laps to go in Saturday's Aaron's 312 NASCAR Busch Series race, 10 cars were involved in a wreck along the frontstretch.

The problem was, no one was really sure what happened. The blame seemed to be pointed at the lapped car of Jimmy Kitchens, but even the ones doing the pointing hedged.

	Kasey Kahne slid all the way to pit road after the accident. Credit: Autostock

As the cars roared the trioval nine laps after going green from a previous yellow, Kitchens found himself being overhauled by the leaders. Kitchens had gotten two laps down because the engine was overheating but was maintaining the minimum speed.

A few cars got by Kitchens, but stacks of cars two- and three-wide were headed his way. Mike Wallace was underneath Greg Biffle, with Kasey Kahne up against the wall.

But they didn't make it to the start-finish line.

"I knew the leaders were coming," Kitchens said. "You like to time that on the backstretch, but I was actually 180 degrees from the preferred place to do that. There's really not a lot you could do.

VIDEO CLIPS Kenny Wallace and Greg Biffle draft their way to the front early Play video The Big One collects 10 cars on Lap 99 Play video Truex Jr. holds off his challengers in the final laps Play video Saturday's top finishers describe their efforts Play video Truex Jr. celebrates his second career Busch Series win Play video  •  Results  •  Standings  •  Saturday's Photo Gallery

"We were on the bottom as far down as we could get. I knew they were coming, and there was plenty of racetrack up there. I guess they ran out of real estate."

Without looking at a replay, Wallace did his best to reconstruct the accident.

"I'm on the inside of Biffle, and we come off the corner, and everything's good," Wallace said. "I see the 39 (Kitchens), and I'm thinking the 39's going to get to the very bottom of the racetrack, which he didn't do. I don't know what he was doing, but that's irrelevant.

"Biffle said (Clint Bowyer) got into the outside of him, and that shoved him my way. I see I'm about to get to the 39 as all this is happening, and I check up. Next thing I know, I'm all turned around."

Wallace didn't have much damage and continued to finish 12th. Kitchens, Ashton Lewis, Steve Grissom, Stacy Compton and David Keith also recovered to finish the race.

Others weren't so lucky. Kahne, Tim Fedewa, Mike Bliss and Johnny Benson were all eliminated. Fedewa was briefly knocked unconscious, according to car owner Armando Fitz, and was taken by ground to UAB Medical Center.

"He got knocked out for a second there," Fitz said. "They're going to take him over to UAB to check him out and make sure he's OK. He was talking, and he's good."

Fitz said Fedewa told him "the 4 (Wallace) and the 60 (Biffle) got together. "They started beating and banging on each other. I don't know if the 60 got into him or the 4 got into the 60."

Kahne slid across the trioval grass and hit the pit wall. He was OK but wasn't sure what happened.

"I don't know what happened," Kahne said. "I couldn't see from where I was. I heard the (39) and the 4 were part of it. It wouldn't surprise me because they were all over the place all day. The (39) shouldn't even be up there. He's two laps down, and he gets in a pack and thinks he can race with the leaders. Pretty dumb on his part."

Kitchens said there wasn't anything else he could have done. Had he gone to the apron from the 18-degree banking, there would have been a chance he would have spun.

	Tim Fedewa (12) was sent to a local hospital after the wreck. Credit: Autostock

"Here's the deal: I was as low as I could go without being on the apron," Kitchens said. "We were maintaining our speed to stay in the race. That's all you can do."

Wallace, repeating that he didn't see the replay, wasn't so sure Kitchens was down to the yellow line.

"It's not worth blaming anybody because it's a speedway wreck," Wallace said. "It would have really been nice if the lapped car had given courtesy to the guys racing. The leaders can run dead on the yellow line. Why can't the lapped car by himself do it?"

In the end, Wallace said, it was simply a matter of four cars going for a spot when only three could fit.

All Bliss could see was smoke. But he had the best description.

"I saw some smoke there and cars turning," Bliss said. "I just left off the gas, and we got hit in the rear. Up to that point, we were just kind of riding around. ... It was about time for everybody to start letting it go. You could tell it let go."