Multiple cars were collected in a Lap 172 crash at the beginning of the final stage of Sunday’s Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway.
Bubba Wallace grazed the wall exiting Turn 2 on the restart, with Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney close in tow. The contact appeared to slow Wallace into Logano’s path, turning Wallace’s No. 23 Toyota sideways across the front half of the field. Wallace’s spinning car then collected Noah Gragson, while Alex Bowman and AJ Allmendinger collided against the outside wall. Chad Finchum also collected damage.
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Wallace, who restarted in seventh before the incident, took responsibility for the incident.
“Man, Charles (Denike, crew chief), we had a nice talk after I got out of the car and they just laid out all the positives that we went through this weekend,” Wallace said after being evaluated and released from the infield care center. “So, that’s what we’re going to hold our heads to. I hate that I got into the fence. I was trying to give the 22 (Logano) room, and then just got the wall and started chaos. So hate it for my team and everybody involved. But, man, we were making progress from the start of the weekend and it was going to shape up to be a good day. But nothing’s ever for certain. So it is what it is.”
The 23XI Racing driver initially continued the race but eventually returned to the garage after seven additional laps. Gragson, Bowman, Allmendinger and Finchum all went to the garage immediately as a result of the incident.
The crash signaled the sixth of 12 cautions in the Würth 400 presented by Liqui Moly. All were due to on-track incidents, including a debris caution at Lap 162 after Chris Buescher impacted the wall and cut a right-rear tire.