Erik Jones pushed Noah Gragson around and into AJ Allmendinger racing for the lead at Lap 52 of Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway, also claiming playoff driver Chase Elliott.
Elliott, who entered the middle Round of 8 race at 23 points below the cutline, went low to avoid the Turn 3 wreck from 19th but was contacted by Daniel Suárez from behind and suffered heavy damage. He could not continue in the 188-lap event, finishing 40th.
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“I saw someone get turned sideways, kind of like normal, and just hoping to get slowed down in time,” Elliott told reporters outside the infield care center, recalling the crash just before the Stage 1 end. “I haven’t seen it back, but I got turned sideways there somehow, some way, and yeah, and hit some more stuff after that.
“Stage points are so crucial right now, you know? So I just wasn’t super-surprised everybody was starting to get really aggressive, and unfortunately, yeah, we didn’t make it through.”
In total, nine different drivers were involved in the incident. Allmendinger’s No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet caught on fire after contacting the outside wall, coming to a stop at the exit of Turn 4. The 43-year-old exited his car under his own power and briefly lay on the ground before walking to an ambulance.
“I was just trying to lead both lanes and unfortunately, the outside lane didn’t really have that same plan,” Allmendinger said after being evaluated and released from the infield care center. “Got turned right up there, right up into the fence, and I think when Noah got turned, I think it hit the right-front tire and either knocked it flat or whatever, just turned me directly up in the wall. So disappointing there, but just the way this racing is.
“It hurt. It knocked the breath completely out of me, and then as I was trying to get out, I felt like the car, I couldn’t tell if it was catching on fire, but it definitely started smoking, so got out. Definitely sore on my right side from hitting the wall. So more than anything, it was just trying to get the breath back and just take a moment there, and so I’m fine. I’ll be all right.”
Gragson, Justin Haley, defending race winner Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Austin Cindric, Jones and Elliott were also checked and released from the care center. Elliott now faces a must-win situation next Sunday at Martinsville Speedway (2 p.m. ET, NBC, Peacock, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App) after finishing 18th in last weekend’s race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
“I’m excited about it. I mean, unless we won today, we were likely going to be in a very similar position next week,” Elliott said. “I hate it. I don’t know what you do about those situations, right? Like, we weren’t back there doing anything wild or crazy. It just, it turned sideways and slid into the wreck. So I don’t know. Kind of thinking back through it, I wish I could have done something different, but I don’t really know what I would have done. I was just trying to get slowed up.
“I’m looking forward to Martinsville, though. Got one more shot at it.”