The “Big One” struck on Lap 115 of Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Jack Link’s 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.
A large, multicar crash was triggered at the front of the field when race leader Bubba Wallace received a strong bump from Ross Chastain at the end of the back straightaway. The shove sent Wallace’s No. 23 Toyota sideways toward the outside SAFER barrier directly in front of Cole Custer. Custer came down the track in avoidance, but the three-wide pack convened together, creating a smoke screen of carnage through Turn 3.
RELATED: Race results | Photos of ‘Big One’ damage
Among the many involved were Connor Zilisch, Ty Gibbs, Daniel Suárez, William Byron, Carson Hocevar, Erik Jones, Ryan Blaney and Kyle Larson. Kyle Busch, Josh Berry and Shane van Gisbergen also received damage in the melee.
“Got wrecked there, unfortunately,” Wallace said after being evaluated and released from the infield care center. “Our Xfinity Toyota Camry was a little unstable getting pushed, but manageable. Maybe that hard of a hit was too much, and so unfortunately, we wiped out a bunch of cars. Got to debrief, figure out how to be better. Just kind of riding around, not doing much in the first stage and nothing to show for it at Talladega, unfortunately. This is a place we come to with a lot of confidence, and it is what it is. We will put this one behind us and go on to Texas and have some fun.”
Officially, 26 of the 40 cars were collected in the incident. Another of those was Joey Logano, a three-time Cup Series champion and three-time Talladega winner.
“You have round bumpers and unstable cars and cars that you’re able to pop the (air) bubble real easy and get to each other’s bumper,” Logano said. “But when you get there, you’ve got to be careful because they’re not stable. When you get two basketballs against each other, it’s not gonna push straight. It’s frustrating.”
WATCH: On-board with Blaney | Hear sounds of the crash
Larson, the two-time and defending Cup Series champion, had nowhere to go when the accident began.
“They just checked up hard and then, yeah, then I saw smoke and all of it,” Larson said. “So yeah, that was just a big wreck. I mean, I didn’t hit anything too hard. But a lot of cars, it seemed like. Deemed like it started from the front of the field. So yeah, unfortunate.”
The first stage featured multiple fuel-saving strategies, so some drivers began Stage 2 conserving fuel, while others raced all out.
“It was definitely more savings than I anticipated there in that first stage,” Larson said. “But then, yeah, the intensity was just way more in the next one. So yeah, I don’t know where you find the middle ground.”
MORE: How ‘Big One’ unfolded
Tyler Reddick, who earlier Sunday announced a contract extension with 23XI Racing, was also involved in the crash. Reddick won five of the season’s opening nine races, including last week’s race at Kansas Speedway. Despite damage from the crash and an additional impact at Lap 182 after cutting a right-front tire, Reddick and the No. 45 team recovered to finish 15th.
The race was red-flagged at Lap 116 to clear debris from the racing surface. All drivers who were unable to continue were evaluated and released from the infield care center.
Busch’s No. 8 Richard Childress Racing team repaired its Chevrolet for a 10th-place finish.