Tony Stewart, Cleetus McFarland involved in Stage 1 crash at Talladega

Tony Stewart and Cleetus McFarland were among eight drivers involved in a major Stage 1 crash in Friday's NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Talladega (live on FS1, NASCAR Racing Network Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). At Lap 17, Stewart Friesen wiggled in Turns 1 and 2, receiving contact from behind from Andrés Pérez and veering left into Kris Wright, who shot across the track and hard into the outside wall. Stewart, a three-time Cup Series champion who made his second start of the season, was in the middle of the melee and had nowhere to go, receiving heavy damage in an incident that also included Cole Butcher, Daniel Hemric and Corey LaJoie. MORE: Live leaderboard | At-track photos: Talladega McFarland, making his third career Truck Series start, was behind the wreck as it developed and darted low to avoid it as he neared the backstretch. But contact from another truck sent him around and into the inside wall, suffering heavy damage in this No. 4 Niece Motorsports Chevrolet. Hemric was the only Chase presented by Mobil 1 driver involved, but two postseason competitors had issues before the wreck. Justin Haley suffered a flat tire on Lap 13, forcing most of the field to check up, including Chase Chandler Smith, who dropped toward the rear of the field. Christian Eckes, runner up in each of the last three races, suffered a flat tire at Lap 15 and made an unplanned visit to pit road. He entered Friday's race fourth in points. This story will be updated.