Here's What Happens When NASCAR Brakes Fail at 120 MPH

Brake failure is the nightmare of every racing driver. When it happens at the end of a main straightaway, it's a worst case scenario. Reigning NASCAR champion Kyle Larson experienced just that today, finding himself suddenly unable to decelerate for turn 1 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.

In the braking zone, Larson seemed to stab his brakes twice without slowing at all. That left him well over his target entry speed in the corner, forcing a quick reaction to decrease the speed of what had immediately become an inevitable, significant hit. Being much further away from the right side wall that could help him slow with a side impact before a tire wall, Larson instead attempts to miss the corner and fly off into the runoff area. In the process, he strikes Ty Dillon's No. 42 Chevrolet at an angle in the corner's apex. The hit allowed Larson to dissipate most of the crash with a smaller variance in speed before spinning through the grass.

The crash still sent his car into the air and left both he and Dillon experiencing a pretty substantial hit, but it allowed Larson to substantially cut down the impact. Telemetry shown by NBC's NASCAR broadcast showed that Larson was going around 120 MPH at the time of impact, a terrifying speed to hit a wall head-on had he been unable to scrub some speed off by instead sliding sideways into the moving Dillon.

Both Larson and Dillon were able to get out of their cars under their own power. Larson also appeared to seek out Dillon to apologize after getting out of his car. In a post-crash interview, Dillon called the crash "about the hardest he had been hit by anything." Larson, who was also released from NASCAR's infield are center shortly after the crash, declined comment to NBC. The race continued after a brief caution.

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