Yahoo Autos Talladega Just Had the Biggest 'Big One' Crash in NASCAR History
The uncertainty of the Fall Talladega Speedway race always shakes things up for playoff drivers; after 185 laps of relatively clean racing Sunday evening, a spin at the front of the field led to the largest "Big One" crash in NASCAR history. Austin Cindric pulled too far away in the draft while leading, and in an attempt to shorten the gap, Brad Keselowski, assisted by Joey Logano, sent the the No. 2 Penske Toyota pinballing through the field.
When the smoke cleared, 28 cars were marked as damaged, with seven of the drivers' days done at the moment of the crash. NASCAR kept the race under yellow until it was three laps to go and then initiated the red flag as there were still half a dozen stalled race cars that needed to be brought back to the pits or garage.
"Everyone just gets more aggressive at the end of the races," Logano told media at the track after being cleared from the infield car center. "The No. 2 got out there a little bit more than what he has been. The No. 21 gave me a shove, and I transferred that to the No. 6. You can't see what's in front of you from there. He got to the No. 2 with a fair amount of steam; it's nobody's fault, it's not Brad's fault, it's not anybody's fault. It's the product of the races we've got. Everyone gets more and more aggressive as the laps wind down. It happens; it happens a lot."
Logano, who won in the first playoff round, now finds himself the first driver below the cut line heading into an elimination race at the Roval at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Chase Briscoe and Chase Elliott were among the playoff drivers involved in the crash that received heavy damage. Elliott was pushed back to the pits for his team to attempt to mangle his vehicle back into a race car shape, and Briscoe, after a long period of negotiating with track officials, was towed back but still allowed to work on his vehicle and returned to the race, both drivers would finish six laps down.
The race resumed for a two-lap overtime shootout for the 13th time this season. Keselowski led at the drop of the green flag, being pushed on the bottom by Kyle Larson, with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. being pushed by Willam Byron up top.
After the white flag, Stenhouse Jr. made the pass of the lead on the outside, with Byron pulling off last minute to attempt to steal the win from third. Stenhouse Jr. beat Keselowski to the line by.006. Somehow, this was only the third-closest finish of the 2024 season, falling behind Atlanta in the Springand the first Kansas race.
"I was hoping Kyle wasn't going to push the No. 6 that hard. I knew the No. 24 was going to try and get to the line there," Stenhouse said. "Man, this team has put a lot of hard work in. Obviously, we haven't won since the [Daytona] 500 in 2023. It's been an up-and-down season. It's a lot of hard work this season."
This was Stenhouse's first win since the 2023 Daytona 500. His Daytona 500 win was also the result of a late-race wreck.
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