A six-car crash caught on video at Talladega collected Taylor Gray and Austin Hill as Stage 3 began, bringing out the first caution of the Progress Group 250, and the whole thing was recorded on video that can now be seen from the iconic superspeedway.
The wreck hit the front of the 94-lap NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race just after Stage 2 ended, with the condition of the involved cars still unsettled and the leaders shuffled.
The caution flew for an incident involving the leaders as they came out of the trioval, just as the final stage got underway, according to reporter Jeff Gluck. Stage 2 had ended on lap 50 of the 250-mile event, leaving 44 laps on the schedule when the field met trouble.
Justin Allgaier took the Stage 2 win, followed by Carson Kvapil, Sammy Smith, Hill and Corey Day. Harrison Burton also finished among the top runners in the stage, putting several of the same drivers at the front when the incident unfolded.
The wild wreck was caught on video by fan “Big Willy at the Track.” See it below.
Taylor Gray Crash Collects Austin Hill at Talladega
Gray got turned, and Hill and additional cars were swept up as the leaders “got jumbled up,” according to eyewitness Tim Moore. The contact came at the head of the pack, where the cars running up front were bunched together at superspeedway speed.
Burton, Brandon Jones, Kvapil and Brent Crews were also listed among the drivers involved, according to Fox Sports reporter Bob Pockrass. Kvapil had been among the leaders at the moment the pack scrambled.
Observers at the track voiced surprise that more cars were not collected, given the tight pack racing that defines Talladega, according to Gluck.
“You’re going to need to change the (seat) insert after that one, buddy. Whew,” Crews radioed to his team, according to Pockrass. The comment came after Crews was caught up in contact during the incident.
An earlier moment also put the field on edge. Dean Thompson was tipped sideways after contact from Jake Finch, then hit the right front of Sammy Smith’s car entering Turn 1. Drivers made saves, and the sequence did not bring out a caution.
Harrison Burton Stays in Front After Talladega Caution
The yellow was the first of the day. Until then, the race had run without a stoppage through two stages, despite the near miss between Thompson, Finch and Smith.
All of the drivers involved were believed able to continue, according to Pockrass. No immediate reports surfaced of any car being knocked out of the race, or of damage severe enough to end a driver’s day.
Burton remained the leader after the crash, Pockrass reported, despite being among the drivers listed as involved. That kept the front of the order intact at the top even as Gray, Hill and the others sorted out where they stood.
The caution gave teams a chance to assess their cars and set up the restart for the final 44 laps. Talladega’s drafting format keeps cars running side by side in large packs, and one driver’s contact can quickly involve the cars around him.
Gray’s spin and the contact that followed will shape the restart, with Burton in front and Hill, Kvapil, Crews and Jones all part of the lineup that came through the incident.
Wild NASCAR 6-Car Talladega Crash Caught on Video: Watch the Moment It Happened