A 15-car wreck with five laps to go at Talladega Superspeedway sent Joey Logano’s Ford sliding on its roof, bringing a dramatic end to his day in the YellaWood 500.
Logano’s car flipped after being involved in a multi-car pileup in the trioval. The Team Penske driver was hit on the right rear by Carson Hocevar, sending him into the outside wall. Chase Briscoe then struck the driver’s side of Logano’s car, flipping it over. The vehicle slid several hundred feet on its roof before coming to a stop past the start-finish line.
Safety Crew Responds Quickly
NASCAR safety personnel were on the scene immediately. Logano spoke with medical personnel while the crew worked to turn the mangled car back onto its wheels. The race was stopped for 13 minutes and 25 seconds to clear the track and tend to the drivers.
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Logano praised the safety team’s work. “The safety crew did an amazing job flipping that thing over,” he said. “It’s a scary feeling to be honest with you because you’re upside down and you can’t get out. You’re seeing fuel and stuff leak and it’s like, ‘Man, I don’t like this.’ It was nice to have somebody right there with me.”
When his radios disconnected during the wreck, Logano was thinking of his wife. “She was probably wigging out on me… but when I flipped everything came off out of the pockets there. It was a hell of a ride,” he said.
Logano Reflects on Scary Crash
Logano noted a key difference from his previous flip at Talladega in April 2021, when the roof of his car caved in. “This time, I don’t think anything really caved or crushed at all,” he said. “I appreciate what NASCAR has done. There were some vicious hits in that one. I’m just happy to be alive.”
The wreck ended Logano’s chance for a strong finish. He felt the crash coming as he watched the cars around him. “We were in position to do something pretty good there and it’s just the end of the race scenario. You feel it coming. You know it,” Logano stated. “I seen the cars that are around me and I was like, ‘This is not how I dreamed it up,’ but it is what it is.”
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Logano did not blame any driver for the accident. Carson Hocevar was pushing him when contact was made. “Carson was doing a good job pushing me in the right spots and everything and it just seemed like a lot of action was happening in the trioval and just got a shove right in the wrong spot and it shipped me,” Logano explained. “It was a long time on the lid and a hell of a ride, but I’m glad I didn’t tumble.”
He summed up the nature of speedway racing. “It’s just what speedway racing is these days. It really sucks at times. At times it’s pretty awesome and at times you end up on your lid and say it sucks.”
Other Drivers Involved in the Wreck
Ross Chastain was leading the outside lane when Logano was behind him. Carson Hocevar, Chase Briscoe, and Austin Cindric were also in the pack. Todd Gilliland led the inside lane, with Kyle Larson in second. Behind Gilliland were Austin Hill, William Byron, and Erik Jones.
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As the cars raced through the trioval, Hocevar’s push on Logano turned him toward the inside. Logano tried to correct his car, but Hocevar hit the right rear. That sent Logano crashing into the outside wall. Another impact on the driver’s side pushed his car into oncoming traffic. Briscoe’s Toyota then hit the front of Logano’s Ford, flipping it over.
Race Results and Notes
Kyle Larson won the YellaWood 500 in his HendrickCars.com Chevrolet. William Byron finished second. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. placed third. There were four caution flags for a total of 18 laps. The race had 41 lead changes among 15 drivers.
The final race results showed a tightly contested finish. Kyle Larson, the race winner, scored 71 points. William Byron followed in second with 47 points, while Ricky Stenhouse Jr. earned 34 points for his third-place run. Ross Chastain, Cole Custer, and Carson Hocevar rounded out the top six, with 33, 32, and 31 points respectively. Todd Gilliland and Denny Hamlin also secured top-10 finishes, contributing to the race’s competitive nature.
