TALLADEGA, Ala. — How quickly things changed for the Cup Series drivers at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday. They went from saving fuel during a calm opening stage to wrecking early in stage 2.
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The Big One unfolded on Lap 115 of the race as the field ran three-wide, and it collected 26 cars. Bubba Wallace moved up to the center lane while trying to control all three. Ross Chastain bumped him multiple times from behind, which sent the No. 23 Toyota sideways into the outside wall.
THE (very) BIG ONE. Talladega is currently a parking lot. 👀 https://t.co/rOucy6A4kP pic.twitter.com/uvDIwrLGVl
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) April 26, 2026
This spin sparked a crash that collected nearly the entire field. Cars slammed into each other and the wall. Many began sliding through the grass, shooting dirt up into the air. NASCAR immediately threw the red flag as cleanup efforts began.
Some cars made it back to pit road or the DVP area. Others remained stuck. Wallace and Joey Logano, in particular, both had to exit their cars in the immediate aftermath of the incident.
"Got wrecked there, unfortunately," Wallace said after exiting the car. "Our Xfinity Toyota Camry was a little unstable getting pushed, but manageable. Maybe that hard of a hit was too much, so unfortunately, we wiped out a bunch of cars.
"Got to debrief, got to be better. Just kind of riding around, not doing much in the first stage - nothing to show for it at Talladega. Unfortunate, it is a place we come to with a lot of confidence, and it is what it is. We will put this one behind us and go on to Texas and have some fun."
Kyle Larson didn't see much before he was collected in the wreck at Talladega. Mostly smoke. pic.twitter.com/HKEwrvoCWF
— John Newby (@JohnNewby_) April 26, 2026
According to NASCAR's official tracker, the crash involved Austin Cindric, Austin Dillon, Kyle Larson, Brad Keselowski, Daniel Suarez, Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney, Chase Briscoe, Josh Berry, Logano, Wallace, William Byron, Jesse Love, Cole Custer, John Hunter Nemechek, Erik Jones, Joey Gase, Tyler Reddick, Cody Ware, Ty Gibbs, Chad Finchum, Michael McDowell, Carson Hocevar, Connor Zilisch, and Shane van Gisbergen.
Blaney, Custer, Logano, Wallace, and Byron all exited the race. Berry and Keselowski spent extensive time in the garage before returning to the track. McDowell remained behind the wall as the field completed the rest of stage 2.
"I feel like we all just got pinballing off each other there," Blaney said after exiting the infield care center. "The 1 (Chastain) got up in front of me. I was coming, so I'm kind of checking and trying to get on him OK, and it looked like the 23 got up in front of him while we were coming, and then we all just kind of got nose bumper tag there.
"You're trying to lift and stabilize it and the 23 ended up getting turned in front of everybody and causing a big wreck. I don't know. It's not like there's any blame on anybody. It's what this thing is. We see each other. We all just kind of get bumping and banging and one guy eventually gets turned with the car being as unstable as it is. It definitely stinks to be out early."
