Record NASCAR crash sees 28 cars collide in chaotic chain reaction… before race miraculously resumes

The largest accident at Talladega in NASCAR Cup Series history unfolded in Alabama on Sunday when 28 cars were trapped in a chaotic accident.

Only a handful of drivers survived the crash at Talladega Superspeedway, which occurred with five laps left in the YellaWood 500, when race leader Austin Cindric was pushed by the Ford of Brad Keselowski.

Keselowski had been hit by Joey Logano and within moments a chain reaction left more than two dozen cars leaving the track.

The crash, the largest at Talladega in Cup history, also involved championship contenders Chase Elliott, Chase Briscoe, Alex Bowman, Tyler Reddick and Daniel Suarez.

Smoke billowed into the air as cars continued to crash into each other, as the few lone survivors sped away from the rubble and around the corner.

Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, William Byron and Denny Hamlin were the only drivers who reportedly escaped the collision, causing a lengthy delay at Talladega.

After racing finally resumed, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. edged out Keselowksi to win the Cup Series YellaWood 500 in a photo finish.

After a long red flag period, Stenhouse led Keselowski on the restart, but Keselowski pulled ahead into Turn 3 on the final lap.

However, a hard push from William Byron gave Stenhouse the boost he needed in his No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing car to beat Keselowski by 0.006s for his fourth career victory and first since the Daytona 500. of 2023.

Byron’s third-place finish advanced him to the Round of 8. Kyle Larson and Erik Jones rounded out the top five.

Reigning series champion Ryan Blaney crashed at the end of Stage 2 and finished in 39th place.

After being pushed by Bowman, Blaney’s number 12 bounced off Shane van Gisbergen on the inside, spun to the right and nose-dived into the frontstretch wall in a heavy crash.