TALLADEGA, AL — A NASCAR playoff race at Talladega Superspeedway was halted under red flag conditions with five laps left after a violent crash sent Joey Logano’s car airborne and upside down on the frontstretch.
The three-time Cup Series champion was running fourth when contact from behind triggered a chain-reaction wreck that collected 15 cars. Safety workers spent several minutes turning Logano’s No. 22 Ford back onto its wheels before he climbed out to a roar from the crowd.
Logano says a push in the wrong place started the wreck
Logano said he was hit in the wrong spot after receiving a push that upset his car. He described the moment with a nod to the movie Talladega Nights, saying it felt like an “oh no” instant when he found himself upside down and in real danger.
He also credited the safety crew for getting him out quickly and handling the car carefully. Logano said the car’s structure held up far better than in a previous Talladega flip, and he was relieved that the roll cage did not appear to collapse in the same way.
Logano has won at Talladega three times and has had other airborne crashes at the 2.66-mile superspeedway, where big wrecks are common because of the close-pack racing.
Hocevar contact and Herbst’s brake trouble fueled the multi-car pileup
The crash started after Carson Hocevar’s push sent Logano out of control, setting off a pileup that also involved Chase Briscoe, Brad Keselowski, Austin Cindric, Josh Berry and Riley Herbst. The wreck spread quickly across the frontstretch and left little room for anyone behind to escape.
Herbst’s car appeared to suffer a separate problem in the chaos. Driving the No. 35 Toyota, he seemed to lose his brakes before slamming into the inside wall at nearly full speed, adding another hard impact to an already severe incident.
Safety crews reached Herbst as well, and he was able to climb out with help. He paused against his car before removing his helmet, showing the toll of a crash that ended the race’s most dangerous moment.
Herbst was hurt but said he was all right after the impact
Herbst had already missed the Daytona race in August after suffering a concussion in a crash at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, making Sunday’s hit especially notable. In a postrace interview with USA Sports, he wore a soft cast on his left hand and a wrap around his wrist and forearm.
Even so, Herbst said he was okay and thanked 23XI Racing and Toyota for their support. He said the year had been up and down, but he believed his team had a chance before getting shuffled out and then caught in the crash at Talladega.
He also repeated a line his father used to say: if you are going to be dumb, you had better be tough. After what he went through, it was a grim but fitting way to sum up the day.
Logano praised NASCAR safety changes after surviving the flip
Logano’s latest Talladega flip brought back memories of a similar airborne wreck in April 2021, when he said the roof of his car was crushed and he feared how close he had come to a much worse outcome. He had criticized the safety concerns after that earlier incident, especially in light of Ryan Newman’s crash in the 2020 Daytona 500.
This time, though, Logano said the car held together well and that he appreciated the work NASCAR has done to reduce the danger from flips. He described the hits as vicious but said the structure of the car protected him better than before.
His postcrash reaction was one of relief as much as frustration. Logano said he was simply happy to be alive after a wreck that could have ended much differently.
Kyle Larson recovers from the chaos to win the race
Once the wreck was cleared, Kyle Larson turned the race into a dramatic finish. He went from first to 11th and then back to first on the final lap to win in a photo finish, with William Byron second and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. third.
The victory strengthened Larson’s position in the Cup title race. The defending champion now leads Denny Hamlin by 73 points and Christopher Bell by 74 with two races left in the season.
Those final races are set for Martinsville Speedway on Nov. 1 and Homestead-Miami Speedway on Nov. 8, both on NBC. Larson can still clinch the championship path early, since a driver can score as many as 76 points in a race and as few as one.
