After a very lackluster opening Stage of Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Jack Link’s 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, where fuel saving was the name of the game, everyone flipped the go-switch in the shorter Stage 2.
That led to aggressive racing at the front of the field, which led to a massive melee on Lap 115 of the race. Heading down the backstretch, Ross Chastain drifted to the middle lane in an effort to get around race leader Bubba Wallace.
However, Wallace moved up to block. And as Chastain made contact with the rear bumper of Wallace’s No. 23 Toyota, it sent his car careening into the outside wall, and a major crash was on.
And here is the massive melee that just ensued. Looked like only Preece, Buescher, Chastain, and maybe Bell? got through unscathed. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/vGMMEEre08
— Toby Christie (@Toby_Christie) April 26, 2026
By the time all of the dust settled, only four cars made it through the carnage without any damage — Ryan Preece, Chris Buescher, Ross Chastain, and Christopher Bell.
The other 36 cars in the field were heavily involved in the crash.
Here are some more replays of the crash from FOX Sports:
Chaos at Talladega. Here's what happened: pic.twitter.com/SWn6yMLaZp
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) April 26, 2026
The drivers, who were unable to continue after the damage sustained in this crash, included William Byron, Bubba Wallace, Ryan Blaney, Cole Custer, Joey Logano, Josh Berry, and Kyle Larson.
After being evaluated in the infield care center, Wallace explained that he felt he was simply wrecked by Chastain.
“Got wrecked there, unfortunately,” Wallace said. “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.”
