Chase Elliott, one of the eight remaining drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, is out of Sunday’s YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway after a multi-car accident towards the end of Stage 1.
A native of Dawsonville, Georgia, Elliott was running in the middle of the lead draft following a cycle of green-flag pit stops at the 2.66-mile superspeedway, when an accident erupted at the front of the pack, collecting at least 10 cars.
The 29-year-old driver looked like he would be able to successfully avoid the initial wreckage of the incident, when defending Talladega winner, Austin Cindric, moved down the racetrack to avoid the accident — and crashed into the side of the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet.
There’s trouble in Turn 3!@chaseelliott is among the cars collected. pic.twitter.com/tNc6D3Gdfh
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) October 19, 2025
As the laps wound down in the race’s opening stage, the intensity ramped up, and with that came an incident in Turn 3 when Erik Jones (the second driver on the outside lane) gave a bad push to Noah Gragson, turning the No. 4 Ford Mustang down the racetrack into the path of AJ Allmendinger.
Allmendinger, driving the No. 16 Black’s Tire Chevrolet for Kaulig Racing, then shot up the racetrack and slammed the outside wall incredibly hard, while others piled in behind trying to avoid the cars wrecking up ahead.
“I wasn’t expecting it,” Allmendinger said after exiting the infield care center. “Got turned right up there, right up into the fence, and I think when Noah [Gragson] got turned, I think it hit the right-front tire and knocked it flat, or whatever, in Turn 3, and turned me directly into the wall.”
The native of Los Gatos, California, took the biggest impact in the accident, and after getting his Kaulig Racing machine to a stop near the pit road entrance, climbed out of his racecar and lay down on the ground as the AMR Safety Team attended to him, eventually helping him into the ambulance.
“That’s why I hate this place. That’s why I always expect the worst, and hope for the best,” Allmendinger added. “So, I’ll be sore, but I get to go kiss Terra and Aero, and we’ll be ready for Martinsville.”
Allmendinger, Gragson, and Jones all got a significant piece of the incident, while Ricky Stenhouse, Justin Haley, Chase Elliott, Austin Cindric, and Austin Dillon all piled in.
“I saw someone get turned sideways, kind of like normal, just hope you can get slowed down in time,” said Chase Elliott. “I haven’t seen it back, but I got turned sideways there, somehow, some way, and hit some more stuff after that.”
Heading into the penultimate event of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series campaign next weekend at Martinsville Speedway, Chase Elliott is likely to find himself in a must-win situation should he advance into the Championship 4 with a shot at winning the championship.
All drivers involved in the wreck were checked and released from the infield care center.
