Brad Keselowski, one of the 12 drivers battling for the NASCAR Cup Series championship, is done for the day after a shove sent Carson Hocevar spinning into the field on Lap 162 of Sunday’s Yellawood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.
As Hocevar skidded out of control, he collected Ty Gibbs and Austin Dillon, which sent all three cars back up across the track. As the three cars went toward the wall for head-on impacts, Keselowski was collected and went for a wild ride himself.
Here is a video of the crash, which was sparked on Lap 162:
Here’s a look at the crash that just erupted. Keselowski made a push on Hocevar, which sent Hocevar into traffic down low. All of those cars came back up and clipped Keselowski. A lot of hard hits. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/arOKUklWZb
— Toby Christie (@Toby_Christie) October 1, 2023
As the big crash was unfolding, Harrison Burton made contact with Chase Briscoe, which sent Briscoe spinning, but those cars were able to avoid significant damage.
With very low attrition on the day, this will be a costly DNF for Keselowski, who came into the day seventh in the Playoff grid, and he was only eight points above the cutline. Keselowski will now be credited with a 33rd-place finish, and he’ll more than likely be biting his nails as the series heads to the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL next weekend.
Keselowski said of pushing an experienced driver like Hocevar, “there’s only one way to learn.”
The 2012 NASCAR Cup Series champion says he felt the shove wasn’t massive and that Hocevar’s car must not have been running great at the time.
After being evaluated at the infield care center, Hocevar said he doesn’t place blame on Keselowski for the crash.
“I don’t fault Brad [Keselowski] at all. I did it in the truck race even. When you’re on the top lane, you have to push, right? You’ve got to start building momentum, you’ve got to start creating forward energy. It’s just a tough spot. I wasn’t that good of a leader, anyway. Just trying to learn.”
All of the drivers were able to walk away from the crash, and made a trip to the infield care center for evaluation.
