At this rate, there aren’t going to be enough cars left to compete in the final segment of the NASCAR All-Star Race.
The first 75-lap segment of the exhibition event from the one-mile concrete oval started with a bang, with nine cars being involved in a fiery crash that involved locked-in drivers Ryan Blaney and Kyle Larson, as well as several drivers trying to fight their way into the final 200-lap segment.
This incident was a result of a late-race restart – courtesy of a caution for a flat tire by Carson Hocevar – where the field was scrambled up from some drivers taking fresh tires and some drivers staying on the racetrack, making the disparity in speed astronomical.
Riley Herbst was racing in a tight pack with Alex Bowman when the No. 35 Tree Top Toyota Camry XSE snapped sideways at the exit of Turn 4 and was then tagged by the Hendrick Motorsports driver. What followed was the second nine-car wreck of the afternoon.
Christopher Bell, the defending winner of the NASCAR All-Star Race, was collected in the incident, as were several drivers attempting to race their way into the 200-lap main event, including John Hunter Nemechek, AJ Allmendinger, Kyle Busch, Zane Smith, Chase Elliott, and others. The incident ended the first segment and left Nemechek in the garage as the leader of the second segment courtesy of the invert.
This accident ended the afternoon for NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver, Chase Elliott, who won’t even get the opportunity to start the final 200-lap segment. That, therefore, will open up another spot for drivers not yet locked in to get a spot in the final segment of the race.
Bubba Wallace was awarded the win in Segment 1. The highest-finishing of the cars not yet locked into the final segment of the race was rookie driver Connor Zilisch, who was 11th.
John Hunter Nemechek, Riley Herbst, Chase Elliott were among the drivers who had to go to the garage. Zane Smith was able to continue, although the Front Row Motorsports No. 38 is severely wounded.
