{"id":750023,"date":"2026-06-21T03:05:21","date_gmt":"2026-06-21T03:05:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/750023\/"},"modified":"2026-06-21T03:05:21","modified_gmt":"2026-06-21T03:05:21","slug":"nascar-news-san-diego-oreilly-auto-parts-series-race-stopped-after-19-car-crash","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/750023\/","title":{"rendered":"NASCAR news: San Diego O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race stopped after 19-car crash"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\u2018Brutal\u2019
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tA multi-car pile-up stopped the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series at San Diego’s Naval Base Coronado.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\"\"\/
<\/a><\/p>\n

Haas Factor Team driver Sam Mayer triggered a pile-up on Lap 35 of the United Rentals Driven to Serve 250 when he clipped the inside wall at Turn 1 with his #41 Chevrolet Camaro.<\/p>\n

Mayer\u2019s car veered sharply left and into the path of Anthony Alfredo in the #96 Viking Motorsports Camaro, sending the pair hard into the outside wall.<\/p>\n

Many more cars were involved in the wreck with varying degrees of damage. According to broadcast CW Sports, a total of 19 cars were caught up.<\/p>\n

Mayer came on the radio almost immediately to take the blame.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have to be one of the worst race car drivers to have ever touched this sport,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo sorry. Just embarrassing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tickets for the 2026 NTI Townsville 500 are on sale now. Secure your spot today.
\n Buy tickets<\/a><\/p>\n

The outside wall shot back several metres at Turn 1, forcing the race to be stopped as repairs were conducted.<\/p>\n

It took the best part of an hour for the damaged walls to be replaced.<\/p>\n

BIG crash after the restart with @sam_mayer_<\/a> hitting the wall hard. pic.twitter.com\/JL9k9XpJmM<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 The CW Sports (@TheCW_Sports) June 20, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Mayer was taken to the care centre and later released without injury.<\/p>\n

Speaking about the crash, the 22-year-old apologised profusely for the carnage.<\/p>\n

\u201cFirst off, I just want to say sorry to everybody in the field,\u201d said Mayer.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m looking at all the people who were involved in the crash and it\u2019s literally everybody. Just sorry to all the people who have to put work in now because of my mistake. Just brutal.<\/p>\n

\u201cDefinitely hate that for everybody \u2026 I mean, what am I doing? I got to be better. I\u2019m gonna learn from this, I\u2019m gonna be better. You gotta stay locked in, no matter what happens to you.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe visuals are hard here, with not having an inside catch-fence and it\u2019s hard to see the inside wall when you\u2019re following people.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust not putting my car in the right place, unfortunately.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was conservative all day with that, and I knew it was getting down to crunch time and I had to be a little bit more aggressive on restarts.<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt like I was going to have a pretty decent run, and I just got a little too aggressive.\u201d<\/p>\n

More angles of the crash. https:\/\/t.co\/KMsZWge1wz<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/WvQKR7124C<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 The CW Sports (@TheCW_Sports) June 20, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Alfredo, a veteran of more than 150 races in the series across six years, labelled the crash the \u201cbiggest hit of my entire life\u201d after being released from the care centre.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust knocked the wind out of me, and I banged both my legs up a little bit, but my left\u2019s pretty sore,\u201d said Alfredo.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe infield care centre did a great job helping me out there.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just had a little trouble getting out of the race car, but I haven\u2019t even seen a replay.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the first time, it\u2019s a little spotty for me. Sam apologised to me in there, so I guess it was his fault, but that\u2019s a mess.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t