Large multi-car crashes with vehicles upside down and often flipping have occurred at Talladega Superspeedway for decades, but the 15-car accident with five laps remaining in the YellaWood 500 took away the crowd’s breath as they watched Joey Logano’s Ford slide down the frontstretch on its roof.
When all of the cars finally stopped slamming into each other as well as the inside and outside walls, NASCAR safety personnel rushed to Logano’s vehicle. Medical personnel talked with him while others worked to turn the Team Penske Ford back onto its wheels so he could climb from his mangled car.
“The safety crew did an amazing job flipping that thing over,” Logano said. “It’s a scary feeling to be honest with you because you’re upside down and you can’t get out. You’re seeing fuel and stuff leak and it’s like, ‘Man, I don’t like this.’ It was nice to have somebody right there with me.”
Logano noted that when he flipped at Talladega in April 2021, the top of the car crushed down on his head.
“This time, I don’t think anything really caved or crushed at all,” Logano continued. “I appreciate what NASCAR has done. There were some vicious hits in that one. I’m just happy to be alive.”
When the wreck occurred, Logano’s radios became disconnected. He was thinking of his wife Brittany and trying to talk to someone to let her know he was OK.
“She was probably wigging out on me… but when I flipped everything came off out of the pockets there. It was a hell of a ride,” Logano said.
“We were in position to do something pretty good there and it’s just the end of the race scenario. You feel it coming. You know it. I seen the cars that are around me and I was like, ‘This is not how I dreamed it up,’ but it is what it is.”
When the wreck occurred, Ross Chastain was attempting to stay on the lead lap. He was leading the outside lane with Logano behind him. Then came Carson Hocevar, Chase Briscoe, and Austin Cindric. Leading the inside lane was Todd Gilliland with Kyle Larson in second. Lined up behind him were Austin Hill, William Byron, and Erik Jones.
They were racing through the trioval when Hocevar’s push on Logano turned him to the inside. When Logano attempted to correct his squirrely car, Hocevar hit Logano in the right rear. That sent him crashing head-on into the outside wall. He then hit on the driver’s side, which sent the car’s front back into oncoming traffic. Chase Briscoe’s Toyota then slammed into the front of Logano, turning his Ford upside down.
Scott Taetsch//Getty Images
With sparks flying, Logano’s Ford slid on its roof several hundred feet before stopping past the start-finish line. The race was stopped for 13:25 so Logano’s car could be turned back over, other drivers could be tended to by safety personnel, and the track could be cleared.
Logano said the wreck couldn’t be blamed on anyone.
“Carson was doing a good job pushing me in the right spots and everything and it just seemed like a lot of action was happening in the trioval and just got a shove right in the wrong spot and it shipped me,” Logano said. “It was a long time on the lid and a hell of a ride, but I’m glad I didn’t tumble.
“It’s just what speedway racing is these days. It really sucks at times. At times it’s pretty awesome and at times you end up on your lid and say it sucks.”
YELLAWOOD 500 — RACE RESULTS
Talladega Superspeedway—Talladega, Alabama
, October 25, 2026
Pos/Driver/Team/Laps/Status/Pts
1. Kyle Larson (C), HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, Running (189 laps), 71
2. William Byron (C), All-Pro Reconditioning Chevrolet, Running (189 laps), 47
3. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. NOS Energy Chevrolet, Running (189 laps), 34
4. Ross Chastain, Busch Light Hunting Chevrolet, Running (189 laps), 33
5. Cole Custer, Sysco/Eggs Up Grill Chevrolet, Running (189 laps), 32
6. Carson Hocevar (C), Spectrum Chevrolet, Running (189 laps), 31
7. Todd Gilliland, Love’s Travel Stops/Peak Ford, Running (189 laps), 30
8. Denny Hamlin (C), National Debt Relief Toyota, Running (189 laps), 29
9. Alex Bowman, Ally Chevrolet, Running (189 laps), 28
10. Michael McDowell, RCA Chevrolet, Running (189 laps), 27
11. Austin Dillon, Get Bioethanol Chevrolet, Running (189 laps), 26
12. Josh Berry, WURTH Ford, Running (189 laps), 25
13. Ryan Preece (C), BuildSubmarines.com Ford, Running (189 laps), 33
14. Austin Hill (i), United Rentals Chevrolet, Running (189 laps), 0
15. Ty Dillon, Grizzly Nicotine Pouches Chevrolet, Running (188 laps), 22
16. Cody Ware, Rocket Doctor Chevrolet, Running (188 laps), 21
17. Ty Gibbs (C), Monster Energy Toyota, Running (188 laps), 20
18. Daniel Suarez (C), Freeway Insurance Chevrolet, Running (188 laps), 19
19. Zane Smith, Patriot Mobile Ford, Running (187 laps), 18
20. Noah Gragson, Rush Truck Centers Ford, Running (186 laps), 17
21. Joey Gase (i), Chevrolet, Running (186 laps), 0
22. Bubba Wallace (C), Kroger Health Toyota, Running (185 laps), 15
23. Gray Gaulding (i), Randy Blain Construction Ford, Running (185 laps), 0
24. Brad Keselowski, Consumer Cellular Ford, Accident (184 laps), 21
25. Daniel Dye (i), Champion Container Corp Chevrolet, Running (184 laps), 0
26. Riley Herbst, Monster Energy Toyota, Accident (183 laps), 16
27. Austin Cindric (C), Menards/Knauf Ford, Accident (183 laps), 18
28. Erik Jones, Dollar Tree Toyota, Accident (183 laps), 11
29. Connor Zilisch, Tootsies Orchid Lounge Chevrolet, Accident (183 laps), 12
30. Shane Van Gisbergen, Red Bull Chevrolet, Accident (183 laps), 10
31. AJ Allmendinger, Morris-Shea Bridge Co. Inc. Chevrolet, Accident (183 laps), 6
32. Chris Buescher (C), Kroger/ThomasEnglishMuffins/OscarMayer Ford, Accident (183 laps), 20
33. Chase Briscoe (C), Bass Pro Shops Toyota, Accident (183 laps), 16
34. Joey Logano (C), Shell Pennzoil Ford, Accident (183 laps), 15
35. Christopher Bell (C), DeWalt Toyota, Suspension (177 laps), 2
36. Chase Elliott (C), NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet, Running (147 laps), 2
37. Tyler Reddick (C), Chumba Casino Toyota, Running (137 laps), 1
38. Ryan Blaney (C), Advance Auto Parts Ford, Accident (131 laps), 4
39. John Hunter Nemechek, Pye-Barker Fire & Safety Toyota, Accident (131 laps), 1
40. Casey Mears, The Gracie Foundation Chevrolet, Mechanical (131 laps), 1
Fastest Lap: Chase Elliott (No. 9 Chevrolet) — Lap 73, 47.546 seconds.
Time of Race: 3 hours, 7 minutes, 54 seconds
Average Speed: 160.534 mph
Margin of Victory: 0.041 seconds
Stage 1 Top 10: Chris Buescher, Ryan Preece, Brad Keselowski, Kyle Larson, William Byron, Riley Herbst, Chase Briscoe, Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, Austin Cindric.
Stage 2 Top 10: Joey Logano, Kyle Larson, Chase Briscoe, Austin Cindric, William Byron, Chris Buescher, Connor Zilisch, Shane Van Gisbergen, Erik Jones, Austin Hill.
Race Winner: Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet. Larson won the YellaWood 500 for his 35th NASCAR Cup Series victory, his third win and 20th top-10 finish of 2026. It was his first victory and sixth top-10 finish in 24 races at Talladega Superspeedway.
Race Notes: William Byron finished second for his eighth top-10 finish in 18 races at Talladega and his 16th top-10 of 2026. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. finished third for his 13th top-10 at Talladega. Connor Zilisch was the highest-finishing rookie in 29th. Kyle Larson leads the point standings by 73 points over Denny Hamlin.
Caution Flags: 4 cautions for 18 laps.
Lead Changes: 41 among 15 drivers.
Next Race: November 1, 2026—Martinsville Speedway.
A North Carolina native, Deb Williams is an award-winning motorsports journalist who is in her fourth decade covering auto racing. In addition to covering the sport for United Press International, she has written motorsports articles for several newspapers, magazines and websites including espnW.com, USA Today, and The Charlotte Observer. Her awards include the American Motorsports Media Award of Excellence, two-time National Motorsports Press Association writer of the year, and two-time recipient of the Russ Catlin award. She also has won an award in the North Carolina Press Association’s sports feature category. During her career, Deb has been managing editor of GT Motorsports magazine and was with Winston Cup Scene and NASCAR Winston Cup Scene for 18 years, serving as the publication’s editor for 10 years. In 2024 she was inducted into the NMPA Hall of Fame.