Stage 1 Wreck Catches Busch, Keselowski, Blaney and Others at Jack Link’s 500
The NASCAR Cup Series Jack Link’s 500 is in full swing at Talladega Superspeedway, and it has been nothing short of nail-biting. Stage 1 marked the race’s first caution due to a multi-car wreck that collected Richard Childress driver No. 8 Kyle Busch, No. 6 RFK Racing’s Brad Keselowski.
The incident ensued at lap 43 Brad Keselowski’s Ford Mustang Dark Horse slammed into Busch’s Chevrolet ZL1 pushing it up the track and into Hendrick Motorsports’ Alex Bowman (No. 48) who then clipped Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney (No. 12) Other drivers caught in the crossfire RFK Racing’s Chris Buescher (No. 17), and Joe Gibbs driver Christopher Bell (No. 20).
Keselowski and Blaney Out at Jack Link’s 500
Wreckage littered the track during stage 1 of the Jack Link’s 500, after Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski made contact with Alex Bowman, putting two out. Ryan Blaney and Brad Keselowski are out for the remainder of the race. According to NASCAR officials, the damage to both drivers’ vehicles is irreparable. Both drivers will disappointingly walk away with DNFs next to their names at Talladega, a result neither Blaney nor Keselowski expected.
So far, Ryan Blaney and Brad Keselowski have notched four DNFs to Keselowski’s three this season. Kesleowski recalls the chaos at the Jack Link’s 500 that erupted when caution was dropped on lap 43. He explained that drivers hurriedly tried to make their way to the pit post-wreckage, clogging any chance at an exit. He noted that he made his intentions to pit clear, but there was too much congestion, and he couldn’t avoid the wreckage. Keslowski also said he felt for the other drivers who were caught up in the incident, yet he knows there’s nothing any of them, including himself, could have done differently.
“It was just a stack of guys trying to come to pit road as fast as they could, and we were kind of the ham in the sandwich that got squeezed,” Keselowski said of his Jack Link’s 500 fate. “I waved down the backstretch to let everybody know I was gonna pit, and I came off of four, and everybody was so tight behind me that I didn’t even have a chance to turn left. I hate that it ruined not just our day, but several other people’s day. I don’t think I could do anything different.”
“It looked like a group of guys trying to get to pit road and maybe some guys not knowing that they were coming to pit road and not giving them any room,” Blaney said. “I saw the 8 and 6 kind of get hooked together, and they were going up the track, so I kind of picked the bottom and tried to get out of there, and I think they clipped someone outside of them, and the 6 came back into me, and I got clipped in the right-rear. Oh gosh, man, another DNF. It just sucks. Just when we were kind of getting our momentum and didn’t even get to race today. We’ll just move on to Texas.”
Final Thoughts
The Cup Series experienced quite a bit of controversy after a Stage 1 wreck caused a multi-car pile-up to congest the field at the Jack Link’s 500. Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski impacted lap 43, pushing themselves into an unsuspecting Alex Bowman, who then collected Ryan Blaney. Despite being unable to finish the race, Keselowski was estimated to have finished in P38 and Blaney in P39. Both drivers hope for a do-over next week as NASCAR heads to Texas Motor Speedway for the 11th annual Würth 400. Stay tuned.
