NASCAR race stopped after massive 26-car crash brings out red flag

NASCAR

NASCAR race stopped after massive 26-car crash brings out red flag

NASCAR was in Talladega this weekend

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Monday 27 April 2026 16:58

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A huge wreck in a NASCAR Cup Series race last weekend caused a red flag, and almost broke a record for the series.

NASCAR was at the Talladega Speedway for the Jack Link's 500 race, the 10th round of the 2026 Cup Series season.

23-year-old Carson Hocevar claimed victory in the race, his maiden career Cup Series win, a victory that takes him up into eighth in the standings - and he celebrated in style.

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But the race was marred by a huge incident on lap 115, in which at least 26 cars were collected in a major wreck which caused chaos at the front of the field, with 61 penalties later handed out.

Replays showed the incident beginning when Ross Chastain in the No. 1 got into the back of Bubba Wallace's No. 45, sending Wallace into Cole Custer and the wall, and kicking off a chain reaction of wrecks.

Several huge names were left unable to continue, with Wallace, three-time champion Joey Logano, reigning champion Kyle Larson, Ryan Blaney, Custer, Ty Gibbs, William Byron and Josh Berry the drivers that were knocked out of the running.

Thankfully all of the drivers involved were ok, after NASCAR confirmed that all drivers involved in the wreck were evaluated and released from the infield care centre.

The race was put under red flag conditions as NASCAR officials cleared the damaged cars from the track, with a delay of around 40 minutes.

NASCAR's record for the number of cars involved in a single wreck is 28, which also came in Talladega in 2024, but this one is believed to have fallen just short of that.

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Hocevar takes advantage

In total, there were a staggering 61 penalties applied throughout the 188-lap race - 45 of them for pitting before pit road is open, as teams got too tight on fuel or, more often, had to limp back to their team to get some repairs done.

With many of his rivals falling foul of the wreck, Hocevar avoided the chaos and came through to take a stunning victory in his No. 77 Chevrolet.

Hocevar's driving style has come in for a lot of criticism over the past couple of seasons, most famously from two-time Cup Series champion Kyle Busch, who has placed Hocevar on his 'hate list', and the 23-year-old celebrated his win in true Hocevar style.

Hocevar completed a victory lap while hanging out of the window of his car, waving at fans around the circuit, before crashing into the wall and continuing to rev his engine to create a cloud of tyre smoke in front of the fans at the circuit.

Elsewhere at Talladega, Chris Buescher finished second, Alex Bowman finished third in the No. 48, while Chase Elliott and Zane Smith both made the top five.

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