Erik Jones hits Talladega wall hard, ending his day in wreck with Bubba Wallace, Denny Hamlin
Right when it looked like the Toyotas were going to put the field against the wall, Erik Jones, Bubba Wallace and others went crashing. The rest of the NASCAR field was going to get pinned in a bad position.
In a single-file line, the Toyota group was making their way to pit road. A stack-up ensued which collected Bubba Wallace, John Hunter Nemechek, Denny Hamlin, and Erik Jones. Jones took the worst of the wreck and went up into the wall head-on.
Wallace, Jones, and Hamlin are all done for the day. A nightmare for the Toyota group.
After getting out of the care center, Bubba Wallace spoke to reporters. He wasn’t sure what happened, but just knew that it was a bad look for Toyota as a group. They had the field in a compromising situation and just… blew it.
“We were all just pushing really hard to keep our line together and just didn’t execute as well as we should. I hate it, doesn’t make us look good,” Wallace said.
The good news is that everyone involved in this incident was evaluated and released from the infield care center. Jones took an absolute hit into the wall, and it’s impressive he was able to be released so quickly. Safety has come a long way in the last 20 years.
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Bubba Wallace, Denny Hamlin disappointed after wreck
When looking at the replay, it appeared that the 42 of Nemechek got too aggressive. He was pushing Bubba Wallace who was in turn pushing on Jones. It all got to be too much, Jones got loose and out of line and then chaos happened.
This race was lacking the drama usual Talladega races have. How about a whole row of manufacturer teammates wrecking each other while having the advantage on the rest of the field? That will make this race worth remembering if nothing else.
Earlier in the race, Christopher Bell was wrecked after contact from Justin Haley. He was knocked out of the race as well. He now has three Toyota teammates with him back in the garage. Not a great day for a group that has been so good this season.
Bubba Wallace won’t be able to get another Talladega win, at least not today. He is going to have to pack things up and head to Dover and hope for the best there. He entered today top 10 in the points standings, but now he could find himself slipping back.