The second accident occurred even closer to the front of the field, starting in earnest when Daniel Hemric got loose and washed up into Justin Allgaier in turn three. Allgaier was tipped down the track into fifth-running Brandon Jones as a result of the contact, with drivers piling in from behind.

A total of nine cars were swept up in the second accident, making for a total of 27 cars damaged in one of the two calamitous incidents.

“That was tough,” Hemric said. “We went green after that first red flag and I felt like we were just trying to get through that first segment. We got down into three under speed and as soon as I turned into the corner, I just felt like I was on ice and went straight. Got into the 7 (Allgaier) and as that happened, it was just a matter of trying to get it gathered back up. I hate it for everyone that got caught up with us … that’s not the way we wanted to go out.”

Jones took a head-on shot into the wall, while Allgaier also took heavy damage to both the front and rear of his machine.

“That was most definitely the hardest hit I’ve ever had,” Jones said after being the final driver released from the medical center. “That’s the thing about this place … it can happen anywhere here, whether you’re in the back or in the front. I thought we were going to have a great run going for us, it could have been something big for us today, but unfortunately it wasn’t meant to be.”

“I’m not really sure what happened,” said Allgaier after being released from the infield care center. “It’s just (a result of) circumstances and people racing really hard at the end of that first segment. Such a shame, because we had a really fast car and were moving forward there.”

“That was a hard hit; it was probably one of the hardest I’ve ever taken in my NASCAR career. When you take a hit like that and see the kind of damage that it does to these cars, to be able to pop out and walk away like that is really something.”

Darrell Wallace Jr. was one of those who was behind the initial contact and had nowhere to go as the track clogged up with spinning and damaged cars.

“There was nothing I could do,” Wallace said. “We probably just looked like a new boy band group, all walking together out of the infield care center. I was just biding my time, though. I kind of put us in that spot early. Had a car come up in front of us and I just bailed out. I fell back, but was coming through there … and it’s just crazy how hard some of those guys were racing. It’s a hard hit, but I’m all good. We’ll go on to Atlanta and be alright there.”

Daniel Suarez was highly critical of the style of racing that was going on in the first stage, slamming the competition for pushing the limit well before the end of the race.

“I feel like we are racing too hard too early. I don’t really know what happened exactly, I haven’t seen the replay slowly yet, but I feel like we have to be a little bit smarter than that. It’s a long race and we should be a little bit more smart, especially at the front.”

Elliott Sadler ultimately won the first stage, which ended under caution at lap 30. He was trailed by JR Motorsports Kasey Kahne, Brennan Poole, Ty Dillon and Blake Koch.

Matt Tifft, Mario Gosselin, Dakoda Armstrong, Brendan Gaughan and Austin Dillon also scored points at the segment break.

Another accident between Brennan Poole and Blake Koch forced the second stage to end under caution as well, clinching Sadler’s second-straight stage victory ahead of Austin Dillon, Ryan Reed, Ty Dillon and Brad Keselowski.

Kahne, Harrison Rhodes, Gaughan, Koch and Armstrong finished in the points at the end of stage two.

About the Writer

Jacob Seelman is the Managing Editor of Race Chaser Online and creator of the Motorsports Madness radio show, airing at 7 p.m. Eastern every Monday on the Performance Motorsports Network.

Seelman grew up in the sport, watching his grandparents co-own the RaDiUs Motorsports NASCAR Cup Series team in the 1990s.

The 23-year-old is currently studying Broadcast Journalism at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C., and is also serving as the full-time tour announcer for the Must See Racing Sprint Car Series.

Email Jacob at: [email protected]

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