Kyle Petty recently stepped in to set the record straight for NASCAR Cup drivers who pointed fingers at Todd Gilliland for sparking the colossal “big one” at Talladega this past Sunday.
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The chaos began when Chase Briscoe nudged Joey Logano, who then pushed Brad Keselowski. The sequence led to Keselowski’s #6 car passing the bump draft to the #2 Ford driven by Austin Cindric, setting off a chain reaction that entangled nearly the entire field.
With little room and less time to maneuver their vehicles clear of the unfolding disaster, 28 cars ended up in the wreckage. Despite the rapid chain of events, several drivers, including Keselowski and Ryan Preece, laid the blame at the feet of Gilliland’s lapped car, accusing him of triggering the turmoil.
The owner of RFK Racing expressed his perspective, stating, “When [Gilliland] blocked the bottom lane with all the Fords in it, it caused us all to react — we stretched the rubber band and it snapped back down the backstretch,” while the #41 SHR driver added, “I think we knew something was gonna happen when we were catching (Gilliland) and him staying on the bottom that it was going to shuffle things up, and it certainly did.”
Hearing these comments from such seasoned drivers, Kyle Petty felt compelled to straighten things out. While providing a voiceover for a NASCAR reel, Petty commented, “Now we praise these guys as the greatest race car drivers in the world they run three wide they run four wide. And when we have the big wreck they blame it on Todd Gilliland because he’s a lap car running on the bottom.”
“They can’t run too wide and pass a lap car? When you’re four wide you’re the greatest driver in the world; when you’re two wide racing your butt off I guess you don’t know how to drive. I don’t know why it happened there. Don’t blame it on a lap car at Talladega there’s plenty of room,” he continued.
What set off the NASCAR Talladega catastrophe?
As the 2024 YellaWood 500 neared its climax with just five laps to go, nearly 30 cars were caught in a sprawling wreck. The mayhem appeared to kick off when the #6 car nudged Austin Cindric, who was vying for the lead with Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Amid the chaos, Chase Briscoe, closely trailing Harrison Burton’s #21, gave Joey Logano’s #22 a slight push, triggering a domino effect that resulted in Keselowski nudging Cindric.
Yet, the chain reaction didn’t stop there; mid-pack, Josh Berry’s #4 Ford clipped Noah Gragson’s #10, which then careened into John Hunter Nemechek’s #42, amplifying the upheaval.
In the top lane, bedlam erupted when Tyler Reddick collided with Kyle Busch, continuing the pandemonium. Ahead of the fray, Kyle Larson and William Byron narrowly avoided disaster.
