Everyone was getting antsy as rain sprinkles threatened to shut down today’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Talladega Superspeedway early, so one of the restrictor plate track’s classic “big one” crashes came early.
If rain red flags the race past the halfway point and the race is unable to be restarted, the finishing order is called as-is, hence all of the aggressive driving just after the halfway point today. Racers would rather get out in front and stay there instead of leave it up to Mother Nature.
Sprint Cup rookie Chris Buescher’s car ended up in a barrel roll, flipping down the back straightaway. Jimmie Johnson, Carl Edwards, Austin Dillon, David Gilliland, Michael Annett, and Jamie McMurray were also involved in the crash.
David Gilliland, curiously, was pinned to the wall in the crash, but opted to stay out when many other cars came into the pits. Gilliland then briefly led the race with an ugly, battered car.
Buescher was able to walk away from his rolled car and has already been released from the infield care center. Likewise, Michael Annett, who had a hard hit into one of the barriers, has also been released from the infield care center.
What was the ride like? “Miserable,” Buescher told Fox Sports.
Buescher also described the roll as oddly quiet. All the noise in the world around you—including that intoxicating V8 howl as magnified by a giant banked race track—and it never fails that a big wreck always feels eerily quiet. We’re glad to see everyone walk away from that one, regardless.