Talladega was as advertised on Sunday.
Matt Kenseth picked up a victory under caution, but his win is hardly what has people talking. Instead, the focus is on the last-lap chaos, during which 25 cars wrecked, including 10 of the 12 Chase title contenders.
“This was the craziest, craziest finish I’ve ever experienced here at Talladega,” Jeff Gordon said of the madness. “And for a change, I finally came out on the good side of it.”
The crash occurred when Tony Stewart tried to block off a surging Michael Waltrip in an effort to protect his lead. It obviously didn’t work out so well, though, and racing fans were instead left trying to sort out a monster crash. Stewart was quick to shoulder the blame after the race.
“I just screwed up,” Stewart told reporters. “I turned down across Michael, blocking, trying to stay where I was at. So I take 100 percent of the blame. I was trying to win the race, and trying to stay ahead of Matt, and Michael got a great run on the bottom and had a big head of steam. So when I turned down, I turned right in front of his car.
“It was just a mistake on my part, but it caused a lot of people a bad day.”
Talladega was expected to be wild on Sunday, but it’s hard to imagine anyone envisioning the type of carnage that actually ensued. Some racers, including Dale Earnhardt Jr., aren’t too thrilled about the dangerous racing that comes with restrictor-plate tracks.
“It’s not safe. It’s not. It’s bloodthirsty,” Earnhardt said. “If that’s what people want, that’s ridiculous.”
Well, Talladega, you’ve done it again.
Check out the crazy crash in the video below.
Photo of the Day
Things really got ugly.
Quote of the Day
It’s just one win, but it’s a monkey off our back.
–Interim Saints coach Aaron Kromer, after his team pulled off its first victory of the 2012 season
Tweet of the Day
Sounds about right.
Man enough to admit I messed The game up… Put it on my shoulders I can handle it.
— Willismcgahee (@WillisMcGahee) October 8, 2012
Video of the Day
While on the topic of crashes…
