Disaster is always looming around the next turn at Talladega Superspeedway in the form of the “Big One.”
The huge multicar crash everyone expects happened with three laps to go in Saturday’s Xfinity Series race.
This one took out leader Daniel Hemric and a number of other cars in the lead pack.
The incident started when Hemric moved to block Sheldon Creed. Creed kept going, spinning Hemric out of the way. Hemric’s car hit the wall, then collected a number of other drivers.
The crash flipped Hemric’s Chevrolet onto its roof, and it slid down the track before coming to a stop.
A dozen cars were involved in the incident. All drivers escaped injury in the melee.
Hemric took the blame for the incident.
“I feel like the move I made was late with the run 2 (Creed) had,” Hemric said. “We were racing. … I’ll put that one on me for being late on the block. … It’s unfortunate but I’m all good.”
Hemric admitted he’d never been upside down in a race car.
“The first thought is like, how long can I hang here before passing out,” Hemric joked. “I’ve never experienced that stuff. … It’s not anything you ever want to experience.”
After a red-flag period to clean up the mess, Jeb Burton went on to win the event for his second career victory.
About Arthur Weinstein
Arthur spends his free time traveling around the U.S. to sporting events, state and national parks, and in search of great restaurants off the beaten path.