NASCAR delivered one of the craziest shunts of the season with just five laps to go during the YallaWood 500 at Talladega.
28 cars were involved as Austin Cindric was turned around by fellow NASCAR playoff contender Brad Keselowski.
The ensuing chaos saw the likes of Chase Elliott, Tyler Reddick, and Daniel Suarez all involved and left with nowhere to go.
Those who avoided the shunt went on to achieve good results, including championship hopefuls Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, and William Byron.
Austin Cindric labels Talladega crash ‘predictable’
As a result of the shunt, Cindric ended up finishing 32nd, denting his championship aspirations with one race to go in the Round of 12.
That’s now a must-win for him, something which he reiterated to NASCAR after the race, after being taken out of the lead five laps from guaranteeing his place in the Round of 8.
“I just got turned at the front of the field,” he said. “Unfortunately, that’s how Daytona ended for us and I think what that says is we’ve got really fast race cars and great execution.
READ MORE: Kevin Harvick names three-time NASCAR Cup Series race winner as the ‘best driver’ he ever raced with
“As the leader, I was trying to be as predictable as possible as far as taking pushes and it’s just a real shame.
“I don’t really feel like doing a whole lot of complaining about what happened or whose fault it is, it doesn’t really matter. It puts us in a must-win situation for the Charlotte road course.
“We’ve brought some exceptionally fast race cars every single race of the playoffs and I cannot understate how proud I am of my race team and we’ll have to bring another one next week.”
What does the championship picture look like now?
The standings now look a bit more spaced out after some contenders were taken out of action agonisingly close to the finish at Talladega.
Chase Elliott in eighth, currently has a 13-point lead to ninth-placed Joey Logano – who is the biggest threat to bumping him out at Charlotte.
Daniel Suarez is next closest, but still 21 points behind in 10th, while Cindric and Chase Briscoe are aware that it’s win or out for them this weekend.
READ MORE: Kyle Busch ‘numb’ after latest NASCAR loss at Kansas: ‘I don’t know what to do’
William Byron continues to lead the way out front with a 17-point lead over Christopher Bell, while 2021 Cup Series champion Larson managed to lift himself back into the top three with a fourth place in Talladega.
The Bank of America ROVAL 400 promises to be another chaotic installment of the NASCAR playoffs this weekend, and expect the drivers with nothing to lose to be more aggressive than ever.