The Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway on April 21st, 2024 was pretty tame for a superspeedway race – until the last lap, of course. Several NASCAR Chevy drivers got swept up in the melee kicked off by the leaders, including one who crossed the finish line on his side.
On the last lap, Michael McDowell, driver of the No. 34 Ford Mustang Dark Horse, had the lead, diving across three lanes of traffic to defend the top spot. However, he made contact with the No. 6 Mustang of Brad Keselowski, sending him spinning across the pack and collecting several cars. The No. 1 Chevy Camaro ZL1 of Ross Chastain piled into the No. 19 Toyota TRD Camry of Martin Truex Jr. as the field unraveled into chaos behind them.
The chain reaction culminated in the No. 7 Camaro of Corey LaJoie being pushed over onto his roof before coming to rest against the outside retaining wall, sliding across the line on his driver’s side before rolling over once more and slamming down onto all four wheels. LaJoie was unharmed in the crash, and was credited with an 18th-place finish. Oddly enough, this was the second time a race car was scored 18th at a superspeedway without any wheels touching the ground – the first time was at Daytona in 2007, when Clint Bowyer crossed the line on his roof.
“I’m good,” LaJoie said after being released from the infield care center. “That was the first flip of my career in a big car. So, 10 out of 10, don’t recommend it. It was a pretty wild ride… Good thing I gave the belts a good old tug with about three [laps] to go, so I didn’t bounce around too much.”
Tyler Reddick survived the crash to win in the No. 45 Camry. The best NASCAR Chevy was Ricky Stenhouse Jr., finishing fourth in the No. 47 Camaro, followed by Alex Bowman, driver of the No. 48 Camaro.
Finish | Start | Car Number | Driver | Team | Laps Run | Laps Led | Car |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 18 | 45 | Tyler Reddick | Jordan Brand Toyota | 188 | 13 | Toyota TRD Camry |
2 | 22 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | Castrol Edge Ford | 188 | 2 | Ford Mustang |
3 | 36 | 10 | Noah Gragson | Overstock.com Ford | 188 | 5 | Ford Mustang |
4 | 33 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Boost/Thomas'/Philadelphia Chevrolet | 188 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
5 | 12 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Ally Chevrolet | 188 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
6 | 24 | 62 | * Anthony Alfredo(i) | Dude Wipes Chevrolet | 188 | 4 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
7 | 13 | 24 | William Byron | Liberty University Chevrolet | 188 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
8 | 3 | 38 | Todd Gilliland | gener8tor Ford | 188 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
9 | 19 | 31 | Daniel Hemric | Cirkul Chevrolet | 188 | 8 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
10 | 16 | 21 | Harrison Burton | Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford | 188 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
11 | 6 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Bass Pro Shops Toyota | 188 | 16 | Toyota TRD Camry |
12 | 26 | 14 | Chase Briscoe | Mahindra Tractors Ford | 188 | 3 | Ford Mustang |
13 | 32 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Jockey Outdoors by Luke Bryan Chevrolet | 188 | 6 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
14 | 11 | 41 | Ryan Preece | United Rentals Ford | 188 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
15 | 9 | 9 | Chase Elliott | NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet | 188 | 5 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
16 | 29 | 4 | Josh Berry # | Overstock.com Ford | 188 | 3 | Ford Mustang |
17 | 35 | 77 | Carson Hocevar # | Zeigler Auto Group Chevrolet | 188 | 1 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
18 | 31 | 7 | Corey LaJoie | Gainbridge Chevrolet | 188 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
19 | 7 | 22 | Joey Logano | Shell Pennzoil Ford | 188 | 22 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
20 | 21 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Wabash Ford | 188 | 1 | Ford Mustang |
21 | 38 | 5 | Kyle Larson | HendrickCars.com Chevrolet | 188 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
22 | 15 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | Monster Energy Toyota | 188 | 1 | Toyota TRD Camry |
23 | 2 | 2 | Austin Cindric | Menards/Richmond Water Heaters Ford | 188 | 16 | Ford Mustang |
24 | 34 | 15 | Cody Ware | Jacob Construction Ford | 188 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
25 | 8 | 17 | Chris Buescher | Fastenal Ford | 188 | 6 | Ford Mustang |
26 | 25 | 99 | Daniel Suarez | Tootsies Orchid Lounge Chevrolet | 188 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
27 | 4 | 8 | Kyle Busch | Cheddar's Chevrolet | 188 | 4 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
28 | 17 | 16 | Shane Van Gisbergen(i) | Wendy's Chevrolet | 188 | 3 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
29 | 30 | 71 | Zane Smith # | Focused Health Chevrolet | 188 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
30 | 5 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet | 188 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
31 | 1 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Love's Travel Stops Ford | 187 | 36 | Ford Mustang |
32 | 37 | 78 | * BJ McLeod(i) | Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet | 187 | 5 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
33 | 20 | 42 | John Hunter Nemechek | AdventHealth Toyota | 184 | 20 | Toyota TRD Camry |
34 | 27 | 51 | Justin Haley | Parts Plus Ford | 184 | 4 | Ford Mustang |
35 | 28 | 43 | Erik Jones | Family Dollar Toyota | 154 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
36 | 14 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | Leidos Toyota | 154 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
37 | 23 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | FedEx Ultimate Fan Contest Toyota | 154 | 4 | Toyota TRD Camry |
38 | 10 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Mobil 1 Toyota | 132 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
# – Rookie
i – Points ineligible
* – Part-time driver
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