How a late multicar wreck at Talladega shook up the Cup Series Playoffs field

TALLADEGA, Ala. — Austin Cindric looked to be on the cusp of a playoff-defining moment.

The No. 2 Team Penske Ford, fresh off a strong Stage 1 finish and an even better Stage 2 result, was leading the inside row, spearheaded by a cavalcade of Fords. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., with a caravan of Chevrolets behind, led the way up top.

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For Cindric, the math was straightforward. A victory would net the 26-year-old two Cup wins on the season and additionally clinch a Round of 8 berth. Simple enough. However, a bump from behind by Brad Keselowski eventually culminated in Cindric wrecking out and collecting 23 cars in what amounted to a playoff-shifting moment in the 2024 postseason.

“I just got turned at the front of the field. 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,” said Cindric, who finished 32nd. “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.”

“Everyone just gets more aggressive at the end of the races,” added his Team Penske teammate Joey Logano, who finished 33rd. “The 2 (Cindric) got out there a little bit more than what he had been and the 21 (Harrison Burton) gave me a shove and transferred that to the 6 (Brad Keselowski). You can‘t see what‘s in front of you from there and he got to the 2 with a fair amount of steam there. It‘s nobody‘s fault. It‘s not Brad‘s fault. It‘s not anybody‘s fault. It‘s just the product of the racing that we‘ve got. Everyone is getting more and more aggressive as the laps wind down and it happens. It happens a lot.”

Eight of the 12 playoff drivers were involved in the wreck, with Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson and William Byron and Joe Gibbs Racing‘s Denny Hamlin and Christopher Bell the only postseason drivers to evade the incident.

The shockwave could best be analyzed when viewing the playoff grid before and after the incident. Here is how the playoff standings looked before the multicar wreck:

Here is how the playoff table looked once the checkered flag waved in NASCAR Overtime that saw Stenhouse Jr. triumph in photo-finish fashion:

The swings, in other words, were massive. Instead of clinching a playoff berth, Cindric concludes Talladega 29 points below the elimination line … coincidentally, the same amount under the line he was entering Talladega.

A ninth-place finish in Stage 1 coupled with a Stage 2 victory certainly helps matters for the No. 2 camp, and Cindric was sure to provide glowing reports leading up to the caution.

“I give us an A-plus on the day,” Cindric said. “One of the fastest cars in the field and got a stage win, points in both stages and came out in front of the field on the last pit cycle. I cannot ask for any more on a track like this, where there’s so many variables. Proud of my team for the effort.”

Logano, who was running behind Keselowski at the time of the wreck, came into Talladega four points to the good. Before the wreck, Logano was nine points above the elimination line. His involvement in the incident resulted in a 22-point swing that leaves the 34-year-old Connecticut native nine points below the elimination line and the first driver outside the eight-driver postseason grid heading into an elimination race.

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The wreck, however, might‘ve been a benefit for their teammate in Ryan Blaney, the defending series champion who wrecked out on Stage 2 following contact with Alex Bowman‘s Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.

“I have no idea,” Blaney said after exiting the race when asked about his playoff positioning heading to Charlotte. “I don‘t have good hope right now, to be honest with you. We didn‘t get very good stage points, and obviously, we‘re last, so we‘ll just see where it is at the end of it.”

However, what looked to be a disastrous ending to what started as a strong day for the No. 12 was eventually salvaged following the carnage; Blaney was plus-five before the wreck and ended the race 25 points to the good, sixth in the playoff standings.

Plenty other playoff drivers saw their fortunes change. Hamlin, who battled drafting issues through the race‘s early stages, lost the pack after green-flag pit stops and eventually finished the race in 10th, vaulted six spots following the wreck compared to before it. His JGR teammate Bell additionally swung from fourth in playoff positioning to second, behind Byron, who clinched a Round of 8 berth following the race‘s conclusion.

“Yeah, I‘m excited about the points standings,” Bell said. “We came out of here as good as we ever have, so that‘s awesome. Hopefully, we can have a (good) day next week at the Roval. I think we‘re going to have pace, and we can open up the strategy a little to hopefully race for the win.”

No matter how or where you spin it, there were playoff ramifications aplenty. That‘s Talladega for you, and a track known to bring chaos certainly brought it Sunday.

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And who knows? With Charlotte‘s new road-course layout, more chaos could be on the way when the Cup circuit hits the new twists and turns next Sunday in the Round of 12 finale (2 p.m. ET, NBC, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App).

Whatever the case, Talladega has come and gone, and with it came plenty of shockwaves in the playoff picture. Chalk it up as another playoff-defining moment.