Talladega Crash Absolutely Crushed a NASCAR Roll Cage – A Deeper Look

A pair of NASCAR drivers walked away with their health after getting involved in an accident at Talladega Superspeedway at speeds exceeding 190 mph. Some say that the wreck was one of the most intense that the sport has seen in years.

NASCAR fans will tell you that, as the largest track on the NASCAR circuit, Talladega is the home of some of the most action packed racing. Fans in attendance at the event are well aware that there is bound to be a variety of accidents that happen at this track as well. It’s simply just a function of high speed racing on a track that can handle three lanes of cars, side-by-side.

This past weekend, it just so happened that this high speed and high propensity for crashes would be centered around drivers, Kyle Larson and Ryan Preece. As the race drew to a close, Larson would be involved in an incident that would send his car to the bottom of the track. It didn’t seem like that violent of an accident until Larson’s car then slid back up across traffic at a slow speed, initiating an accident with the number 41 car driven by Preece who didn’t have much time to reach.

As Larson’s car had pretty much scrubbed away all of its speed at this point, the result was a T-bone accident at 190 mph or more.

In former iterations of NASCAR Cup Series cars, an accident like this could have been fatal. However, NASCAR has evolved to the point where we don’t frequently see drivers being injured anymore.

What did catch fans’ eyes, though, is that the portion of the roll cage designed to protect the driver was dislodged near the door of the number 5 car. It’s unclear if this is something that could be improved upon so that the cage holds together during similar events future or if it’s impossible to construct such a safety device that will withstand a 190 mph direct hit.

After the incident, Preece claimed that the crash was one of the hardest hits in his racing career. Meanwhile, Larson said that he was thankful to be OK but it was also disappointed to put himself in good position at a super speedway yet again but was unable to follow through.

Tune in below as the crew from NASCAR Race Hub takes a deep dive.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6ZGYRw67nY