Tony Stewart’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series return at Talladega Superspeedway ended abruptly on Saturday when a massive multi-vehicle pileup collected the three-time Cup Series champion just 17 laps into the race.
Running 18th in a three-wide pack nearing the conclusion of Stage 1, Stewart was caught in a chain reaction triggered when Stewart Friesen suffered a cut tire and spun in the middle lane. Friesen’s sideways truck clipped Kris Wright, sending both drivers hard into the outside wall. Wright’s truck then bounced back across the track into Corey LaJoie, while Friesen’s machine continued up the banking into Stewart’s path.
The contact destroyed the No. 25 Kaulig Racing Ram, which came to rest on the backstretch grass. Over the team radio, a breathless Stewart reported, “Knocked the wind out of me. I’m good.”
The incident collected eight trucks in total and brought out a red flag that lasted just over ten minutes for cleanup. Stewart was evaluated and released from the infield care center without injury.
“I just saw Stewart Friesen in the middle and had an issue,” Stewart recalled afterward. “There were two trucks in front of us that got in the wall on the outside and I started down the hill to get past those guys and didn’t see the cars coming from the left.”
Stewart was philosophical about the early exit, which marked his second consecutive Truck Series start ended by an early crash following a similar fate at the Daytona season-opener.
“But yeah, it’s just a racing deal. That’s part of it at restrictor-plate racing,” Stewart said. “Stewart didn’t have anything — he couldn’t go anywhere. He had an issue, he’s stuck in the middle. He can’t go anywhere. So he’s doing the best he can. He can’t hang on to it. Just everybody around him got caught up in him.”