The NASCAR Cup Series race at Watkins Glen is proving tough for all the playoff drivers. Forget about contesting for the lead or the race; most of them are barely running in this race with tapes and makeshift repairs. However, late in the race once again, the playoff drivers collided, and it led to a bone-chilling crash. Brad Keselowski and William Byron were the two drivers involved in a horrifying incident.

Joey Logano, driving the #22 car, was aggressively trying to defend his position with 7 laps to go in the race. However, Keselowski, trying to sneak a run on the corner, got hooked by the Penske driver, which saw him drift to the outside. At the same time, William Byron was trying to thread the needle, making a run, but was caught off guard by the #6 Ford Mustang in front of him.

Despite his efforts, Byron ended up hitting the back bumper of the Keselowski, which launched his #24 Chevy in the air. As a result, the No. 24 landed on the rear window of the #6 Ford car and was running on three tires until the two came to a halt. Byron took a nasty hit by ramming into the barriers as well as Keselowski’s car. Fortunately, the two were able to roll out on their own and headed to the pits to get the damages on their cars repaired.

Brad Keselowski had no idea what hit him and caused the wreck. “What the hell happened there?” he inquired on the radio. In response, his crew chief Matt McCall quickly pinned the blame on Logano: “Your buddy Logano ran over you.”

This was also confirmed by his spotter for Watkins Glen weekend, T.J. Majors: “Cleaned out by Joey, 100%.”

It was indeed an unsettling moment for the fans watching the race. They quickly took to social media platforms to share their concern and shock over the nerving wrecking accident.

Fans react to William Byron and Brad Keselowski’s terrifying crash

NASCAR’s Next-Gen car receives a lot of flak for its features and its overall racing product. However, in this instance, it managed to mitigate the impact of the crash, which could’ve gone really bad. Also, the safety barriers did their job, keeping Bryon’s race car from flipping out of the track premises. “Thank goodness for the strong window net.”

We have seen the race cars flipping upside down and barrel-rolling in the air this year. Corey LaJoie and Josh Berry were the two drivers caught up in those freak crashes. While Byron could’ve suffered a similar fate, the impact of the wall saw him land on Keselowski’s race car. This hard contact left the fan worried for the safety of the two drivers. “Looking at the replay, thank goodness William Byron & Brad Keselowski are ok. That would’ve been bad if he got launch over the barrier #NASCAR.”

One of the reasons that could have sparked the incident was the gravel and the tire residue that was deposited on the racetrack. NASCAR had brought in a new tire compound that was supposed to wear off quickly. “I’m assuming there are marbles on his tires and just didn’t make the turn, but I got hooked in the left rear,” Keselowski said after the race.

But the visuals of the #24 car on top of the #6 Ford were the cause of concerns for the fans: “That last shot of @WilliamByron crash.. scary!! Glad he is safe. @TeamHendrick @Hendrick24Team.”

Joey Logano took accountability for igniting the crash, but he claimed that NASCAR should get the track clear of the tire marbles. “I mean, it’s still on me, but at the same time, clean the damn track.” The Penske driver said after the race.

We have seen race cars flipping in the air at the drafting tracks, and cars finish the races upside down. However, two race cars tangled with one stuck in the window has to be one of the first sightings like this. While the two drivers were able to continue their race after rolling out, this race fan couldn’t believe what he had witnessed: “Good lord William Byron’s inside Brads window.”

Desperation was in the air at Watkins Glens, especially with multiple playoff drivers failing to hit their strides. There were times when the field was pushing for three-wide and four-wide moves. While it might sound like aggressive racing, it also leads to major crashes and wrecks. Therefore, this fan called out the experienced Cup drivers for losing their cool on the racetrack. “This is embarrassing, I think that I will just watch the Xfinity race from last night instead of this amateur hour stuff.”

Now that the two wildcard races at Atlanta and Watkins Glen are done, drivers will have to showcase their skills at the short oval in Bristol next.