Who could’ve imagined that Kyle Larson would end the first playoff race in Atlanta by crashing into the wall? Larson, driving his No. 5 Chevrolet, looked good in the early stages of the race until his race car snapped at him and turned straight into the safer barrier. A DNF finish without any points wasn’t how he hoped he would kick-start his playoff campaign.

The HMS star wasn’t confident about his Atlanta run before the start of the race. “I don’t love seeing Atlanta in the Playoffs, at all, and even Watkins Glen for that matter, just because—yes, I like those tracks, but they’re just sketchy places.” And his worst fears would come true with just 5 laps to go in the stage 1 run at the intermediate oval.

Kyle Larson was constantly battling against the Penske duo of Ryan Blaney and Austin Cindric upfront. Without the support of any other car on the field, he settled into third place, with stage 1 coming to a close. But his racecar lost the grip of the track coming off the turn on the backstretch and made hard contact with the outside wall.

Kyle Larson was left puzzled after his bizarre crash

It was indeed a bizarre accident for a race car running so well. But Larry McReynolds, after close calibration and watching multiple replays, deciphered the cause of the freak accident. He highlighted that the right front tire on the #5 car blew, causing the car to turn into the wall, taking a nasty hit. The car also caught fire and was hit once again in the rear by Chase Briscoe, who had a little idea about Larson’s exact position.

Fortunately, Larson came out of the crash rather unscathed, as he was seen climbing out of his car before the safety crew arrived on the scene. Briscoe suffered a similar fate, as a hard hit to the front of his racecar was beyond repairs. Out of the 16 playoff drivers, two big names have already crashed out of the race, leaving the door open for others to capitalize on their misery.

Kyle Larson himself had no clue what sparked the freak crash, but was thankful to have survived the hard hits. “Yeah, I’m okay; thankfully, everything held up well inside the car. That was a huge hit; not really sure what caused it. I was sort of like tight, loaded in the corner, and then it just stepped out. I was already loaded on the corner. Just got loose, and then when you got to turn right, I just overcorrected, I guess.” He said this to NBC after being relieved from the care center.

It has to be noted that the HMS star entered the playoffs with the most points. But he now finds himself in a tough spot with a DNF finish. “Just a bummer, we’ll see how everything shakes out after today and then go on to Watkins Glen and try to have a good night,” he added. Meanwhile, the SHR star who got caught in someone else’s mess couldn’t do much and had a humbling DNF result after his Darlington victory.

Briscoe is up against the task of making up lost ground in two races ahead

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The SHR star was hoping to script an underdog story in the playoffs after turning his season around with a clutch win at Darlington Raceway. Although he has secured a ride for next year at Joe Gibbs Racing, a deep playoff run would be a deserving end to SHR’s NASCAR story. But the prospect of such a run is looking bleak after Briscoe’s early elimination at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

“I saw the smoke and tried slowing down; I know he’s coming down the racetrack and just trying to keep the thing left, and I couldn’t get left enough. And then he kinda slid down the track the very last minute. So I tried turning back right to avoid him and just KO’d him. Got a big hit, one of the biggest I’ve gotten in a long time, so glad I’m alright.” Briscoe said to the media after the crash.

Unlike the regular season, drivers have limited opportunities to make their mark—three, to be precise. With race out of the equation without any points, it would be hard for the #14 team to bounce back. But the SHR driver is feeling good about his chances of going into Watkins Glen and Bristol in a must-win situation.

“I’m excited for the challenge, truthfully. I think we all knew when the playoffs started this was the one race where he could really dig yourself a big hole. And it’s unfortunate we dug ourselves into a big hole. But if there were two race tracks kinda out of the ten, those are the two that I would definitely pick to go run in a must-win situation. So hopefully we can do it,” Briscoe concluded.

Kyle Larson will also have to find his race-winning speed back. But his chances of a strong playoff run are looking bleak with the venues lined up ahead.