Kyle Larson Wiping Out a Driver, Pit Lane Mayhem – 5 of the Worst NASCAR Crashes at Indianapolis

This Sunday, the NASCAR Cup race will kick off at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. The iconic race venue has witnessed a number of races, both on the oval and on the road course. Currently, the Cup Series drivers are racing on the road course layout, and it will be like this for a while. Over the course of its Cup Series tenure since 1994, the venue has witnessed a number of big crashes. Among the numerous victims are Clint Bowyer, Kyle Larson, Erik Jones, and many more.

A fair bulk of the crashes occurred on the oval due to its longer tenure. However, the road course layout has boasted a fair number of big wrecks. Fortunately, the drivers always walked away in one piece and were largely uninjured. The maximum damage that was done was to the cars and to the drivers’ egos.

5 Worst Indy crashes in NASCAR history

1. Clint Bowyer triggers a pile-up in the NASCAR Brickyard 400

It all started when Bowyer exited the final corner with 10 laps remaining. Suddenly, he got loose and spun out, taking the #77 of Christopher Bell with him. Bowyer’s car then ricocheted back onto the track and collected the #41 of Kurt Busch. This crash was especially damaging, considering that Bowyer and Busch were teammates. Needless to say, post-race debrief would have been very awkward between the two.

2. Kyle Larson uses Ty Dillon as a makeshift brake

Last year at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, there was a particularly violent crash. Apparently, Kyle Larson was on the main straight, when he realized that he didn’t have working brakes. He attempted to hop on the curb at the first turn, but Ty Dillon was there first. The end result was an unsuspecting Dillon getting wiped out by the Hendrick Motorsports driver. At least Larson was man enough to go up and apologize for something that was his own fault.

3. Brad Keselowski rests on top of the tire barrier

A few years ago, Brad Keselowski and Erik Jones had a bit of a tangle with each other. Jones, in the #20 Joe Gibbs Racing car, dived down the inside of Keselowski’s #2 Penske machine. Unfortunately, that resulted in both drivers spinning, with the latter getting the worse end of the deal. Although both hit the outside wall, Jones slid to a stop on the track, while Keselowski skidded to the inside tire barrier. His car then came to rest almost on top of the tire barrier, and it was difficult for him to crawl out.

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4. Pit lane chaos at Indianapolis NASCAR race

It is worth mentioning that the Indianapolis Motor Speedway has the narrowest pit road on the calendar. During one race, several cars dove into the pits for fuel and tires. This meant that they had to slow down to turn into their pit boxes. However, this had the effect of backing up the field, and that resulted in a pile-up on the pit road due to the domino effect.

5. William Byron breaks a curb and triggers a pileup

With five laps to go in the 2021 NASCAR Cup race, Denny Hamlin led Chase Briscoe and Kyle Larson. However, all the drama happened behind the Top 3. William Byron clipped the curb at Turn 6 and broke it, sending him into a spin. This triggered a chain reaction, with several other cars spinning and crashing out. Among the other victims were Kyle Busch, Joey Logano, Martin Truex Jr., and many more.

WATCH THIS STORY: “They Got It Half the Way Right” – Kyle Larson Discusses the Big Pile-up in Chicago and How NASCAR Can Avoid It in the Future