Massive 23-Car Pileup Halts NASCAR Race in Atlanta

The NASCAR race at Atlanta Motor Speedway came to a halt following a massive pileup involving 23 cars during lap 69 of the second stage. The incident began when Denny Hamlin made contact with John-Hunter Nemechek on the backstretch — triggering chaos that completely blocked the track.

The severity of the chain-reaction crash forced several drivers to retire from the race:

• Joey Logano
• Ross Chastain
• Corey LaJoie
• Austin Cindric
• William Byron
• Chase Briscoe
• Daniel Suarez
• Noah Gragson
• Josh Berry

“We see people pushing like dummies early, and then I just come in here and get pushed into it,” said LaJoie after watching the replay of the incident.

“Sometimes you’re the ball, sometimes you’re the bat. Tonight we were the ball,” commented Logano, who had started the race from pole position.

Chase Briscoe, fresh off his victory at Pocono, was forced to withdraw after mechanics discovered chassis damage — ending an unfortunate night for the Toyota driver.