FORT WORTH, Texas – A wreck just after the start of Stage 3 in Sunday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 wiped out seven cars and eliminated several pre-race favorites at Texas Motor Speedway.
The incident occurred in Turns 3 and 4 and involved Aric Almirola, Trevor Bayne, Austin Dillon, Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson, Brad Keselowski and David Ragan.
After the smoke settled, Almirola, Hamlin, Johnson and Keselowski who were all running inside the top-10 were eliminated.
The crash began when Almirola was running above Denny Hamlin entering the turn. Hamlin got loose and made contact, sending Almirola’s No. 10 up into the outside wall and Hamlin spinning.
The others were involved trying to avoid the spinning cars.
“Just got loose under the 10 (Aric Almirola),” said Hamlin. “We were kind of getting squeezed there a little bit and there was just – running these speeds, you’ve got to have all the side force that you need. He was battling beside the 18 (Kyle Busch) I believe, and you know we tried to go low and he was trying to fight for that real estate as well and we just got together.”
Hamlin took the blame for the accident –- especially after admitting that he should never have been in that position if he had been caught speeding earlier in the race.
“It all started with me speeding off pit road. I shouldn’t have been in that position, but obviously, the 18 (Kyle Busch) was falling back there and I made a move to the inside and everyone is fighting for the bottom,” Hamlin.
“I was obviously running the bottom there – the 10 (Aric Almirola) tried to squeeze and I realized that he was going to come down and I got out of the gas and I got loose underneath him. It’s my responsibility to keep the car under me, but we were just in such tight quarters there that it was nearly impossible to do.
“It all starts with me at the beginning of the race, it’s my fault and I hate it for this race team. We had a car that I thought was very capable of winning this race and unfortunately we’re back here.”
Almirola still seeking his first win since taking the No. 10 ride at Stewart-Haas Racing at the beginning of the season – insinuated he had a fast No. 10 Smithfield Ford – but was left with nothing to show.
“We just come to these repaves and we are going really fast and all fighting for the bottom lane and the second lane isn’t as good and the third lane is really not as good,” he explained.
“So we got down to turn three and I was trying to be smart and be patient and we still have a long way to go in the race. I backed out of it to let the 18 have the second lane and the 11 just got loose under me. It was a frustrating end of the day for us.
“Our Smithfield Ford Fusion was fast and I hate that we didn’t convert today into a top-10 if not better than that. We definitely had a car capable of a really good result today and unfortunately, have nothing to show for it.”
The crash was a blow to Johnson and Hendrick Motorsports. Yet to lead a lap in 2018, Johnson’s No. 48 Lowes for Pros Chevrolet team showed speed through qualifying and practice throughout the weekend and despite pitting for a vibration in the early stages of the race, the seven-time Cup champion was rallying back when the accident took place.
“By the time I saw what went on the No. 11 (Denny Hamlin) was backwards and smoking the tires coming up the track,” explained Johnson. “I knew where his arch was taking him, and I knew that I was in trouble in the outside lane and going to get into him some. And then the crash just kind of continued from there. So, unfortunate circumstances, but a lot to build on from this weekend.”
Even with the team’s 35th-place finish, Johnson said there’s a lot of progress to look forward too.
“A strong Friday, a fantastic Saturday and then not the best Sunday,” he added. “We had a lot of different things work against us today, but we are getting closer each and every week and I’m really proud of everybody at Hendrick Motorsports. We will get back to our winning ways soon.”
Johnson who was the defending April champion at Texas Motor Speedway suffered his second DNF (did not finish) of 2018.
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01.
