Phoenix Raceway isn’t exactly known for producing multi-car wrecks, but Sunday a rare “Big One” erupted just after Michael McDowell’s flat tire brought out a caution on lap 93. When the field bunched up for the lap 99 restart, Ty Gibbs, running low in a four-wide battle, slid up into Justin Haley. Haley clipped Chase Briscoe, who was then squeezed between Spire Motorsports teammates Carson Hocevar and Corey LaJoie. The accordion effect triggered a chain reaction that swept up Riley Herbst, Brad Keselowski, Cole Custer, Shane van Gisbergen, and Austin Dillon.
When the dust settled, seven drivers—Haley, Herbst, Briscoe, van Gisbergen, Custer, Keselowski, and Hocevar—were done for the day. The eight-car pileup was the biggest Cup Series wreck at Phoenix since 2011, when a 14-car crash unfolded in the final race on the old track layout.
“That’s about the biggest you can crash at Phoenix,” Briscoe said afterward. “Yeah, it was a big one. On that restart, we were three, four-wide, and I just climbed over the No. 7 (Haley)’s right front. Yeah, unfortunate.”
While none of the eliminated teams were happy, Spire Motorsports had the biggest heartbreak. They lost two of their three cars in the melee, and their last hope, McDowell, wasn’t faring much better. After his blown tire on lap 93, McDowell went behind the wall for repairs, returned to the track, but slowed again on lap 156 and limped to pit road. It was a frustrating outcome for a team that started all three cars in the top ten but only had one finish—and not even on the lead lap.
“We were just racing four-wide, and we all ran out of room on exit,” Haley said. “I hate that it tore up two Spire Motorsports Chevys, but there’s a lot we can take from today, and we’ll move on to Las Vegas.”
Hocevar, trying to stay upbeat, echoed that sentiment. “It’s unfortunate,” he said. “But our Spire Motorsports Chevys are fast, and I’m sure they’ll be fast again.”
McDowell would end the day 22 laps down in 28th down. But in a twist normally seen in F1, late in the going the team brought him in, put a fresh set of the option tires on and sent him back out where McDowell was able to grab an extra point for the fastest lap of the race. A small consolation prize on an otherwise terrible day for Spire.
For Phoenix standards, it was chaos. A track that rarely produces carnage ended up with a highlight-reel wreck that left several contenders on the sidelines, and it was a stark reminder that even in the desert, the Big One can still strike.
Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.
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