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Joey Logano Is ‘Happy To Be Alive’ After Talladega Flip In Sunday’s YellaWood 500

by Hunter Thomas October 25, 2026 0 comments

TALLADEGA, Ala. – Joey Logano was battling up front in the YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, when all the sudden, he got turned, went airborne and slid down the frontstretch upside down.

In the closing laps of Sunday’s race, the sense of urgency boiled over. Several Chase competitors crashed out in Stage 2, and the ones remaining saw an opportunity to not only pounce but also win. With just five laps remaining, Joey Logano was turned in front of the pack after contact with Carson Hocevar and chaos ensured. Logano’s car lifted off the ground, flipped over, and he slid quite a ways on his roof before coming to sliding stop not long after the start-finish line.

Logano said, “It was a very much a Talladega Nights moment like, ‘Oh, no. I’m upside down. This is not good moment.’ But I can’t thank the safety crew enough. They did an amazing job flipping that thing over. The car did a great job. The last time I flipped it was crushed on my head. This time, I don’t think anything really caved or crushed at all. I appreciate what NASCAR has done. Thank you and the safety team for getting me out of there. There were some vicious hits in that one. I’m just happy to be alive.”

The safety of NASCAR stock cars has come a long way, and Logano climbed from his No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford under his own power, completely unscathed. As Logano was strapped into his car upside down, he thought about his wife but his radio wasn’t working, so he couldn’t speak with the team.

“The radios got disconnected and I kept trying to, I was thinking about my wife. She was probably wigging out on me, but I tried talking to whoever I could, but when I flipped everything came off out of the pockets there,” Logano said. “It was a hell of a ride. I don’t know if I should be mad that I wrecked or happy to be alive. I think I’m more happy to be alive. Screw the rest of the stuff, but it was a wild ride there.”

Logano was running fifth at the time of the accident. Ross Chastain who was in front of him, leading the outside line lost momentum and began to back up to the cars behind him. That’s when Logano caught Chastain, and the accordion effect took place as Hocevar made uneven contact with the rear of Logano’s car.

“We were in position to do something pretty good there and it’s just the end of the race scenario. You feel it coming. You know it. I seen the cars that are around me and I was like, ‘This is not how I dreamed it up,’ but it is what it is.” 

Logano continued and said, “I almost had it saved, I thought, and then I went head-on into the fence and had a Ricky Bobby moment at Talladega more than I like it. It was a long time on the lid and a hell of a ride, but I’m glad I didn’t tumble.”

As for Chastain who was in front of the pack racing with the leaders but was a lap down, Logano didn’t believe he did anything wrong as he was fighting to be the free pass driver if a caution were to come out, and that’s exactly what happened. Chastain received the free pass, and in NASCAR Overtime, he battled back to finish fourth.

“Yeah, it’s a race,” Logano said. “Everyone has a right to go racing. He’s racing for himself as well. I don’t know. Was he one down? He was on the lead lap, so it wasn’t his fault that we wrecked. I don’t think you can really blame it on anyone. It’s just what speedway racing is these days. It really sucks at times. At times it’s pretty awesome and at times you end up on your lid and you say it sucks. I don’t know. I like Martinsville (laughing).”

With the crash, Logano’s Championship hopes all but came to an end. He’s no 100 points back from point leader, Kyle Larson, who won Sunday’s race. With only two races to go, Logano is more than a race behind points wise to compete for his fourth NASCAR Cup Series Championship.

The NASCAR Cup Series will visit Martinsville Speedway on Sunday, Nov. 1 for the Xfinity 500. Live coverage will broadcast on NBC at 2 p.m. ET.

Photo Credit: Mitchell White/TheFourthTurn.com