Jimmie Johnson and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. were among those caught up in a spectacular crash following a restart in Sunday’s race at Watkins Glen International.
Coming off the carousel on the road course, Stenhouse got loose and spun. As he slid back onto the track, he made contact with Austin Dillon, who then slammed into Greg Biffle. Stenhouse suffered a hard hit into the guard rail, then Johnson slammed into his car as Stenhouse spun back across the track.
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“I had a good run on the 23 (of David Ragan) and was going to try to get to the left side of him going into turn 6, I was trying to carry my momentum out there," Stenhouse said during the NBC broadcast. "Once I did, the car kind of bounced and got loose. … I came across the track and was spinning and I was probably pretty hard to see, cars moving everywhere and Jimmie just didn’t have anywhere to go and the 16 (of Biffle) and the 3 (of Dillon) as well."
Johnson certainly didn't see Stenhouse until the last minute – and when he did, he says he was glad to see the passenger side of the car.
“We had a rough first pit stop and then we were just kind of biding our time and trying to get on a fuel strategy that could benefit us," he said on the broadcast. "Cars started checking up in front of me and they all moved out of the way and the 17 was sitting there stopped. I remember seeing a door number and I was so thankful it was the passenger-side door and not the driver-side door because I plowed him, I really hit the car hard and was afraid that I might have injured him. But thankfully he’s OK and everybody’s all right.”
The race was red-flagged as NASCAR worked to clear debris and oil on the track. All of the drivers exited their cars after the heavy hits. Stenhouse was checked and released from the track care center.
For Johnson, who is not returning to the race, it's his fourth unfinished race in the last nine races.
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Here's another look at why we're under red. #NASCARonUSA https://t.co/34CZsbU0Ya
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