Erik Jones transported to local hospital after head-on crash

A group of seven Toyota Racing drivers were the first to hit pit road with 36 laps remaining, making their final green flag stop for fuel before the end of the race.

Tyler Reddick was leading the group in a single-file line when a bad push entering Turn 3 sent Jones head-on into the inside wall. His Legacy Motor Club teaMMAte John-Hunter Nemechek was also involved.

23XI Racing's Bubba Wallace and Joe Gibbs Racing's Denny Hamlin suffered significant damage in the crash, and only Nemechek was able to continue. Along with Reddick, only Martin Truex Jr. and Ty Gibbs escaped the melee.

The incident started when Nemechek got into the back of Wallace entering Turn 3 on lap 154 of 188. Wallace got into the right-rear of Jones, hooking him up into the wall. Nemechek could not avoid and his damaged No. 42 Toyota came back down the track, collecting Hamlin as well.

Jones complained about back pain on the radio, but was checked and released from the infield care center. 

"I'm a little sore, but I'll be alright," said Jones. "No. 23 (Wallace) was pushing ... we were pushing and shoving, I got sideways into (Turn) 3, tried to gather it up and got really hard into the wall. Hard hit, but I'm alright. If you're gonna be dumb, you gotta be tough."

However, he later returned to the infield care center after being initially released. The 27-year-old has since been transported to a local hospital for further evaluation. 

Jones finished 35th in his first DNF of the 2024 season. He leaves Talladega 19th in the regular season standings. NASCAR is taking the damaged No. 43 car back to the R&D center in order to assess how well it handled the impact.

Christopher Bell was eliminated in an earlier incident, leaving just three of the original eight Toyotas still in the race.

The wreck was unfortunate for Toyota, but the caution also vaulted the remaining trio to the front of the field. Reddick ended up capturing the checkered flag in a chaotic finish that saw Corey LaJoie flip upside down. Michael McDowell was turned from the race lead after throwing a double block on Brad Keselowski.