HAMPTON, Ga. -- The opening stage of Sunday's playoff opener ended under caution due to a stunning wreck that collected playoff drivers Kyle Larson and Chase Briscoe.
The incident occurred with five laps remaining in the stage. Larson's car suddenly shot to the right and into the outside wall. He was third in the running order behind Ryan Blaney and Austin Cindric at the time.
Larson's car slid in the middle of the track before Briscoe slammed into it. The Stewart-Haas Racing driver had nowhere to go and could not avoid the Hendrick Motorsports car.
HUGE WRECK FOR KYLE LARSON AND CHASE BRISCOE!
Both #NASCARPlayoffs contenders are out before the end of Stage 1. pic.twitter.com/UJsGpF097O
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) September 8, 2024
Both drivers were able to climb from their destroyed cars. Larson told his team over the radio that he was ok and that he thought a tire had gone down before his car slammed into the outside wall.
"I'm OK. Thankfully everything held up well inside the car," Larson said. "That was a huge hit. I'm not really sure what caused it.
"I was actually sort of tight and loaded in the corner. And then I was pretty far around the corner and it just stepped out. I don't know... It all just happened really fast."
Briscoe provided his perspective on the incident after exiting the infield care center. He said that he was fine other than a hard hit to his "private parts." He said he avoided injuries to his ankles.
"I was watching my outside getting into (Turn 1) because somebody kept trying to get to my outside and was probably a little late just trying to see the 5 car wrecking," Briscoe said. "I didn't expect anybody to wreck because they weren't really two-wide, and then I saw the smoke and tried slowing down.
Chase Briscoe's damaged car returns to the garage after that scary crash. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/VPuwFK8u2h
— John Newby (@JohnNewby_) September 8, 2024
"I knew (Larson) was coming down the racetrack and just kept trying to feed the thing left and slow it down and I couldn't get left quick enough and then he kind of started sliding back down the track at the very last minute, so I tried to turn back right to avoid him and just KO'd him. It was a big hit. One of the biggest hits I've had in a long time."
The two drivers entered the playoffs in different situations. Larson was 35 points above the cutline after finishing second in the regular season. Briscoe was the first driver outside of a Round of 12 spot. Although he entered the weekend tied with Harrison Burton and Alex Bowman in points.
The points situation will change once again with both drivers missing out on stage points and finishing at the rear of the field. Larson will lose part of his cushion while Briscoe will potentially be in a must-win situation.
"I think we all knew when the Playoffs started that this was gonna be the one race where you could really dig yourself a big hole," Briscoe said.
"It's unfortunate that we dug ourselves in a big hole, but if there was two racetracks out of the 10, those are two of the ones that I would definitely pick to go run in a must-win situation, so hopefully we can do it."