For more than half the afternoon, the 2026 Daytona 500 looked shockingly tame by superspeedway standards. There were bumps, side-drafts, and the usual tense pack shuffling, but every close call somehow settled itself before disaster struck. Even with multiple cautions, nothing resembled the kind of race-altering chaos fans have come to expect at Daytona. But no matter how calm things seem, the “big one” always looms. And on Lap 124, it finally erupted, swallowing nearly the entire field and instantly placing Dale Jr.’s driver at the center of a furious firestorm.

The Daytona 500 race witnesses the Big One

With the reintroduced 10-race Chase format for 2026, stage points have never mattered more in NASCAR. And the intensity was clear as drivers battled aggressively through Stage 2 of the Daytona 500 race. Every position, every block, every push carried playoff implications. But with just six laps remaining in the stage, that desperation boiled over into absolute chaos.

Coming off the tri-oval, Justin Allgaier led the field when Denny Hamlin and Ryan Blaney surged forward with a massive run on the outside lane. Allgaier attempted to cover the momentum. But it was a late block that backfired instantly. He hooked himself off the nose of Hamlin’s No. 11, snapping up the track and triggering a chain-reaction collision that swept up nearly 20 cars in one violent motion. The tri-oval became a scrapyard in seconds as contenders stacked in, spun, or slammed into the infield grass.

The immediate aftermath was a blur of damage reports and raw frustration over team radios. Hamlin’s camp delivered surprising news: “No exterior damage. Nothing to work on.” But their radio system was failing. Shane van Gisbergen calmly assessed his situation: “The steering wheel is perfect.” Corey Heim’s spotter summed up the disaster with two words: “Yard sale.” Meanwhile, Kyle Busch was furious, venting, “Wheel’s still straight, but the hood and fender are all killed. This thing is out of control. I am f**ing crashing all the time.”

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Allgaier, the culprit, meanwhile, radioed the inevitable – he needed a tow. Later, Allgaier told MRNRadio that the big wreck was a “mistake on my part.”

The Daytona 500 race Stage 2 ended under caution, handing Bubba Wallace a critical Stage 2 victory. Behind him, the top ten settled as Ryan Blaney, John Hunter Nemechek, Kyle Busch, Riley Herbst, Corey Heim, Chris Buescher, Tyler Reddick, Joey Logano, and Daniel Suárez collected precious points.

What was supposed to be a controlled sprint to stage points became a demolition reel. And fans were quick to point fingers at Justin Allgaier’s boss as tempers boiled over.

Fan backlash erupts for Allgaier in no time

As replays circulated, fans quickly zeroed in on Justin Allgaier’s decision to throw an aggressive block. “Dale Jr has to have the biggest Dumass driver on the track today!🙄🙄” was the sentiment among the fans. Well, they aren’t wrong. Triggering the Big One, which affected half the field? Well, not good to add to your resume.

Another fan compared the move to Joey Logano’s. “Allgaier trying the Joey Logano method of blocking,” one fan commented. And they aren’t wrong. The move was eerily similar to the style popularized by Joey Logano, whose superspeedway philosophy revolves around slamming the door early, decisively, and often.

Logano’s method works because he times runs perfectly and commits fully. Allgaier, however, misjudged the moment by inches, and inches are all it takes to trigger disaster at nearly 200 mph. Another frustrated fan summed it up bluntly: “Yeah, wtf was Allgaier doing? The 11 had the entire momentum from the outside lane. He needed to just let him go and try to get a run himself.”

Well, with more than half the race remaining, Allgaier had time, track position, and a fast car. Letting Denny Hamlin sail past would have been the logical, low-risk move. Instead, the attempted block turned into a hook, and the hook turned into a 20-car pileup.

Meanwhile, another fan was even harsher. “Justin Allgaier must think this is a sim racing open lobby what a tard,” one fan wrote, comparing his decision-making to a reckless online racer rather than a veteran Cup competitor. But Daytona isn’t iRacing. Real cars, real money, and real lives are on the line!

Then, there was, “@J_Allgaier showing why he is a career lower level racer. @DaleJr please keep him in the Busch series. #JAcaused2bigonestoday” Allgaier, who runs full-time in the O’Reilly Auto Parts (Xfinity) Series and only part-time in Cup for JR Motorsports, became an easy target for critics eager to dismiss him as unqualified for superspeedway pressure.