Disaster struck the field early in Atlanta as drivers got a quick taste of a massive pile-up, giving them a bitter taste of last week’s ‘Big One’ at the Daytona 500. In an unfortunate turn of events, the first caution came in the very second lap of the race when a multi(16)-car wreck triggered chaos on Sunday’s Ambetter Health 400.

Who triggered the biggest pile-up in Stage 1 of the Atlanta race?

Taking on the 400-mile feature at the one-and-a-half-mile track, Ford driver Michael McDowell was leading from the pole while Kyle Busch was looking to cut across his on the inside. Just a few moments later, the #8 got the lead, but what came later was something nobody could anticipate. The NASCAR community saw the biggest pile-up in the history of Atlanta Motor Speedway, with Front Row Motorsports’ Todd Gilliland triggering a 16-car lockdown, and stacking up the whole line-up.

This aerial footage shows Todd Gilliland checking up to let McDowell in, thus ticking off the domino, causing a massive crash, causing the caution. Martin Truex Jr, Austin Dillon, Chase Elliott, Noah Gragson, Josh Williams, Christopher Bell, etc. were involved in the tangle, along with many more.

“What a mess!”, The early tangle that affected Chase Elliott and Christopher Bell

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This was one of the biggest pile-ups in recent times. In fact, it was the biggest in Atlanta’s history, with 16 cars involved. While MTJ, Dillon, Elliott, Gragson, Williams, and Bell were caught in the avalanche, Harrison Burton, Bubba Wallace, Daniel Hemric, Ryan Preece, John Hunter Nemechek, Erik Jones, Tyler Reddick, Alex Bowman, Ty Gibbs, Carson Hocevar, BJ McLeod, and Daniel Suarez were also slightly blown away by their momentum.

Precisely, Christopher Bell and Chase Elliott were the ones who were seen limping into the pit area for a quick fix. Moments after the ‘Big One’ struck the field, the commentary booth, including Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick, dissected the happening. The crew also highlighted Gilliland’s lousy move, trying to dig up a hole in the middle that ticked off the avalanche. And the newest analyst in the box, like most of the field, wasn’t happy with the wreck. In reaction to the wreck, Harvick said, “What a mess!” 

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