Audible gasps were heard in the grandstands. While Bubba Wallace and Christopher Bell were fighting it out in NASCAR’s first Green-White-Checkers attempt in Kansas, there was plenty of drama further down the grid as well. The red flag was waved in the Hollywood Casino 400 when Zane Smith’s No. 38 SpeedyCash.com Ford Mustang flipped over after he rode the wall in Turns 3 and 4. To say that the incident was ‘horrifying’ would be an understatement.

Smith got wrecked into the outside wall by Legacy Motor Club’s John Hunter Nemechek on the first lap of a two-lap overtime restart, after Carson Hocevar spun. Unfortunately for the Front Row Motorsports driver, he was forced to settle for a 31st-place finish after retiring early, but appeared to be unharmed after emerging from the infield care center.

Zane Smith is disappointed after being forced to retire early

He might be fighting for nothing but pride, but Zane Smith was on a run at Kansas Speedway. Despite starting in 28th place, the California-native steadily gained track positions as the laps ticked on, and even finished ninth at the end of Stage 1. However, just when the leaders were moments away from taking the white flag at Kansas Speedway, Smith, who was busy battling for a top-10 position, was slammed into the outside wall when John Hunter Nemechek drove into the left-rear.

Sharing his thoughts about the incident, Zane Smith said in the post-race interview, “Yeah, I mean, violent, no doubt. Just crazy restarts at Kansas, and man, I just got wrecked. They just drove right through my left rear so hard, it kicked me up onto the wall. And then yeah, just started flipping down the track. So yeah, violent, no doubt, but a really fast SpeedyCash Ford. Just a bummer had to end this way.” When asked if he had ever experienced a crash like this before, the 26-year-old responded, “No, never flipped a stock car, so add that to the resume.”

Smith’s No. 38 Ford climbed up the wall after making contact and rode along the SAFER barrier on its side before flipping multiple times. Thankfully, it landed on its wheels while safety officials rushed to the vehicle, ensuring the racer was okay. While the red flag was being waved, he was seen emerging from his battered car, relatively unscathed but visibly shaken up. It was the first airborne crash of a Next-Gen car since Ryan Preece’s wreck at the Daytona 500 earlier this year.

Even though the race was halted for nine minutes, the delay wasn’t longer after safety officials inspected the outside wall and concluded that it needed no repairs. However, Zane Smith didn’t hold back after his race ended, and went on to say, “I had a decent restart going and I just get wrecked by the 42 [Nemechek]. I mean, he drives through me. I was sliding on the wall, and I was just mad at that point, and this just pissed me off even more. That’s what really hurt — just flipping down the track.” It was Smith’s fifth DNF of the season, and he’s currently 27th in the driver’s standings, with just one top-five finish to his name.

While Zane Smith’s wreck was unintentional, Nemechek did plenty of harm to other vehicles during the ‘incident’ as well.

Nemechek’s day goes from bad to worse

While trying to avoid the No. 38, the Legacy Motor Club driver came down the track and clipped both Ty Gibbs and Josh Berry, causing damage to both those entries as well.

Both John Hunter Nemechek’s and Josh Berry’s vehicles slammed into the outside wall, ending their afternoons, but Ty Gibbs managed to survive. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver managed to avoid getting a ton of damage and just skimmed the barrier in his No. 54 Toyota Camry. As for the Legacy Motor Club racer, this is the second week running where he has crashed, after hitting the bumps at the entry of Turn 3 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway recently.

With just five races remaining before the season ends, both Zane Smith and Nemechek will hope to have better luck going forward, especially at the Charlotte Roval. While the Front Row driver isn’t one to hold grudges, it’ll be interesting to see if he looks for payback at the Bank of America Roval 400 next Sunday. And as for the Legacy Motor Club star, he’ll be aiming to clean up his act, as another DNF will make his season go from bad to worse, a situation that can have disastrous consequences for the 28-year-old.