Carl Edwards Crash at Talladega Speedway

by Jordan Yerman | April 27, 2009 at 06:54 am

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The Aaron's 499 at Talladega Speedway in Alabama was punctuated with crashes, the most spectacular- and frightening- taking place during the final lap, when race leader Carl Edwards' car was nudged a bit too hard, flying up towards the grandstands.

ESPN (also quoted below) has some footage of the three major crashes of the race.

The No. 99 Ford exploded against the fencing, which bent back like a rubber band, but didn't break. Seven spectators were injured from flying debris. Most of the injuries were bumps and cuts, but one woman suffered a likely fractured jaw.

Edwards, who climbed from the fiery wreckage and crossed the finish line on foot, was thankful it wasn't worse.

"I don't know if I could live with myself if I ended up in the grandstands," Edwards said.