Talladega Crash: 25-Car Pileup on Final Lap Is on Tony Stewart

During the final lap at Talladega, a loss of control near the front of the pack caused a 25-car pileup and few drivers were able to escape. 

It looked like a scene out of an action film as cars flipped over and smoke filled the track. The amount of debris and the intensity makes it unbelievable that no one was killed. 

As of now, the blame is being placed solely on Tony Stewart, as the entire crash was initiated after he tried to block off another car. 

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NASCAR Talladega: Tony Stewart takes blame for 24-car pileup on final lap bit.ly/RoIkID #nascar

— Sporting News NASCAR (@sn_nascar) October 8, 2012"

Stewart himself has been more than willing to step up and take responsibility for the crash (according to Fox News). 

"I screwed up," Stewart said. "It was my fault for blocking while trying to stay where I was at. It was a mistake on my part, but it cost a lot of people a bad day because of it."

Michael Waltrip, the driver Stewart was trying to block, is not blaming Stewart for the incident (according to USA Today). 

"I don't blame Tony at all because anyone in the world would have had to block like that," Waltrip said. 

Jeff Gordon was also understanding and did not throw any blame toward Stewart. 

"When you lose that momentum, you lose a ton. You're going backwards in such a hurry and the other guys are coming forward with so much momentum it's inevitable that those types of things are going to happen," Gordon said, per USA Today.

Regardless of the support, Stewart's admission is enough evidence to suggest that this could have been prevented. 

As a result, Matt Kenseth ultimately won the race, as he was one of the few drivers able to escape from the crash unscathed. 

The next race will be held on Saturday, October 13 at the Bank of America 500.