Graveyard Ghosts: Allgaier and Gilliland Crash from Kansas

Drivers: Justin Allgaier and David Gilliland

Cars: No. 51 Brandt Chevrolet/No. 38 Long John Silver’s

Track: Kansas Speedway (May 10, 2014 NASCAR Cup Series race)

Bio: Racing around near the back of the pack at Kansas, Justin Allgaier and David Gilliland had the misfortune of being collected in AJ Allmendinger’s mess under the lights at Kansas Speedway. The result was a two-for-one bonus feeding the weeds in Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s Racecar Graveyard.

On lap 187, Allmendinger snapped loose coming off Turn 4 around Paul Menard’s car. He slid down the banking toward the infield grass, and as he did so, Allgaier was trying very hard to slip past on the inside. He didn’t make it, despite being as low on the track as he could be. Allmendinger’s car nosed into the right rear quarterpanel, snapping Allgaier sideways and toward the outside wall.

Enter Gilliland, who was hammer down on the high side trying to miss the mess. Allgaier’s BRANDT machine slammed directly into the left front corner of Gilliland’s car and both smashed the wall at a high rate of speed. Gilliland hit so hard the rear wheels jumped two feet off the pavement as the oil line ruptured and burst into flames. Allgaier didn’t have it much better, slapping the SAFER Barrier under the flag stand and trickling slowly off the track and into the grass. Gilliland’s car came to rest in the middle of the track. Thankfully, window nets on both cars came down more or less immediately, signaling that both drivers were all right.

The cars, however, were not. Nary a corner on either car was untouched. Gilliland’s probably took the biggest beating from a sheet-metal perspective, both ends bludgeoned into a tangled mess. Allgaier’s machine was triangular in shape after the hard contacts with Gilliland and the SAFER Barrier. Allgaier was posted 36th in the rundown, while Gilliland wound up 37th.

The beat-up cars, which were too badly wounded in too many places to race again, found their way to the graveyard via a phone call, whereby they were picked up and transported to Dirty Mo Acres as decorative 200-mph planters.