Justin Lofton breaks thumb in 12-truck Talladega crash

Nate Ryan | USA TODAY Sports

TALLADEGA, Ala. — Justin Lofton was taken to a local hospital and treated for a broken left thumb after a 12-truck crash on the final lap of Saturday's Camping World Truck Series race at Talladega Superspeedway.

A tweet from his account @jlracing confirmed the news Saturday night.

He was tended to on-track by safey personnel after climbing from his truck and sitting on the asphalt.

The rest of the drivers in the incident were treated and released from the track's care center after the melee, which left Miguel Paludo's Chevrolet sliding down the frontstretch on its roof and two drivers staggering away from their battered trucks.

Kyle Busch, who will start 27th in Sunday's Sprint Cup race at the 2.66-mile oval, climbed out of his No. 51 Toyota and slumped against a wall while waiting for safety personnel after multiple impacts — the last with a section of interior concrete past the end of the pits that was uncovered by a SAFER barrier.

Busch said he had the wind knocked out of him in the crash.

"There was a couple really good licks that I took," he said. "There was no sense in sitting in a hot vehicle, so you might as well get out and get some fresh air."

He wasn't sure how the wreck started. "Somebody just came up from underneath and hit me and turned me left, and then the wreck was on," he said. "When you see the checkered flag and things going on in front of you, you just keep your foot (on the accelerator), and I drove it all the way to the finish. I guess I knocked the wall down, so that wasn't very fun."

Darrell Wallace Jr., who also drives for Kyle Busch Motorsports, walked gingerly from the wreck.

"Jesus Christ, hardest hit of my career," Wallace said outside the care center. "It scared the hell out of me. Makes you want to go 10 mph under the speed limit in your regular car because pushing 200 and wrecking that hard, I'd die. That's scary. I'm freaking myself out again.

"Just couldn't breathe. I'm all good, not sore anywhere. My pride's hurt. As long as my Vols won and beat South Carolina, I'm all good.

"Coming to this track you've got to expect the worst. It happened so fast, I'm glad it's over."

After crossing the finish upside down, Paludo's truck flipped back over and came to a stop with flames shooting from under the hood. He declined comment through a spokeswoman for Turner Scott Motorsports after he was released from the care center.

Other drivers involved include: pole sitter Jeb Burton— son of former Cup driver Ward Burton, Ron Hornaday, points leader Matt Crafton, Chris Fontaine, Clay Greenfield, Ross Chastain, Max Gresham, Parker Kligerman and Dakota Armstrong.

"It's a pretty eerie sight when you come in the med center and see half the field there," Red Horse Racing driver John Wes Townley said after he was cleared from an earlier wreck.

Chastain still managed a third-place finish in the fred's 250, which was won by Johnny Sauter. David Starr finished second.

Follow Nate Ryan on Twitter @nateryan