Graveyard Ghosts: Carl Edwards No. 60 Entry from Talladega

This week's Racecar Graveyard features the mangled remnants of Carl Edwards' No. 60 entry from Talladega in 2008, one of the more bizarre crashes in recent memory.

Driver: Carl Edwards

Car: No. 60 Save A Lot

Track: Talladega Superspeedway (April 26, 2008, NASCAR Nationwide Series race)

Bio: Kevin Lepage had a solid career as a stock car driver, but Saturday, April 26, 2008, was not his finest day. The Vermont native spent several seasons in the top three NASCAR series, winning twice, but on this day at Talladega, he made a rookie mistake.

At Talladega, cars are required to keep all four wheels below the yellow line off pit road and blend onto the racing surface in Turn 2. Coming out of the pits on under green-flag conditions on lap 70, Lepage drifted up above the yellow line in Turn 1 directly into the path of the oncoming pack. The result? A 15-car pileup worthy of anything from Talladega Nights. Mike Wallace saw Lepage moving up late and moved up the track to avoid—directly into the side of David Reutimann’s car. Edwards’ No. 60, following along in the inside lane, slammed the back of Lepage’s car. The impact popped the front wheels of Edwards’ car well off the ground, and the wreck got started for real.

Edwards, the reigning series champion in 2008, was along for the ride after impact shattered the front end. The mangled car slid along the steep banking, and finally came to rest in the grass at the bottom of Turn 2. The rear of Lepage’s car was destroyed as well.

By the time the last car had slid to a smoking, metal-shattered stop, 15 of them were in various stages of wreckage. Brad Keselowski, driving the Navy No. 88 for JRM, was heavily involved.