There was a scary moment in Saturday’s Go Bowling 400 at Kansas Speedway, shortly after a restart with 69 laps to go.

Joey Logano’s Team Penske Ford turned left heading into Turn 1 after an apparent mechanical failure on the front end, sending Danica Patrick hard into the wall as the two were racing for 11th place in the race.

“Just saying a lot of prayers for Aric (Almirola) right now,” said Logano. “A lot of us took a hard hit. Something broke on my car, I don’t know what it was. I noticed it as I was trying to go in. I tried to back it off but you’re going 215 (mph) and it’s hard to check up. The car just took a bit step sideways into the corner and I hooked Danica (Patrick).

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“I just hope everyone is okay. I hope Aric is alright,” added Logano. “That’s the last thing you want to see, a big hit like that for anyone. It’s unfortunate for everyone. Let’s hope that Aric is alright.”

Patrick’s car exploded into flames and then both Patrick and Logano got hit by a hard-charging Aric Almirola, who clobbered both cars in Turn 2. Patrick and Logano quickly got out of their cars, but Almirola remained in his No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford.

“When he (Logano) said he had a failure I can’t say it made me feel that much better in the moment,” said Patrick. “I am just frustrated for the lack of breaks I get. It seems like every time things are going better and something happens I get crashed or am in a crash.

“Unfortunately there were two of us that got collected and while I am okay, one of these times one if these really big accidents someone is not going to be okay,” said Patrick. “Aric (Almirola) is not okay and his car looked the best of everybody.”

The race was red-flagged as safety workers had to extricate Almirola from his car. Immediately after the impact, Almirola dropped his window net, but he did not get out of his car. Instead, safety workers removed the windshield and the rood of his car and worked to extricate him from the damaged vehicle.

Almirola was taken out of the car and placed on a spine board and a stretcher. He was awake and alert when the rescue workers took him out of the car and loaded him into the ambulance.

From there, Almirola was airlifted to the University of Kansas Medical Center for further observation and evaluation. Richard Petty Motorsports made a statement late Saturday night saying Almirola was in stable condition.</s>NASCAR driver Aric Almirola was airlifted to a hospital after his involvement in a fiery crash at Kansas Speedway during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race. Joey Logano and Danica Patrick were uninjured.

Start the conversation, or Read more at Mequon.</s>Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series veteran Aric Amirola, who had to be airlifted from Kansas Speedway after a three-car accident Saturday night during the Go Bowling 400, has been released from the hospital.

Almirola, who had to be cut from his No. 43 Smithfield Ford after the wreck between turns one and two with 67 laps remaining, suffered a compression fracture of his T5 vertebra.

The good news is that Almirola “is mobile and will follow-up with his doctors in Charlotte,” according to a release from Richard Petty Motorsports.

Almirola was expected to fly home to Mooresville, N.C., after spending Saturday night at University of Kansas Hospital.

Joey Logano triggered the fiery multi-car crash on lap 199 of Saturday’s spring race under the lights at Kansas Speedway.

A blown right front brake rotor caused Logano to lose to control and make contact with Danica Patrick, who was turned and smashed nose first into the wall.

Partick’s No. 10 Wonder Woman/One Cure Ford spun around as it scraped along the wall, while Logano’s No. 22 AAA Insurance Ford slid in front of Patrick’s car with its rear bumper along the wall.

Almirola was behind the wreck when it happened and tried to check up to avoid the carnage, but his car lost grip — perhaps due to oil or other fluids on the track — and slammed into Logano’s car.

The impact lifted the back of Almirola’s car several feet into the air and fire shot from both cars.

Almirola’s car appeared to have the least damage, but emergency workers had to cut away the roof and roll bar to extract him from the car.

There was a 36-minute delay after the accident, which occurred at 9:23 p.m., as Almirola was removed from the car, strapped to a backboard and taken to a waiting ambulance before being loaded into a helicopter for transport.

Almirola is in his sixth full-time season with Richard Petty Motorsports. He owns one win and 29 top-10 finishes in 226 career Cup starts.

It’s the third time a Cup Series stock-car driver has airlifted from Kansas Speedway after an accident.

Dale Jarrett was involved in a crash during the inaugural Cup race in 2001, and Sterling Marlin suffered a broken back during the 2002 Cup race.</s>After having Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series regulars Ty Dillon and Austin Dillon behind the wheel of its No. 99 Chevrolet in the last two NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway and Atlanta Motor Speedway, MDM Motorsports has called on team manager Travis Miller to pilot its truck for Friday night’s Toyota Tundra 250 at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City.

“I am so thankful for the opportunity to race the MDM Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado this weekend,” Miller said. “It has been a great start to the year for our team, and I’m hoping we can continue that success this weekend at Kansas Speedway with a solid run. I’m looking to keep the truck clean, learn and have fun this weekend.”

The team posted top-10 finishes in the last two races with the Dillon brothers behind the wheel. The truck began the 2017 season in a crash on lap one at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway in February with Tommy Joe Martins as driver.

Miller has four career Truck Series starts, all coming in 2012. He posted a best finish of 24th at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, a half-mile track like Kansas Speedway.

Miller posted a win in a NASCAR K&N Pro Series East race at South Boston (Va.) Speedway in April, driving an MDM Motorsports entry.</s>Aric Almirola had to be cut out of his car after being collected by a fiery wreck between Joey Logano and Danica Patrick during Saturday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway, and he left a local hospital Sunday with a compression fracture in his back. His driving status is to be determined.

Here’s the statement from Almirola’s team, Richard Petty Motorsports, on his condition, posted Sunday afternoon:

Aric Almirola, driver of the No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford, has been released from a local Kansas hospital and will fly back to his home in Mooresville, N.C. today. Almirola suffered a compression fracture to his T5 Vertebra after a multi-car accident at Kansas Speedway Saturday night. Almirola is mobile and will follow-up with his doctors in Charlotte. Richard Petty Motorsports will provide further updates when available.

The hit was especially brutal. Logano reported a failure on the right front of his car that caused him to veer left into Patrick’s car as they headed into the first turn on lap 200. Commentators said it looked like a rotor exploded on Logano’s car, although Logano wasn’t sure what exactly failed.

He believed he was going about 215 mph when the failure occurred, while Almirola was airlifted to the University of Kansas Medical Center to be held overnight for observation.

When Almirola was collected by the two cars, the force of the impact was enough to pop his car in the air. While everyone dropped their window nets immediately to signal that they were conscious, Almirola took the hardest hit and had to be helped out of his car by emergency crews.

The race was red flagged for over 27 minutes to allow crews to safely get Almirola out of the car as well as to clean up the debris left from the crash. Almirola was taken out on a flat board as a precaution in case of a back injury. 



Logano and Patrick were quickly checked and released from the infield care center, however, no further word was given on Almirola’s condition besides the fact that he was awake and alert, and in stable condition. 



In addition to the update on Sunday, ESPN reports that Almirola’s driving status remains to be determined.

The next Cup Series event is the All-Star Race, which is not for championship points and requires drivers to meet certain qualifications or race their way in. Currently, Almirola does not qualify to compete in the All-Star Race without racing his way in.</s>KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Aric Almirola was airlifted to a local hospital after a severe crash late in Saturday night’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway.

Almirola’s Richard Petty Motorsports No. 43 Ford was the third car involved in the multicar stack-up, triggered when a breakage on Joey Logano’s No. 22 forced contact with Danica Patrick’s No. 10 entering Turn 1 on the 1.5-mile track. Both cars hit hard, with Almirola’s entry sliding into the melee, its rear end lifting off the ground.

The crash produced a red flag with 200 of the 267 laps complete in the Go Bowling 400, giving safety workers time to extract Almirola by cutting through the roof of his car. The 33-year-old driver was described as alert and awake as he was removed from the car onto a backboard, his neck stabilized by a brace.

Almirola was airlifted to the University of Kansas Medical Center. The nature of any potential injuries were not released, but Richard Petty Motorsports provided an update nearly two hours after the checkered flag, confirming that Almirola was in stable condition and that he would be held overnight for further observation. The team indicated that it would “provide further updates when appropriate.”

“I just hope everyone is OK,” said Logano, who was uninjured. “I hope Aric is all right. That’s the last thing you want to see, a big hit like that for anyone. It’s unfortunate for everyone.”

Logano and Patrick were evaluated and released from the track’s infield care center. The two had a spirited conversation before taking the mandatory ambulance ride to the infield, but Logano explained that an unknown parts failure on his car’s right-front had caused his car to break loose.

“I just told here something broke. There’s nothing I could have done,” Logano said. “I don’t know what happened. Like I said, something broke and tore up a bunch of really good cars.”

Patrick was saddled with her fifth failure to finish in 11 races this season. Four of those have been crash-related. Logano’s explanation was small consolation, she said.

“When he said he had a failure I can’t say it made me feel that much better in the moment,” Patrick said. “I am just frustrated for the lack of breaks I get. It seems like every time things are going better and something happens I get crashed or am in a crash.”</s>NASCAR driver Aric Almirola has been released from the University of Kansas Medical Center a day after fracturing a vertebra during a fiery wreck at Kansas Speedway. Almirola was airlifted to the hospital following a fiery wreck Saturday night with Danica Patrick and Joey Logano.

The three were involved in the frightening collision with 67 laps left in the Go Bowling 400 at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kan. Safety workers had to cut the roof and roll cage off Almirola's car to remove him. He then was placed on a backboard and airlifted to the University of Kansas Medical Center, where he was kept overnight for observation.

"Almirola was alert after the accident as safety professionals removed him from the car," Richard Petty Motorsports said early Sunday morning. "He was transported by helicopter to a local medical facility for evaluation. He is in stable condition and will be held overnight for further observation."

Both Logano and Patrick were examined and released from the infield care center, with Logano later tweeting prayers for Almirola.

Logano told reporters that he wasn't sure exactly what caused the crash.

"Something broke on my car, I don't know what it was," Logano said. "I noticed it as I was trying to go in. I tried to back it off but you're going 215 and it's hard to check up. The car just took a bit step sideways into the corner and I hooked Danica. I haven't seen a replay yet, I don't know what happened. You can see the right-front popped and it popped. I just hope everyone is OK. I hope Aric is all right. That's the last thing you want to see, a big hit like that for anyone. It's unfortunate for everyone. Let's hope that Aric is alright."

Patrick drew criticism for her comments immediately after the crash.

"We were having a really good race and having fun out there and had a lot of speed," Patrick said. "... All I know is that I all of a sudden crashed. I definitely had a feeling it was and I am sure that the doctors in the medical center checking my neurological abilities are glad to know I was right that it was Joey. When he said he had a failure, I can't say it made me feel that much better in the moment. I am just frustrated for the lack of breaks I get. It seems like every time things are going better and something happens I get crashed or am in a crash."

Almirola, 33, is in his sixth full season driving for RPM and has one Cup victory. He and his wife, Janice, have two children.</s>Joey Logano said a part failure caused the crash that sent Aric Almirola to the hospital in a violent wreck Saturday night at Kansas Speedway.

Logano lost control of his No. 22 Ford, hitting Danica Patrick’s No. 10 Chevrolet in the left rear. Patrick’s car spun into a fiery crash against the outside wall. Almirola’s No. 43 Ford spun into the aftermath of the crash, going briefly airborne as it made contact with both cars.

“I’m OK, I’m just saying prayers for Aric right now,” Logano told FS1 outside the track’s care center. “A lot of us took a hard hit. Something broke on my car. I don’t know what it was. I noticed it as I was going in (the turn). I tried to back off, but you’re going 215 (mph).

“It’s hard to check up. The car just took a big step sideways into the corner. I hooked Danica, and I don’t know what happened.”

The Team Penske driver then watched a replay of the crash.

“Oh my God,” he said. “Just out of nowhere. Everything was fine, then it just took a hard (hit).

After being cleared from the care center, Patrick also expressed concern for the Richard Petty Motorsports driver.

“I hope Aric’s OK,” said Patrick, who was eliminated by a wreck for the second consecutive race. “He definitely is feeling the worst of everybody. NASCAR has done everything they can to make our cars as safe as possible, but things happen. And his car looked the least damaged of all of ours.

“That’s what I said before I walked out, one of these times these accidents aren’t going to go good for me. They all are big. I’ve been very fortunate so far. One of these times it’s not going to go well.”</s>Allen Kee/ESPN Images(KANSAS CITY, Kan.) — NASCAR driver Aric Almirola suffered a compression fracture to his T5 Vertebra after his car got in a vicious crash during the Go Bowling 400 on Saturday night. Richard Petty Motorsports released an update on his condition Sunday morning after he stayed in the hospital overnight.

He has since been released and will fly back to his North Carolina home on Sunday.

A broken brake rotor on Joey Logano’s car started the crash according to an ESPN report.

Logano hit fellow driver Danica Patrick and the two skidded into the wall, and seconds after Almirola smashed into the back of Logano’s car. The rear of Almirola’s vehicle went airborne and his car skidded along the track.

Almirola dropped the window net by his door, indicating he was conscious, but he was put in an ambulance and airlifted to University of Kansas Medical Center. He did not lose consciousness at any point.

Logano said afterwards that something in the right front of his vehicle broke while he was racing:

“I tried to back off, but you’re going 215 [mph], and it’s hard to check up, and the car just took a big step sideways into the corner. I’m OK. Just saying prayers for Aric right now.”

Patrick, who was frustrated after getting out of her car, told Logano:

“‘I’m not sure if it was you, but I’m pretty sure it was you.’ Then he said it was a failure of some sort, which didn’t make me feel better in that moment. I hope Aric is OK. He’s definitely feeling the worst of everybody.”

Richard Petty Motorsports says it will provide further updates on Almirola’s status when it becomes available.

Martin Truex Jr. won the race on the final restart. It marks Truex’s second win of the season and his first career victory at Kansas Speedway.</s>Martin Truex Jr. led a race-high 104 laps of the 267 laps that made up the GoBowling.com 400 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City on Saturday night en route to his second win of the season, joining Brad Keselowski and Jimmie Johnson in the 2017 multi-race winners club.

“It’s always good to get a nice bear shower, 5-Hour Energy and whatever else they’re throwing on us here. Pretty awesome,” Truex said. .”Awesome day, awesome weekend. This team rocks, man; they’re so good. We just stuck with it all night. We had an awesome race car. There’s three times, there, we looked like we weren’t going to have a shot at it. We just kept fighting and making it happen.”

Keselowski finished second after overcoming an unscheduled pit stop for a loose wheel inside 40 laps to go in the second stage and then, being penalized for driving through too many pit stalls.

“We caught a couple breaks there on those restarts and made the most of them,” Keselowski said. That was good. We had a really great Freightliner Elite Support Ford, just kept getting caught in adversity there. We worked our way through it, though. It stinks we finished second and still lost points, because we didn’t get those stage points. All in all, we had a really fast Ford and have a lot to be proud of. We will move on to the next week.”

Kevin Harvick finished third after being a lap down at one point in the race because of an unscheduled green-flag pit stop for a vibration for a lap 127 yellow flag.

Ryan Blaney finished fourth after starting on the pole, leading 83 laps throughout the race and winning the second 80-lap stage. Kyle Busch rounded out the top-five in the race that saw him lead 59 laps and win stage one.

The attrition-filled race produced a track-record 15 yellow flags, with the most substantial incident being a three-car fiery crash involving Joey Logano, Danica Patrick and Aric Almirola. Logano and Patrick climbed out of their cars under their own power and were treated and released from the infield care center. Almirola, though, was cut from his car and transported to a local hospital.

According to a statement from Richard Petty Motorsports later in the night, Almirola was alert and in stable condition and would be held at the hospital overnight for observation.

“I’m okay,” Logano said. “Just saying a lot of prayers for Aric right now. A lot of us took a hard hit. Something broke on my car. I don’t know what it was. I noticed it as I was trying to go in. I tried to back it off, but you’re going 215 (mph), and it’s shard to check-up. The car just took a big step sideways into the corner, and I hooked Danica. I haven’t seen a replay yet. I don’t know what happened. You can see the right-front popped (right there) and it popped. I just hope everyone is okay. I hope Aric is alright. That’s the last thing you want to see, a big hit like that for anyone. It’s unfortunate for everyone. Let’s hope that Aric is alright.”

Finishing the race sixth through 10th were Kyle Larson, Daniel Suarez, Jamie McMurray, Clint Bowyer and Trevor Bayne.
In motorsports, Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver Aric Almirola is cut from his vehicle and airlifted to a local hospital with undisclosed injuries after a crash late in the Go Bowling 400 at Kansas Speedway.