Defending Sonoma race winner Carl Edwards’ day ended on Lap 78 of the Toyota/ Save Mart 350 after a hard crash with David Ragan.
The two collided after a restart as their No. 19 and No. 55 Toyotas drove through the esses. The cars hit a wall before skidding into a tire barrier.
“David and I were just close racing, trying to get through those esses and it looks like my left rear hit his right rear,” Edwards told Fox. “I wondered why it pitched the car hard. I thought worst case we were going to bump doors. That’s probably my fault there.”
It was the second accident involving Ragan in that part of the track after the Michael Waltrip Racing driver turned Martin Truex Jr. into a tire barrier for the second caution of the day.
“On these restarts, that’s where you can really gain or lose a lot,” Ragan told Fox. “If you give an inch, a lot of guys will take a mile. I really knew they were were both putting ourselves in a bad situation right there, looking at the replay.
“It’s tight through there, but if I give a little bit to Carl, three or four guys are going to get around me,” Ragan continued. “You got to be aggressive on these restarts and I felt like I was in good spot there.We were 50-50 there racing for spot. It’s just one of those things. I don’t regret what I did.”
