NASCAR Cup Series driver Ty Gibbs. Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Ty Gibbs, Josh Berry taken out after early crash in Autotrader 400

By Samuel Stubbs | Last updated Feb 22, 2026 4:35 PM ET

A Lap 84 crash early in Stage 2 of Sunday's Autotrader 400 took a pair of NASCAR Cup Series drivers out of Sunday's race at EchoPark Speedway.

As the pack raced into Turn 3 on Lap 84 of 260 on Sunday afternoon, Christopher Bell made an aggressive three-wide move, putting Josh Berry in the middle of Bell and Ty Gibbs.

Berry accidentally turned Gibbs after making contact with his left-rear quarter panel, sending Gibbs into the wall. Gibbs then clipped Berry, who was turned into the wall, and caused a stack-up near the back of the field.

Riley Herbst, Cole Custer, Denny Hamlin, John Hunter Nemechek and BJ McLeod also received minor damage in the accident. The subsequent yellow flag was the second of the afternoon and the first for cause.

There's trouble in Turn 3!@TyGibbs and @joshberry are involved. pic.twitter.com/h0ZnbaWn4I
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) February 22, 2026

Atlanta crash a bad break for Ty Gibbs

For Gibbs, who entered Sunday's race 26th in the Cup Series standings following the season-opening Daytona 500, the crash is especially detrimental. He will likely be below 30th in the standings going into the third race of the season at Circuit of the Americas on March 1.

Berry, who entered Sunday 13th in the standings, will fall out of the provisional Chase picture. Austin Cindric won Stage 1 of Sunday's race, charging from 30th to the lead in the opening 60-lap stint.

Samuel Stubbs

Hailing from the same neck of the woods as NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin, Samuel has been covering NASCAR for Yardbarker since February 2024. He has been a member of the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) since October of 2024. When he’s not writing about racing, Samuel covers Arkansas Razorback basketball for Yardbarker

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