Watch: Hard crash takes out defending NASCAR champion in Talladega playoff race

Ryan Blaney was seen as a favorite to win Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega, but a big crash at the end of Stage 2 ended his hopes of victory.

With the results of Stage Two essentially decided on lap 120, Blaney got turned by Alex Bowman as the field came across the start-finish line, collecting the No. 1 of Ross Chastain as well.

Blaney's Team Penske teammate, Austin Cindric, won the stage, and while Blaney scored three stage points of his own, the damage ended his hopes of winning the race.

Both Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin also received slight damage in the incident, further impacting the playoff picture.

Blaney and Chastain led laps earlier in the race, and all three Team Penske cars looked to be among the best in the field. After his first win of 2024 at Kansas, Chastain was looking to win his second consecutive race.

Blaney's race officially ended with 64 laps to go, after the 2023 champion completed 125 of 188 laps, while Chastain was declared out on lap 121, immediately following the crash.

A victory in last year's fall Talladega race spurred Blaney's eventual championship run, but that won't be the case this year. If the No. 12 team wants to become the first repeat champions of the playoff era, they'll need a big performance at the Charlotte Roval on Oct. 13 to ensure a berth in the Round of 8.