Matt Kenseth stood in a solid position to take the point lead, given the struggles by teammate Carl Edwards throughout the Tums Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville.
Now, his hopes to contend for the title may be dashed.
Kenseth blew a tire heading into the third corner on lap 465, running into Kyle Busch before slamming driver's side first into the wall. He was able to drive away, but his No. 17 Ford has extensive damage and has been taken behind the wall for repairs.
Kenseth's accident came on the restart from a caution he triggered by sending Brian Vickers crashing hard into the turn three wall.
The wreck gives new life to both Edwards, who has rebounded to run 13th, and Tony Stewart, who barely stayed on the lead lap at one point and currently runs third. Brad Keselowski and Kevin Harvick have both run amongst the top-10 most of the day.