The Aaron's 499 has had it's first multi-car accident on lap 90, and Daytona 500 champion Trevor Bayne is among the drivers involved.
The wreck appeared to start when Kurt Busch turned teammate Brad Keselowski across the backstretch into Marcos Ambrose. Bayne, David Ragan, and Kasey Kahne also became involved. All five drivers had led the race and figured to be potential contenders for the victory, but each car sustained heavy damage. Ragan's Ford was already aflame as his engine was failing when the wreck took place, but he bounced off of Ambrose and hit the outside wall head-on before being slammed by Kahne. Kahne's Toyota fireballed after the accident, but he was able to park the car and safely get out.
Busch also triggered the first caution of the race on lap 28 when he turned Landon Cassill exiting turn two, collecting Brian Vickers.
The two-car t andem of Ryan Newman and Kyle Busch were leading at the time of the accident. Teammates Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jimmie Johnson had also spent an extended period at the front of the field after a cycle of green flag pit stops that concluded at lap 75.
Dawsonville's Bill Elliott, who started the No. 46 Whitney Motorsports Chevrolet, has stepped out of the car in favor of the team's regular driver, J.J. Yeley. Elliott qualified the machine in order to make sure it got into the race, thanks to his past-champion's provisional.