The NASCAR race took an unexpected turn when the pace car crashed, causing a red flag—and drawing sharp commentary from Denny Hamlin.

The NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway was red flagged for an unexpected reason. The pace car was late getting on to pit road before the restart to begin the second stage of Sunday's race and slid into the barrels which provide protection to the end of the inside wall on the racetrack.

The pace car crashed into the pit road entry sand barrels early in the NASCAR championship race on Sunday at Phoenix Raceway. Before the restart in stage two, the pace car suddenly veered sharply left toward the pit lane for the resumption of the race after a caution.

A car not even racing in Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series championship race at Phoenix brought out the red flag after crashing.

The race was then red-flagged to fix the sand barrels, which are placed at the start of the pit row for potential moments like this. Elliott appears unaffected by the move as he r