Top 10 NASCAR Crashes That Changed Racing (With Videos)

• NASCAR
• racing
• auto safety
• Worst-Case Scenarios

10. Michael McDowell /// Texas /// 2008

During qualifying for April's Samsung 500 at Texas Motor Speedway, McDowell slammed his Toyota Camry "Car of Tomorrow" (COT) into the SAFER barrier near turn one. The resulting impact and tumbling were the most severe tests thus far of both the new track walls and the COT. And McDowell walked away.

The rookie's near-fatal disaster is a testament to all the advances in safety that have been paid for over the decades with the lives of the racers that came and crashed before him. But it also invites the one thing that anyone concerned with driver survival should fear most: complacency.

CLICK FOR MORE: Top 10 NASCAR Crash Videos
10. Michael McDowell @ Texas	9. Michael Waltrip, Mike Harmon @ Bristol	8. 37 Drivers @ Daytona	7. Richard Petty @ Darlington	6. Rusty Wallace @ Daytona + Talladega
5. Ricky Rudd @ Atlanta	4. Bobby Allison @ Talladega	3. Fireball Roberts @ Charlotte	2. Donnie Allison, Cale Yarborough @ Daytona	1. Dale Earnhardt @ Daytona

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