Big hits in NASCAR Xfinity pileup force red flag wall repair at Talladega

Just 15 laps into Saturday's NASCAR Xfinity, chaos broke out near the front of the field. Driving through the tri-oval at NASCAR's superspeedway, playoff driver Sheldon Creed got loose and Jeb Burton hit him from behind.

While it seemed like just a close call at first, Burton's car shot up the track as a result and clipped another playoff driver -- Brandon Jones. The No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota of Jones came back down the track, hooking Creed's No. 00 Haas Factory Ford back through the field and towards the outside wall.

Creed made huge contact with Ryan Sieg as he slammed the outside wall, ending his day. Creed was running fifth before the massive crash.

Crash involving Sheldon Creed, Haas Factory Team Ford; Ryan Sieg, RSS Racing Chevrolet; Brandon Jones, Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

Photo by: David J. Griffin - Icon Sportswire - Getty Images

Several other drivers were collected in the crash, including yet another playoff driver -- Sam Mayer. When Jeremy Clements got collected in the crash, he spun back down the track where he got slammed by Mayer, Jordan Anderson, and Anthony Alfredo.

Kyle Sieg, Brenden Queen, Ryan Ellis, and Harrison Burton were also involved in the crash, bringing the total number of drivers involved to 12.

Watch: Burton makes contact with Jones, Creed to trigger 'Big One' early

"00 [Creed] checked up," radioed Burton. "I got into the back of him, and all hell broke loose."

NASCAR immediately red-flagged the race, and not just because of the obvious carnage. Creed's impact with the outside wall actually caused damage, and the SAFER Barrier was repaired during the stoppage. The red flag lasted 16 minutes and 19 seconds.

The following drivers were unable to continue after the early wreck: Both Haas drivers with Creed and Mayer, but also Sieg, Queen, Anderson, and Clements.

Damage to Sheldon Creed, Haas Factory Team Ford

Photo by: Chris Graythen - Getty Images

"I don't know, it kind of looked like the 27 [J. Burton] was kind of pushing me to enter the tri-oval, which got me a little free," said Creed as he reflected on the race-ending crash. "Really wasn't a big deal. For whatever reason, he shot up the track and got the 20 [Jone] in the left-rear, who got me in the right-rear. The bad part of having superspeedways in the playoffs is that you lose a lot of control over your destiny. Just hate it for everyone at Haas Factory Team..."

Sieg was also checked and released from the infield care center, saying: "I just saw the 20 [Jones] sideways, and then I was just along for the ride. Thought I was through it, and then the 00 came up right in front of me. I didn't eve have time to brace, so those are always harder when you don't know it's coming ... just wrong place, wrong time."

There was another red flag later in this race for a separate six-car wreck, which lasted about ten minutes. William Sawalich, who is awake and alert, was transported to a local hospital for further evaluation following that incident.