The Big One is a phrase describing any crash usually involving five or more cars in NASCAR, ARCA, F1, and IndyCar racing. It is most commonly used at Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway, although occasionally seen at other tracks as well, such as Dover Motor Speedway and Watkins Glen International.

Coining the phrase

Until the 2000s, massive crashes were referred to as "major"ESPN SpeedWorld – 1989 Winston 500, May 7, 1989,CBS Sports – 1992 Daytona 500, February 16, 1992,NASCAR on ABC- 1998 DieHard 500 telecast, 4/26/98 or "terrific"ESPN SpeedWorld – 1990 Pepsi 400, July 7, 1990, crashes.

By the mid-1990s, competitors and media began taking note of the multi-car wrecks at Daytona and Talladega. In 1997, Dale Earnhardt described a final-lap crash at the 1997 Pepsi 400 as "the Big Wreck". News articles began using the term "Big Wreck" to describe such crashes in 1998, and by 1999, its use was widespread. Drivers began to openly admit they were apprehensive of its possibility.

One of the first times the term "The Big One" was used on-air was during the Winston 500 on ESPN October 11, 1998. Commentator Bob Jenkins said during the crash on lap 134 "This is the big one that we had hoped we would not have." One of the first published instances of the term "The Big One," was an April 18, 2000, article on ESPN.com about a crash in the DieHard 500. Benny Parsons also used the term on the air during that particular race when replays of the crash were being shown. The term was also being used informally by fans on message boards.

During the 2001 Daytona 500, Fox commentator Darrell Waltrip used the term on-air to describe an 18-car crash in the backstretch on lap 173, as saying "It's the big one, gang, it's the big one. It's what we've all been fearing in this kind of racing is going to happen."

By 2001, the phrase was widely used by competitors, fans, and in print and broadcast media. It soon became standard NASCAR vernacular, and it became a retronym to describe past such accidents as well.

The Big One has been the subject of criticism of NASCAR. Some have complained that the sanctioning body, promoters and media have celebrated the crashes.

By 2009, Talladega Superspeedway marketed itself on the notorious crashes with hot dogs, and later meatballs billed as "The Big One," with activities on Friday night after on-track action concludes billed as "The Big One on Talladega Boulevard".

Examples NASCAR Cup Series 2001 Daytona 500: On the back straightaway on lap 173, fifth-place Robby Gordon got into the back of fourth-place Ward Burton, turning Burton left into third-place Tony Stewart's right rear. Stewart's car went straight into the wall, catching air, landing on its side on top of Gordon's car, and tumbling across the track while getting hit by other cars. The car briefly landed on top of Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Bobby Labonte before falling onto the track and rolling to a stop in the infield grass. Burton's and Stewart's cars blocked the track, starting a chain reaction crash that collected 18 cars in total, including Burton, Stewart, Labonte, Gordon, Rusty Wallace, Steve Park, Terry Labonte, Mark Martin, Jerry Nadeau, Jason Leffler, Elliott Sadler, John Andretti, Jeff Burton, Andy Houston, Jeff Gordon, Kenny Wallace, Buckshot Jones, and Dale Jarrett. This crash, however, was later overshadowed by Dale Earnhardt's fatal crash on the last lap. Incidentally, Earnhardt had narrowly escaped being caught up in the lap 173 crash, nearly being hit by the spinning Ward Burton. 2002 Daytona 500: Second-place Kevin Harvick attempted to block the advancing Jeff Gordon going into turn one on lap 149, resulting in the two making contact and Harvick being spun down to the apron. Harvick slid up the track, hit the wall, and slid back down the track, collecting an additional 17 cars (18 in total). Matt Kenseth, Ricky Rudd, Ken Schrader, John Andretti, Kenny Wallace, Casey Atwood, Johnny Benson Jr., Bobby Labonte, Jeremy Mayfield, Joe Nemechek, Mike Wallace, Jimmie Johnson, Bobby Hamilton, Todd Bodine, Dave Blaney, Jerry Nadeau, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (his third incident in the race). Eventual race winner Ward Burton barely made it to the inside of the spinning Harvick to avoid the crash. 2002 Aaron's 499: On lap 164, Jimmie Johnson shuffled Kyle Petty out of line in turn 1. Coming on to the backstretch, Petty found a spot in line, but the whole field stacked up behind him, causing Mike Wallace to force Tony Stewart against the outside wall, causing a crash that collected 23 cars: Wallace, Stewart, Steve Park, Rusty Wallace, Terry Labonte, Mark Martin, Casey Atwood, Bill Elliott, Johnny Benson Jr., Matt Kenseth, Bobby Labonte, Jeremy Mayfield, Elliott Sadler, Kevin Harvick, Robby Gordon, Ricky Craven, Jimmy Spencer, John Andretti, Steve Grissom, Bobby Hamilton, Dave Blaney, Geoff Bodine, and Ricky Rudd. Sadler took the biggest hit in the wreck by slamming the corner of the inside wall on the right side, while Benson had to be pulled out of his car after it caught fire on pit road. However, all of the drivers involved escaped injury. 2003 Aaron's 499: On lap 4, entering turn one, Ryan Newman blew a tire, bounced off Mark Martin, and smashed hard into the turn one wall, almost turning over. One of Newman's tires came off as he spun back down the track, and the tire bounced off Ricky Rudd's hood, causing it to bounce over the catch fence and land in a restricted access area outside the track. Mayhem ensued as cars checked up behind attempting to avoid Newman, who spun across the middle of the track, resulting the largest recorded wreck in modern Cup Series competition until the 2024 YellaWood 500. The crash collected a total of 27 cars, the others being Jack Sprague, Jerry Nadeau, Hermie Sadler, Mike Wallace, Steve Park, Rusty Wallace, Mike Skinner, Mark Martin, Jimmy Spencer, eventual race winner Dale Earnhardt Jr., Johnny Benson Jr., Greg Biffle, Matt Kenseth, Bobby Labonte, Tony Stewart, Jeff Green, Casey Mears, Jamie McMurray, John Andretti, Kyle Petty, Ken Schrader, Todd Bodine, Dave Blaney, Dale Jarrett, and Jeff Burton. 2005 Aaron's 499: On lap 132, Mike Wallace, Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. got together in the tri-oval near pit road exit, forcing Scott Riggs and Wallace to careen into the wall hard, and collecting 23 other cars (25 in all): Kyle Busch, Dave Blaney, Mark Martin, Ryan Newman, Matt Kenseth, Bobby Labonte, Rusty Wallace, Ricky Rudd, Kasey Kahne, Mike Bliss, Mike Skinner, Brian Vickers, Scott Wimmer, Bobby Hamilton Jr., Kerry Earnhardt, Sterling Marlin, Jeff Green, Jason Leffler, Boris Said, Casey Mears, Joe Nemechek, and Carl Edwards. Fox studio analyst Jeff Hammond estimated the total damage at $8 million. The race was red-flagged for about 43 minutes for extensive cleanup. 2007 UAW-Ford 500: On lap 144, Bobby Labonte appeared to have a tire go down at the very top of the racetrack. He then went down the hill and collected about 8-9 more cars, including championship contenders Matt Kenseth and Kyle Busch. Others involved included: Jamie McMurray, David Ragan, Paul Menard, Robby Gordon, Brian Vickers, and David Reutimann.

2008 AMP Energy 500: On Lap 68, Brian Vickers blew a right front tire down the front stretch and collecting nine cars: Kasey Kahne, Martin Truex Jr., David Gilliland, Mike Skinner, Jamie McMurray, Terry Labonte, Tony Raines and Aric Almirola. With 16 laps to go, Roush teammates Carl Edwards, Greg Biffle, and Matt Kenseth got together while racing three-wide for second place, triggering a 12-car pile-up in turn 3, which took out Juan Pablo Montoya, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kevin Harvick, Michael Waltrip, Kyle Busch, and many more. 2010 Coke Zero 400: On lap 148, Kurt Busch got into Jeff Burton, and turned him into Sam Hornish Jr. Behind them, Juan Pablo Montoya turned Brad Keselowski into Reed Sorenson and Jimmie Johnson. The smoke from these incidents reduced visibility to the point that a large portion of the field was collected behind them, leading to a red flag. Mark Martin pounded the outside wall and caught fire until he got to pit road, where fellow pit crew members pulled him out of his car. In all, 20 cars were involved: Ryan Newman, Bobby Labonte; Hornish Jr., Robby Gordon, Scott Speed, Greg Biffle, Paul Menard, Kurt Busch, Juan Pablo Montoya, Brad Keselowski, Regan Smith, Sorenson, Johnson, Joey Logano, Martin, Marcos Ambrose, and Stewart. 2012 Good Sam Roadside Assistance 500: On lap 189, the last lap of a green-white-checker restart following Jamie McMurray's spin with five laps to go, Tony Stewart tried to block the advancing draft of Michael Waltrip and Casey Mears in turn four. As Stewart moved down to block Waltrip, he was passed on the outside by Matt Kenseth (the only car ahead of the crash; would go on to win the race). Stewart came across the front of Waltrip's car, turned sideways, and spun up into the pack, collecting 24 other cars (25 in all): Waltrip, Mears, Kevin Harvick, Marcos Ambrose, Sam Hornish Jr., Aric Almirola, Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Paul Menard, Clint Bowyer, David Ragan, Regan Smith, Dave Blaney, Jeff Burton, Kasey Kahne, Brad Keselowski, Bobby Labonte, Martin Truex Jr., David Gilliland, Terry Labonte, Landon Cassill, Denny Hamlin, Jeff Gordon, and Kyle Busch. Stewart's car went upside down and landed on top of Kahne, Menard, and Bowyer before flipping back over and coming to rest at the exit of turn four. Gordon and Kyle Busch escaped the wreck on the apron with only minor damage to finish in second and third place, respectively. Most of the cars were caught in the initial pileup; however, five cars (Keselowski, Truex, Bobby Labonte, Cassill, and Gilliland) were swept up as the others cars began the spin down into the infield and another (Hamlin) spun out by himself and sustained front-end damage. Travis Kvapil, Greg Biffle, and Ryan Newman avoided the wreck at the back of the pack to take top-ten finishes. Following this crash, Earnhardt Jr., who had taken a few hard hits in the crash, was diagnosed with a concussion, requiring him to sit out the next two races (Charlotte and Kansas). He was replaced by Regan Smith at both of them. 2014 Sprint Unlimited: On lap 36, going through the tri-oval, Matt Kenseth attempted to move to the inside to carry his momentum around the slightly slower car of Brad Keselowski; however, he didn't have enough room and was turned by Joey Logano. As Kenseth came back up the track, he collected Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon, Carl Edwards, Kurt Busch, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Stewart and Gordon ended up pinned against the wall, with Busch's front end under Gordon's car and Stenhouse's front end under Busch's car. Danica Patrick spun out while trying to miss both the larger crash and the spinning car of Edwards, but she did not hit anything. As her car came to a stop, she was t-boned by the accelerating Stenhouse, who couldn't see because of front-end damage and was trying to make it back to the garage. Kevin Harvick was also involved in the crash, but his damage was only from running through debris. 2015 Coke Zero 400: On lap 3, David Gilliland tried to drop in behind Dale Earnhardt Jr. on the inside line, failing to see Clint Bowyer, and got turned around by Bowyer, and collected an additional ten cars, including Michael Annett, Greg Biffle, Sam Hornish Jr., Bobby Labonte, Joey Logano, and Danica Patrick. On lap 105, Matt Kenseth got loose in front of Kasey Kahne out of turn 4. Kenseth's car then washed up the track, collecting nine additional cars, including Aric Almirola, Kyle Larson, Martin Truex Jr., Jamie McMurray, Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, Sam Hornish Jr., David Ragan, and Trevor Bayne.