{"id":56108,"date":"2026-02-19T18:56:05","date_gmt":"2026-02-20T00:56:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/?p=56108"},"modified":"2026-02-19T18:56:21","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T00:56:21","slug":"nascar-weekend-preview-echopark-speedway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/19\/nascar-weekend-preview-echopark-speedway\/","title":{"rendered":"NASCAR Weekend Preview: EchoPark Speedway"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service<\/em><\/p>\n

Atlanta Awaits as Last-Lap Thrills Dominate Drafting Tracks<\/b><\/p>\n

HAMPTON, Ga. \u2013 Fresh off a huge television audience and a sell-out DAYTONA 500 grandstands witnessing 23XI Racing\u2019s Tyler Reddick\u2019s dramatic last lap victory, the NASCAR Cup Series moves to another of the sport\u2019s thrill-ride venues EchoPark Speedway in Atlanta as part of a NASCAR triple-header weekend.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Josh Berry, driver of the #21 Motorcraft\/Quick Lane Ford, and Joey Logano, driver of the #22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, race during the NASCAR Cup Series Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on February 23, 2025 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Chris Graythen\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

The recently reconfigured 1.54-mile Atlanta oval, hosting Sunday\u2019s AutoTrader 400 (3 p.m. ET on FOX, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) races like a superspeedway \u2013 similar to the Daytona big track \u2013 and is renowned for its own brand of high-excitement and exhilarating finishes.<\/p>\n

Joe Gibbs Racing\u2019s Christopher Bell earned the headlines in last February’s EchoPark Speedway race, a last lap pass for victory that started a streak of three consecutive NASCAR Cup Series wins for the popular and perpetual championship challenger.<\/p>\n

His single lap out front at Atlanta last February wasn\u2019t only dramatic but historic as the last time a race winner at the track led only one lap happened decades ago \u2013 1961 \u2013 by NASCAR Hall of Famer David Pearson.<\/p>\n

Reddick\u2019s win last week at Daytona was reminiscent of Bell\u2019s trophy-work and actually extended a last-lap victory streak by drivers to an amazing seven races at the drafting-style tracks in Daytona, Talladega, Ala. and Atlanta.<\/p>\n

Whether by last lap dramatics or complete race day domination, Bell, would love to right the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota team\u2019s ship after being in contention for a DAYTONA 500 victory last Sunday only to be collected in a multi-car accident 12 laps from the end and suffer a 35th-place finish. With his NASCAR Cup Series win last year, Bell now has wins in all three of NASCAR\u2019s national series at Atlanta.<\/p>\n

When it comes to the drafting tracks, Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing owner-driver Brad Keselowski actually leads all active drivers with seven wins – and is coming off a fifth-place finish in the DAYTONA 500. Fellow Ford driver, Team Penske\u2019s Joey Logano is next with six wins. Logano\u2019s teammate Ryan Blaney, Hendrick Motorsports\u2019 William Byron (Chevrolet) and Bell\u2019s JGR teammate Denny Hamlin all have five wins on the drafting tracks.<\/p>\n

Of note, Ford drivers have claimed six poles since Atlanta\u2019s reconfiguration, however the make has only two trophies (Logano in 2023 and \u201924) to show for it. Hendrick Motorsports drivers William Byron and Chase Elliott each have a pair of wins.<\/p>\n

Logano\u2019s 333 laps out front is most in the eight races on the new track. Elliott\u2019s 9.14 average finish is best in that time. And it\u2019s worth noting, Kyle Busch – who is coming off his first career DAYTONA 500 pole position \u2013 has finished top-10 in five of the six Atlanta races he\u2019s competed in for Richard Childress Racing \u2013 his best work in the No. 8 RCR Chevrolet.<\/p>\n

Busch Light Pole Qualifying is set for 11 a.m. ET on Saturday, February 21 (on Prime, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Blaney won pole position for this race last year.<\/p>\n

Atlanta Is Austin Hill\u2019s Playground \u2014 Good Luck Changing That<\/b><\/p>\n

The strategy for most teams coming into Saturday\u2019s Bennett Transportation & Logistics 250 (5 p.m. ET on The CW, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Atlanta\u2019s EchoPark Speedway looks a whole lot like it did in the Daytona season-opener last weekend.<\/p>\n

The field needs to figure out a way to beat Richard Childress Racing\u2019s Austin Hill, who is not only the defending winner at his \u201chome\u201d track, but has won five of the last seven races at the 1.5-miler.<\/p>\n

Hill, 31, comes into the race weekend following a strong victory in the No. 21 RCR Chevrolet at Daytona last Saturday, when he led an impressive 78 of 120 laps. His closest challenger was his RCR teammate Jesse Love, who also spent most of the day at Daytona running among the frontrunners.<\/p>\n

The 2025 spring Atlanta race results actually looked a lot like the season-opening Daytona race last week. Hill and Love set the pace and ultimately Hill edged former series champion Justin Allgaier to the finish line. Last year at Atlanta, Hill led a completely dominating 146 of 163 laps. He has claimed a series record 11 wins at drafting tracks.<\/p>\n

And\u2026. Should Hill win Saturday evening, he would become the first driver in series history to win the first two races of the season multiple times \u2013 answering his work at Daytona and Atlanta in 2024.<\/p>\n

Only three drivers scored top-10 finishes in both Atlanta races last year, but AM Racing\u2019s Nick Sanchez is the only one competing this weekend. The 24-year-old finished fifth in this race and scored his only career NASCAR O\u2019Reilly Auto Parts Series victory in June.<\/p>\n

Of note, a win for Allgaier in 2026 would give him a victory in 10 straight seasons, an all-time record breaking the mark he currently shares with NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin and Kyle Busch.<\/p>\n

NASCAR Cup Series regular Ross Chastain will drive the No. 32 Jordan Anderson Racing Chevrolet in the first of his four scheduled starts this year in the O\u2019Reilly Auto Parts Series.<\/p>\n

Kennametal Pole Qualifying is set for 5 p.m. ET Friday, February 20 (CW App). Love is the defending polesitter and has won pole position in three of the last four races.<\/p>\n

Champions Collide in Atlanta CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Showdown<\/b><\/p>\n

Saturday\u2019s FR8 Racing 208 at EchoPark Speedway (1:30 p.m. ET on FS1, NRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) will pit some of the best ever in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series with last year\u2019s dominant champion Corey Heim back on the grid, alongside two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch.<\/p>\n

A record-setting eight-time winner at the track Busch will make the first of his eight season starts this weekend. He\u2019s won the last two Atlanta races giving him an average finish of 1.0 in his two races on the re-design.<\/p>\n

The series is coming off an absolute ratings bonanza at Daytona last week, the FS1 season-opener watched by almost 1.4-million viewers \u2013 making it the most-watched truck race since 2016. Front Row Motorsports\u2019 Chandler Smith prevailed in a dramatic run to checkered line capping a night that featured the most lead changes (32) in any race ever for the series.<\/p>\n

The RAM All-Star truck entrant this week is NASCAR Cup Series regular Ty Dillon. The make marked its return to NASCAR competition last week at Daytona with Brenden Queen\u2019s seventh-place finish best among the five RAM trucks. Rookie Mini Tyrell earned a 19th-place finish in his series debut.<\/p>\n

Kennametal Pole Qualifying is Friday at 3 p.m. ET (FS1). Connor Mosack won pole position last year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service Atlanta Awaits as Last-Lap Thrills Dominate Drafting Tracks HAMPTON, Ga. \u2013 Fresh off a huge television audience and a sell-out DAYTONA 500 grandstands witnessing 23XI Racing\u2019s Tyler Reddick\u2019s dramatic last lap victory, the NASCAR Cup Series moves to another of the sport\u2019s thrill-ride venues EchoPark Speedway in Atlanta as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":676,"featured_media":49844,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[11],"tags":[52,16],"class_list":["post-56108","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nascar","tag-atlanta-motor-speedway","tag-nascar"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/GettyImages-2201549889-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1707&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7hzTZ-eAY","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56108","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/676"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56108"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56108\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":56112,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56108\/revisions\/56112"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49844"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56108"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56108"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56108"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}