Rain is one of every race fan’s greatest fears. Nothing dampers a race weekend quite like rain, but, NASCAR tries to rectify it with track-drying methods. NASCAR track drying has evolved a lot throughout the years, so, how does NASCAR dry race tracks?
Track drying in NASCAR has an interesting history, as NASCAR used plenty of methods to dry race tracks. Sometimes they used low-flying helicopters, thinking that the wind from the propellers would dry the track. Other tracks would use tires dragged behind a pickup truck, such as Martinsville Speedway in 1980.
Other times, NASCAR would simply use the cars going around the track under caution to dry the track. They may even throw the green flag and start the race under a “Green/Yellow start” while slightly increasing the speed of the field to speed up the process. To see if the track was ready, they would send one driver out, called a “Rabbit”, to test the course at race speed to determine if it was good. The start of the 1979 Daytona 500 was conducted like this, with the first 15 laps of the race run under the yellow flag.
All of these options were either impractical, dangerous, or just not efficient. NASCAR made a major change in the late 20th century, implementing the use of jet dryers. A jet engine was attached to the back of a pickup truck, and hot air would blow on the track to dry the surface.
While this system was far more reliable, practical, and safe than previous methods, it still took a long time to dry the track. In 2013, NASCAR came up with a new method, called “Air Titan”, and it was put to the test at Talladega Superspeedway later that year. Rain delays in both the Cup and Xfinity Series saw the “Air Titan” dry the track in just enough time to complete both races including overtime on the scheduled date as darkness set in on the track. This revolutionized NASCAR track drying.
The problem with the system was that it was very complicated using far more vehicles than the jet dryers did, so, NASCAR improved the system soon afterward with “Air Titan 2.0”. This is the system NASCAR uses today.
Whereas the first version of air-titan needed multiple support vehicles including semi-trucks, pickup trucks, and sweepers, this version just needs a few pickup trucks. Essentially, Air Titan is an engine that fits in the back of a pickup truck, and it blows compressed air onto the track, blowing the water toward the apron.
The “Air Titan” is followed by a few old-school jet dryers, which blow hot air to get some residual water off the track. An Elgin sweeper goes along the apron of the track, picking up any standing water that is left over by the other drying equipment.
While track drying still takes between 2-2.5 hours for some of the bigger tracks, Air Titan significantly decreased track drying time Some tracks would take as long as 3 hours to dry with the old-school jet dryers. However, “Air Titans” are not the only things used to dry the track.
Drying the track is only one part of getting ready after a rain delay. Once the cars are on the track, the next step is drying pit road, which is a team effort between NASCAR and the teams.
NASCAR will usually run an Elgin Sweeper along pit road to get rid of the standing water. This process is why it usually takes a while to go green after a rain delay.
The race teams work on the individual pit boxes. Pit crew members use leaf blowers and squeegees to get rid of standing water and dry the surface of the pit box.
NASCAR also uses the cars on the track to assist in the process, but, primarily to inspect the surface. Drivers give feedback to NASCAR about which areas may need some extra work, or, the cars may be used to get some stubbornly wet areas towards the wall.
The track drying process is a tedious one, but, it’s about as good as it can be for now. The hope is always that NASCAR doesn’t have to use it during a weekend.
EchoPark Speedway, or Atlanta Motor Speedway, is often touted as the most exciting track on the NASCAR circuit. What was first seen as a Frankenstein experiment, Marcus Smith’s idea to turn AMS into a baby Daytona worked out in the end. We’ve gotten great race after great race and tonight was no different as fans saw Tyler Reddick power by Carson Hocevar to go two in a row to start the season.
But not everyone had a season to remember. Many drivers and teams had a season that they’d sooner forget. These are the biggest losers of the 2026 EchoPark Speedway racing weekend.
The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race officials rightly got blasted online by fans after they made the extremely questionable decision to put the Truck race on Saturday on the weather clock. That would have been an understandable move if circumstances were different. But they caught flak because 1.) EchoPark Speedway has lights, 2.) the weather had moved out for the weekend, and 3.)…umm…they were only 10 laps shy from the scheduled distance anyway.
Now, we know who the defenders are. The O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Race was slated to follow, but NASCAR has pushed races off in the past. And really, how much time would the CW have lost? Ten minutes? Twenty? If that? That, in my book, makes the NCTS officials some of the biggest losers on the weekend. They owe us fans ten more measly laps for racing!
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Of any driver currently in the Chevy ranks, none has had the support thrown behind them like Corey Day. Day, a protege of proven NASCAR champion Kyle Larson, apparently has turned some heads on the dirt scene. Makes sense, since Larson himself said that he’d rather win the Chili Bowl than the Daytona 500. But unlike other drivers, such as Connor Zilisch, who have excelled in other racing disciplines outside of NASCAR, Day’s career so far has been lukewarm at best. And his race yesterday was the epitome of a rookie race, ladened with senseless mistakes.
The incident that hurt the most was the one where he wrecked his fellow HMS/JRM teammates, Carson Kvapil and Justin Allgaier. He simply just took them out while racing for the race lead. Though he was, somehow, able to rebound to finish the race in the 4th position, yesterday was a sloppy performance that even Corey himself acknowledges that he’d rather put behind him.
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Chastain did it again! And now, the feelings are mixed. Remember when Ross Chastain used to just send drivers willy-nilly, and it really got on fans’ nerves? Well, thankfully, he’s calmed down in recent years and has become a more respectable veteran of the sport. That is not to say that he still doesn’t have his…moments. Saturday night at the O’Reilly Auto Parts race, Ross Chastain, going for the win, entered turn 1 and sent leader Austin Hill.
Hill was the overwhelming favorite to win this race, and fans have grown sick of him. So, really, this was a welcome return to form for Chastain, a version of him that used to be loathed by fans. Thus, while fans might have won out by Chastain doing what he does best and slaying Austin Hill, the RCR team, and really, anyone who has Chastain in their rearview mirror in the closing laps, are the real losers this weekend.
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There were a couple of drivers who ended 2025 on a sour note and were looking to turn things around and start 2026 strong. One of those has to be Josh Berry and his entire Wood Brothers team. After floundering around with Harrison Burton for a few seasons, the No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford got the shot in the arm that they needed with a new crew chief and Josh Berry as their new driver. They led a bunch of laps at Atlanta in 2025, only for a wreck with 10 laps to go to take them out of contention. Not to worry, though: they followed it up with a win at Las Vegas.
But since that win, the team suffered a steep decline heading into the summer months. By the time the postseason rolled around, they had the single worst Playoff performance in history with three straight last-place finishes. Though he had a promising start to the season with a 9th-place run in the Daytona 500, it was the same old same old tonight. Berry showed some speed in the first stage but ultimately crashed after Christopher Bell forced the issue in the beginning of Stage 2. It’s a familiar routine for the Wood Brothers. Yet another last-place finish. That makes them one of the biggest losers of the weekend. If only they could have capitalized.
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This one’s a tired subject, so I won’t dwell on it too long. Kyle Busch’s late career decline at Richard Childress Racing should be studied. Though he showed speed early on, it was yet again a single-car spin that ended his day prematurely. Granted, he didn’t spin completely on his own. He was tagged from behind by Noah Gragson. But, that was after he checked up twice and recklessly pulled up in front of him in a hole that was barely there. Yet another disappointing outing for Rowdy Nation.
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The checkered flag has flown in the second race of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series Season. And, at the end of the day, it was Tyler Reddick who went back-to-back to win at EchoPark Speedway. Tonight, Reddick became the sixth NASCAR Cup Series driver to win the first two races of the season. He is the first since NASCAR Hall of Famer Matt Kenseth did it to kick off the 2009 season.
But, of course, Reddick wasn’t the only one to have a great start to the season. Several drivers leave Atlanta with a great points day, including Carson Hocevar, Bubba Wallace, William Byron, and Ryan Blaney. Here are the highlights of tonight’s race:
From an awful showing in the 2025 Playoffs to yet another last-place finish, Josh Berry’s 2026 season is off to a rough start. Today, he got together with Ty Gibbs after Gibbs had an awful start to the year last year. The No. 54 was able to turn it around later in the season, though. But, for their 2026 outing, there’s a lot left to be desired. Check it out.
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Kyle Busch’s 2025 season was abysmal. But, after he put his No. 8 RCR Chevy on the pole for the 2026 Daytona 500, things seemed to be looking up. He smartly survived last week by lying back on the last lap and safely navigating through the crash, finishing 15th. And he was a contender early in this race. However, late, Kyle Busch continued his dismal legacy at RCR by spinning after contact with Noah Gragson. His day ended prematurely. Check it out:
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We got our first big crash of the race at Lap 224 when both Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano got loose in front of the field. You can read all about that incident with the link below:
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Things started to get real for the NASCAR Cup Series drivers as we got inside 40 laps to go. We got our first Big One of the afternoon at Lap 224. It was triggered as the field came out of Turn 4 and entered the dogleg. Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin, both whose cars were upset by the dirty air, got together. Logano was able to scoot on virtually unscathed. However, Hamlin turned in front of the pack, collecting several stars and heavy hitters. Here’s what happened:
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