What to Look Out for in the Cup Race at EchoPark Speedway

by Cody Williams

What’s Happening?

With Round 1 of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series Race to the Chase in the books, the greatest drivers in the world, the stars of the NASCAR Cup Series, head to the Peach State. We’re going back-to-back superspeedway racing as the NASCAR takes on the EchoPark Speedway (formerly the Atlanta Motor Speedway). This is what you need to keep your eyes peeled for in what is guaranteed to be a thriller of a race.

Atlanta! Sunday on @FOXTV and @watchfoxone. https://t.co/hQ9cNlwfPy pic.twitter.com/ZZiwODWfBf

— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) February 19, 2026

• Yesterday morning’s qualifying session was washed due to weather in the Hampton, Georgia area. This means that the field was set by the qualifying metric. As a result, Tyler Reddick will start today’s race where he ended last week’s Daytona 500: in first place. Starting on the outside pole is every fans’ favorite driver, Joey Logano.
• NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver, Chase Elliott, will try to bounce back after a heartbreaking end to the 68th running of the Great American race last week. Elliott came so close to winning it all. A proven superspeedway winner and former Atlanta winner, NASCAR’s favorite son is hoping to get it done today in his home state. There may be a party in Dawsonville, Georgia, tonight! Chase Elliott rolls off 4th.
• On the flip side, Elliott’s teammate, Alex Bowman, has had a rough start to the year. He DNF’d in the 500 last week and now starts today’s race in the 36th position. Generally, he’s seen as being on the hot seat this year as he’s currently sitting on a contract year. He’ll need to win big and soon if he wants contract negotiations to go in his favor. He’s got a tough battle ahead of him, though.
• Expect a different kind of racing today than what we saw at Daytona last week. Yes, it’s superspeedway style, drafting racing in big packs, but Atlanta is a mile shorter than Daytona. This results in an emphasis on handling over fuel saving and more compact packs. Whoever can set their car up the best today will likely have a fighting chance when it gets down to the wire.
• Coverage for the NASCAR Cup Series Autotrader 400 at EchoPark Speedway begins at 2 PM EST/11 AM PST on FOX.

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O’Reilly: Sheldon Creed Breaks Through in Thriller at EchoPark Speedway

by Cody Williams

What’s Happening?

It was a busy Saturday at EchoPark Speedway (formerly Atlanta Motor Speedway). First, we had the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race. Then, the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series took center stage and they were two vastly different events. Ultimately, it was Sheldon Creed standing tall in victory lane when all was said and done. Here’s what you need to take away from tonight’s NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race at EchoPark Speedway.

SHELDON CREED IS A WINNER IN THE NASCAR O'REILLY AUTO PARTS SERIES! pic.twitter.com/dt5ReFaVEM

— NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts (@NASCAROReillyAP) February 22, 2026

• There were a lot of drivers who had tire problems which set off massive wrecks and incidents. First, Sam Mayer had a tire go down from the race lead. Sammy Smith got bitten. Austin Green. Corey Day. Taylor Gray. The list goes on and on. Some of them were able to stay in contention while others were plagued for the rest of the race.
• Speaking for Corey Day, he just had a bad race. First, he sparked an incident which took out several drivers, including the Sieg brothers (who weren’t shy about voicing their displeasure about the rookie) and Harrison Burton. And though the broadcasters on the CW gave him the benefit of the doubt, the later incident was less forgivable. In this incident, while he was battling the JRM duo of Carson Kvapil and Justin Allgaier for the race lead, Day got into the No. 1 Arby’s Chevy, sending all three of them into the wall. This is certainly a performance that he’ll want to forget.
• Chevrolets swept the stages. Winning the first one was none other than Jesse Love, continuing RCR’s dominance on drafting tracks. Rajah Caruth, who had a handful all race, was able to capture his first career stage win by winning Stage 2.
• It wasn’t the dominating race for RCR that we all thought it would be. With ill-handling cars, their qualifying attempts were underwhelming, and they got off to a lukewarm start tonight. By the end of it, though, they were in the mix. Slicing and dicing, Austin Hill had the lead as they came around to take the white flag. However, in Turn 1, he got “Chastained.” Ross Chastain plowed into the back of the No. 21, knocking him down to the apron. Hill was able to save it and rally home to a 12th place finish.
• The big story tonight is that Sheldon Creed, finally, after far too many runner-up finishes to count, broke through to capture his first NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series win. It will certainly be a day he and his team will never forget.

Notable Incidents

Lap 5: Corey Day

Corey Day had a very sloppy, bad race in general, and it started early. First, he caused a wreck that took out Harrison Burton and a couple of others. Then, he took out the JRM duo of Carson Kvapil and Justin Allgaier. You can recap that first incident by reading the article below.

Also Read:

O’Reilly: Corey Day Triggers Big Wreck Early at EchoPark Speedway

Lap 142: Sammy Smith

Kvapil and Allgaier weren’t the only JRM cars to have issues tonight. Firstly, Rajah Caruth was out of control throughout the race, fighting a mean-handling car. He was able to brilliantly save it several times, to his credit. But perhaps the biggest incident involving the four JRM Chevys came at Lap 142 when Sammy Smith had a tire go down and spun in front of the pack. This took out several drivers, including Taylor Gray, among others. Read about that here:

Also Read:

O’Reilly: Sammy Smith’s Flat Takes Out Heavy Hitters Late at EchoPark

Results

Results Pending.

Points Standings (2 of 35)

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O’Reilly: Sammy Smith’s Flat Takes Out Heavy Hitters Late at EchoPark

by Cody Williams

What’s Happening?

As Ross Chastain took the lead and the pack was closing in on 20 laps to go, things a little deeper in the pack started to get a little hairy. We had yet another huge crash late in the running here tonight, this one sparked by Sammy Smith’s flat rear tire. Here’s what happened:

Sammy Smith goes around and we have a big wreck to bring out the caution. pic.twitter.com/ktNVXNGgLb

— The CW Sports (@TheCW_Sports) February 22, 2026

• As the laps were winding down in tonight’s O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race, Sammy Smith, along with his JRM teammates, were in the thick of contention for the win. Unfortunately for him, a poorly-timed flat rear tire ended his (and several others) chance to capitalize and get that first valuable win of the season. Unable to hold onto it, the No. 8 Pilot Chevy spun around in front of a massive horde of cars.
• Helpless to go anywhere, several heavy hitters were caught up in this incident. They include the likes of William Sawalich, Gio Ruggiero, Patrick Staropoli, Taylor Gray, Brennan Poole, Nick Leitz, and Lavar Scott.
• It’s an unfortunate beginning of the year for a handful of these drivers. Luckily for Brennan Poole, he’s coming off a strong showing at Daytona and was in the thick of it here tonight. That shows some promise for sure.

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