Who Can Excel in Round Two at EchoPark Speedway?

Photo Credit to Sean Gardner/Getty Images

NASCAR

Stratta’s Six: Who Can Lead the Pack at EchoPark Speedway?

High speeds, tight confines, and no room for error will all define Sunday’s NASCAR show from EchoPark Speedway. Ever since being reconfigured five years ago, the drafting track near Atlanta has given memorable outings in each trip to the Peach State. Night time will be the right time for Sunday’s Quaker State 400, with a lot on the line for every driver in the field. As crunch time nears for the Chase, each passing week is a lost opportunity for hopeful contenders. Atlanta is one of the last races that almost anyone can win, so drama will be pegged. Here are a few standouts ahead of Sunday night’s action, who hope to leave Georgia with a fruitful victory lane celebration.

Tyler Reddick

In order to be the best, 37 drivers will have to beat the best man from Atlanta in February. Race two of the young season saw Tyler Reddick back up his Daytona 500 victory in style, going back-to-back in the draft. Reddick became the first man in 16 years to open a Cup season going 2-0, earning a maiden EchoPark Speedway triumph. Five months removed from that special moment, Reddick is well aware that a new set of challenges will greet him this time in Atlanta.

“It is a change, but there was a period of time it felt like it was losing grip each time we returned,” Reddick said. “As of late it feels like it’s kind of stabilized. The two races we have there, the track is very different between the two and that’s the fun thing about it. I do enjoy going back to some of these racetracks twice in the calendar year. It is nice when do go twice we have conditions changed like they do.”

“We go there in March, February and it’s cool, handling is not as big of a issue and everyone packs up and races really tight. We got back there in the summer races it’s easier to slip up and easier to track. Cars get more spread out because handling is important. So every time we come back for the second date when it’s warm the racing is just a bit different and that’s one thing I enjoy about that event. I like going to all these racetracks, but it is fun when they are different like that. It doesn’t take the exact same formula both times.”

Reddick and the 23XI Racing No. 45 team are in desperate need of a turnaround performance. Four of Reddick’s last five finishes have been 25th or worse, with back-to-back mechanical issues the past two weeks. This stretch has seen Reddick give up the championship lead he held since Daytona. The 45 is now ranked second at 44 points off the lead.

“That’s racing. We had a really good start and we were reminded about how fast things can change. The nice thing for us is that it seems like the speed is there and the potential is there, we were just finally served a dose of races not going our way. Some of it you could argue was inflicted on ourselves. What we need to have with our cars with our team we still do have. We got a couple of not good points days. Funny enough at Pocono we ran well but still lost points. That’s how high of a level we have to execute right now. We have to be scoring lots and lots of points, not just getting the finishes. So we have to have clean days. We got to dig out of the hole pretty quickly here on Sunday and work our way forward.”

Momentum is certainly not on Reddick’s side as of late, but Atlanta offers a reset for team 45. The first return visit to a track he’s tamed this season, EchoPark Speedway could see Reddick return to his early season excellent form. This recent success here has Reddick listed as the co-favorite for Sunday’s win.

Carson Hocevar

Riding an active streak of three-straight EchoPark Speedway top-10s, perhaps nobody’s more suited for this track than Carson Hocevar. The Spire Motorsports driver won the most recent superspeedway race at Talladega, finding a knack for taming the draft. February also saw Hocevar be runner-up in Atlanta’s Truck race, further showing how much he loves this style of racing.

Joey Logano

Always one of the most deft in the draft, Joey Logano is gunning for an EchoPark Speedway hat trick. Two decades ago, Logano called the turn four condos at this track home, and he’s cherished every win he’s claimed at this hybrid superspeedway. Penske cars are typically the class of the field with teammate help aplenty at the head of this train. Between Penske’s four rocket-fast Fords, Logano is the only one to visit Atlanta’s victory lane, most recently in the 2024 Playoff race.

Currently slotted at 18th in points, Logano needs a positive momentum-building run if he is to even make this year’s Chase. Only 16 points out of the top 16, Logano is well within striking distance if he has a decent Sunday. EchoPark Speedway is the first of a few tracks that line up nicely for a possible late summer surge from team 22.

Bubba Wallace

If not for an aggressive overtime block, Bubba Wallace may have been on his way to winning Atlanta in February. Instead, this move parted the seas for 23XI Racing teammate Tyler Reddick, while Wallace settled for eighth that day. Wallace walked away from EchoPark Speedway second in points, and has since tumbled to 13th in the championship. It’s not all been down for Wallace since his hot start to the year, however. San Diego three weeks ago was a season-best second-place run for the 23, along with sixth at Chicagoland last Sunday.

Wallace’s superspeedway prowess has been a known talent for years, but hasn’t paid off in a win since 2021. Eighth in February was one of three top-10s Wallace has earned on the redesigned Atlanta. Perhaps start number 10 is when that elusive win comes in clutch for team 23.

Chase Elliott

Last summer’s Atlanta night race was a very popular win after a last lap pass by Chase Elliott. The racing pride of north Georgia took a second win on his home turf, after stealing the lead late from Brad Keselowski. Already a winner twice this season, Elliott hopes for a return to form around EchoPark Speedway. This year will see the No. 9 Chevrolet adopt another Desi9n to Drive paint scheme benefitting local children’s hospitals.

“A lot of good, positive energy with the program again this year,” Elliott said. “And, obviously, last year going as well as it did, it’s kind of hard to top that. So, we’ll try our best to run it back. From my perspective, it seems like more and more people are learning about it. It just continues to make it more fun for me, right? It’s easier to talk about and as you bring awareness to everything that we’ve done with CHOA (Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta) and then obviously the NAPA partnership and what they’ve meant to the program itself, too. Super proud of the whole effort and I hope that as time goes, we can keep growing it and just keep making it better.”

“Doing it again could make it better, so that’s the goal, for sure. I mean, certainly, that was an incredible way to celebrate nine years of Desi9n to Drive and all the things that went on with that event, the race and just all of it. I hope we can run that back and have that type of performance again. It certainly made all of it kind of come full circle and come together, which I really enjoyed. It was an incredible experience. I hope we can have just a night that was half as good as that. It would be a huge win. We’re certainly going to try to put our best foot forward to go and get a win, no doubt.”

Back up to fifth in points after Chicagoland, Chase Elliott’s also in need of a reset race. The Hendrick No. 9’s not earned a top-10 since Nashville, falling six races ago. Speed and performance have both been there for this veteran crew, but execution is a bit lacking. Atlanta’s high banks could elevate Elliott’s regular season outlook and put him closer to the front contenders. Elliott is currently 43 points back of Ty Gibbs for fourth in the standings. That gap could be erased with another awesome Atlanta race.

Brad Keselowski

Left wondering what could’ve been after Chase Elliott’s last lap push in 2025 was Brad Keselowski. Since joining RFK Racing, driver 6 has been within eyesight of multiple Atlanta triumphs. BK owns a pair of runner-ups and laps led in five of the last seven races here. Much like Logano, Keselowski has fallen outside of Chase contention to 20th on the grid. In short, Keselowski’s in desperate need of a massive rebound effort. Atlanta could begin a 2026 course correction for the past Cup champion.

Keselowski is one of the most decorated superspeedway drivers ever across NASCAR history, owning seven wins between Daytona and Talladega. Twice a winner on the old Atlanta surface, Keselowski still searches for a maiden EchoPark Speedway drafting victory. Can Keselowski complete the superspeedway trifecta on Sunday? Last summer’s race did see all three RFK Racing Fords battling late in the top-10.

EchoPark Speedway has delivered time after time in the brief history of this track’s current layout. More often than not, drafting races in Georgia are can’t-miss entertainment and some of the best competition all season. The Quaker State 400 will go green Sunday at 7 p.m. ET on TNT, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. Seven races remain until The Chase begins, and Atlanta could be the craziest one left of them all.

Written by Peter Stratta

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Photo Credit to Sean Gardner/Getty Images