The NASCAR Cup Series crowned its first winner when Tyler Reddick was able to capture the checkered flag in the Daytona 500. Now the Cup Series will move from one drafting track to another. EchoPark Speedway, formerly known as Atlanta Motor Speedway is the next race on the 2026 schedule. This is another one of those “wild card races” where one big wreck can take out most of your team. If you got off to a bad start at Daytona, you are going to need a lot of luck again in Atlanta. Do not panic though; you can make up the points when the Cup Series travels to the more predictable tracks after the race Sunday.
ATLANTA SCHEDULE
NASCAR does not give the teams any time to practice and dial in their cars for the race in Atlanta. They simply line up for qualifying and then the cars are impounded until the race. This is a decision that the teams wanted because it saves them from having to prepare a primary and backup car for the race. It would be nice if NASCAR could give the teams at least 15 minutes to shake down the cars to ensure everything is working properly. The good news is that we had plenty of track time at Daytona to figure out which cars should be fast in Atlanta.
Here is the schedule for the races in Atlanta this week…
- Friday, Feb 20th (3 p.m.) Truck Series Qualifying (FS1)
- Friday, Feb 20th (5 p.m.) O’Reilly Series Qualifying (CW APP)
- Saturday, Feb 21st (11 a.m.) Cup Series Qualifying (Amazon Prime )
- Saturday, Feb 21st (1:30 p.m.) Truck Series Race (FS1)
- Saturday, Feb 21st (5 p.m.) O’Reilly Series Race (CW)
- Sunday, Feb 22nd (3 p.m.) Cup Series Race (FOX)
EARLY WEEK DRIVER RANKINGS
The Superspeedway tracks are not easy to predict, but the races at Atlanta tend to be more calm (boring), then the races at Daytona and Talladega. The drivers tend to log laps in order to save fuel. The action typically picks up in the final Stage. There are a handful of drivers who have figured out how to get their cars to the end of the races in Atlanta in one piece. Here is the early week Driver Rankings for the Autotrader 400….
* I will post the final rankings after qualifying Saturday, but I doubt there will be many changes because the driver’s starting position does not mean much at Atlanta.
* These rankings will be updated after all of the practice sessions are completed and the field is set for the race.
FANTASY STATS FOR ATLANTA
So, how do we handicap a race where one wreck can take out 10 or more cars? Most people put all of the drafting tracks together, but Daytona, Talladega and Atlanta are not the same. EchoPack Speedway is much tighter, has more grip and it is a shorter track. I focus most of my research on what happened in Atlanta in the past. I try to keep it to the last six races (three seasons) and I put an emphasis on the races in the spring over the race in the summer (the track is warmer and slicker in the summer).
Here are the stats from the last four races at EchoPark Speedway sorted by NASCAR Points. This is the combination of finishing points and Stage Points. We want drivers who run up front, lead laps, score Stage Points and finish up front….
ATLANTA RACE REWIND
There was a record 50 lead changes at Atlanta last year. Momentum is everything is this race and once a line of drivers got a fast run, they were able to take the lead. The Team Penske and Wood Brothers cars dominated most of the race. Joey Logano led 83 laps, Josh Berry led 56 laps and Austin Cindric led 47 laps. The Fords led 195 of the 266 laps.
There were 11 cautions and only 24 cars were able to finish on the lead lap. The two best drivers in the race were Austin Cindric and William Byron. They spun each other out on lap 259 (only 7 laps to go). This late wreck caused the race to go into overtime and a green-white-checker finish. The caution light came out with a half-lap left in the race. Christopher Bell, Kyle Larson and Carson Hocevar were racing three-wide at the front of the race when the caution light came on. NASCAR reviewed the taped and determined Bell was a nose ahead of the other two cars. This gave Bell the win.
You can watch the highlights of last year’s race here: 2025 Ambetter Health 400
STRATEGY FOR ATLANTA
SEASON-LONG GAME STRATEGY: The race at Atlanta is another opportunity to save your allocations with your top drivers in your season-long games. I am not too concerned with Group A in the Driver Group Game and Speedway Collective games, but I would save your allocations in the other groups. This is a good race to select drivers for qualifying points too, if your league awards points for the top-five qualifiers on Saturday. The Fords (mainly Team Penske) have dominated the front row at Atlanta. It would be a good idea to get these drivers into your lineup.
The races at Atlanta tend to have a lot of chaos. This is a good time to take a chance with a driver who you do not plan to use on the non-drafting tracks in your One & Done Contests. It will be tough to pass up on Ricky Stenhouse Jr. He finished 5 of his last 6 races in Atlanta in the top-10. That includes 5th and 6th place finishes last year.
DFS GAME STRATEGY: There were three dominators in this race last year. Joey Logano scored 21.2 dominator points, Josh Berry scored 14.5 dominator points and Austin Cindric scored 13.1 dominator points. None of these drivers were in the winning lineup. The best way to win your DFS Contest is to select the drivers who start in the back with the best chance to finish up front. Here is the winning lineup in the DraftKings $4 Chrome Horn Tournament last year….
EARLY WEEK BEST BETS FOR ATLANTA
CHASE ELLIOTT 10-1: This is a home race for Elliott. He has two wins in Atlanta since the reconfigured the track. That includes the last race last June. I really like what I saw from Elliott last week. He was top-three in the field in average running position, laps run in the top-10 and green flag passes. He is typically better at Atlanta than he is at Daytona, so there is a good chance that Elliott wins Sunday if the No. 9 team brings the same speed to the track Sunday.
WILLIAM BYRON 12-1: Byron was a popular pick to win the Daytona 500, but he just never got his week going after his wreck in the Duel Race. I am betting on a bounce-back performance from Byron Sunday. He leads the Cup Series with three wins on the drafting tracks in the Gen-7 car era (2 at Daytona and one at Atlanta in 2023). I will bet Byron can win again Sunday at 12-1 odds.
KYLE BUSCH 20-1: Betting on a driver who hasn’t been to Victory Lane in 95 races may not be the smartest thing to do, but this is Rowdy Busch. He cannot stay out of Victory Lane forever, right? Busch leads the Cup Series with an average finishing position of 8.8 at Atlanta. He came an inch away from winning this race in 2024. Busch is at his best when he gets a practice race to dial in his skills. Busch is competing in the Truck Series race Saturday and that should help him get to Victory Lane Sunday.
RICKY STENHOUSE JR. 28-1: I was hoping for little longer odds for Stenhouse, but I guess the sportsbooks know how good he can be at the drafting tracks. Stenhouse finished second last week in the Daytona 500. He also won in the Gen-7 car at Talladega and Daytona. Stenhouse has the second-best average finishing position in the last six races at Atlanta. I will take a chance with him at 28-1 odds Sunday.
CARSON HOCEVAR 30-1: It will be Checkers or Wreckers for Hocevar at Atlanta. He finished second in this race last year and then came back in June and finished 10th. Hocevar will be competing in the Truck Series race Saturday. That extra seat time should help him in the race Sunday.
* I typically add a few Best Bets on Saturday night after the field is set for the race, but there is no practice this week and the driver’s starting position is not very important. I will not be adding any Best Bets this weekend.
Follow me on X (Twitter) @MrFantasyNASCAR
If you like Fantasy NASCAR, LIKE my Fantasy NASCAR Tips Page on Facebook