Rain cancelled qualifying for Sunday's Autotrader 400 at EchoPark Speedway in Atlanta, and no practice on the weekend meant the first laps the drivers tasted at speed would be during the race. Setting the field by NASCAR's metric also meant any drivers that struggled at Daytona would start Atlanta behind the ball, too. Remarkably, the race got underway smoothly with few incidents until the final stage. As the laps ticked down and crashes piled up, almost no drivers were untouched by damage. Multiple multi-car crashes in the final miles jumbled the leaders over and over, ultimately giving Tyler Reddick a chance to fight for the win despite missing a right-front fender. He was not about to let that hold him back. In the second of two overtime restarts, the No. 45 pushed his way forward and got the advantage he needed in the final lap to cross the finish line first for the second week in a row. His win puts him a whopping 40 points clear atop the all-too-early championship standings after just two races.
Next on the docket is a complete change of pace in a trip to Circuit of the Americas for a road course visit. While Shane van Gisbergen dominated those tracks in 2025, Christopher Bell was the one who won there last season. The New Zealander is coming off of a career-best series finish on the oval, which might spur him on to another dominant road course outing, though. Making things even more intriguing is
Rain cancelled qualifying for Sunday's Autotrader 400 at EchoPark Speedway in Atlanta, and no practice on the weekend meant the first laps the drivers tasted at speed would be during the race. Setting the field by NASCAR's metric also meant any drivers that struggled at Daytona would start Atlanta behind the ball, too. Remarkably, the race got underway smoothly with few incidents until the final stage. As the laps ticked down and crashes piled up, almost no drivers were untouched by damage. Multiple multi-car crashes in the final miles jumbled the leaders over and over, ultimately giving Tyler Reddick a chance to fight for the win despite missing a right-front fender. He was not about to let that hold him back. In the second of two overtime restarts, the No. 45 pushed his way forward and got the advantage he needed in the final lap to cross the finish line first for the second week in a row. His win puts him a whopping 40 points clear atop the all-too-early championship standings after just two races.
Next on the docket is a complete change of pace in a trip to Circuit of the Americas for a road course visit. While Shane van Gisbergen dominated those tracks in 2025, Christopher Bell was the one who won there last season. The New Zealander is coming off of a career-best series finish on the oval, which might spur him on to another dominant road course outing, though. Making things even more intriguing is that 2026's early-season dominator Tyler Reddick is also a former COTA winner. The coming race could wind up being a titanic battle to wrestle control of the early season momentum.
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NASCAR Power Rankings After Atlanta
1. Tyler Reddick, 23XI Racing No. 45
Last Week: 1
The 2026 season could not have started better for Tyler Reddick and his No. 45 23XI Racing team. After winning the Daytona 500, qualifying for Atlanta was canceled, putting Reddick on pole. He used that positive track position to score points in both initial stages, but a crash in the final segment damaged the front-right of his Toyota. As crashes piled up and laps wound down, Reddick was able to recover track position, though. After that, he used a double-overtime finish to get back to the front and win for the second time in as many weeks. The team now heads to Circuit of the Americas, a track Reddick won at in 2023, with the championship lead firmly in hand and expected to retain that spot after the coming race, too.
2. Chase Elliott, Hendrick Motorsports No. 9
Last Week: 2
Sunday's 11th-place finish will feel a bit disappointing for Elliott. For the second week in a row, the former champion was in contention at the front of the field but failed to come away with the victory. Even still, it has been a good start to the year for the No. 9 and he sits third in the standings after adding stage points from both segments in Atlanta and finishes of fourth and 11th from the first two races. Even better news may be that a road course is up next. Elliott was once the series dominator on road courses and has been finding his way on them again in recent seasons. He is a former winner at Circuit of the Americas and finished in the top five in three of his four series starts there, including last year when he finished fourth.
3. Bubba Wallace, 23XI Racing No. 23
Last Week: 5
Consecutive superspeedway races have given Wallace a boost in his start to the season. He started ninth Sunday after qualifying was canceled and picked up a second-place finish in the first stage before winning the second, which was his second stage win of the season. As crashes interrupted the running, Wallace kept his car out of trouble and drove to an eighth-place finish to vault to second in the championship standings after two races. Wallace may need that points cushion, too. Road racing is not his forte, and the coming week's trip to Austin will be one he isn't expected to be a frontrunner as he was the last two weeks. Wallace's best COTA finish was 15th back in 2024. He did lead four laps at the track before finishing 20th last season, though.
4. Ryan Blaney, Team Penske No. 12
Last Week: 4
There weren't many drivers that avoided contact or trouble last week at Atlanta, but Ryan Blaney was one of them. He started 22nd in the race but still led six laps and finished both stages inside the top 10. Traffic at the front of the field through the final restarts stymied his advance, but Blaney still managed to finish the race 10th for his first top-10 finish of the season. After a missing a top finish the week prior, Sunday's result was just what Blaney needed before going road racing. Two races into the season, Blaney is eighth in the standings, tied with Daniel Suarez and just one point behind teammate Joey Logano. The coming week might be about damage limitation, though. Blaney's best COTA finish was from 2022 when he finished sixth. His average result at the circuit is 15th from five tries.
5. Chase Briscoe, Joe Gibbs Racing No. 19
Last Week: 10
Briscoe's crash in the Daytona 500 proved especially painful when qualifying for Atlanta was canceled and the No. 19 had to start the next race from the 34th position. That awful track position didn't hold back Briscoe for long, though. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver, in his second year with the team, moved through the field and made himself a fixture among the top 10 as the race aged. He finished the second stage third and went on to avoid the late-race crashes to finish second. The points from Sunday helped him recover in the championship standings, and he now heads to Texas 15th and in Chase contention. Fantasy players are expecting him to keep climbing the standings, too. Briscoe has one COTA top-10 finish, and four of his five starts have produced finishes of 15th or better.
6. Joey Logano, Team Penske No. 22
Last Week: 3
Logano made it to within sight of the checkered flag before crashing two weeks ago in the Daytona 500, but he didn't have the same luck Sunday at Atlanta. The No. 22 Ford started strongly and led 26 total laps before multiple incidents in the final stage took him out of contention and he finished 18th. The race looked a lot like what fantasy players have grown to expect from the No. 22 recently at superspeedways - a strong car capable of leading long stretches of the race before an incident ruins the day. The poor outcome meant Logano slipped four places backward in the standings, but he still ranks sixth and in Chase contention. The coming week's change of racing style could be a welcome change of pace, but with just one top finish at COTA, fans won't have the highest expectations for a quick turnaround.
7. Kyle Larson, Hendrick Motorsports No. 5
Last Week: 6
Like Logano, Sunday's Atlanta outcome looked a lot like a return to Larson's usual form at superspeedways. The defending series champion led 48 laps and scored stage points in the first segment of the day. He remained in contention through the second stage, but collided with Shane van Gisbergen at the end of the segment, crashing out of the race and finishing 32nd. Getting to the finish of those types of races has been a weak spot for the No. 5 and that is exactly what happened again Sunday. Fantasy players might be hoping for a quick rebound from Larson at a road course next week, but COTA has not been kind to him. After finishing second there in 2021, Larson only finished in the top 15 one time since. He was 32nd there last season.
8. William Byron, Hendrick Motorsports No. 24
Last Week: 7
Atlanta was also an afternoon to forget for Byron. Like teammate Larson, Byron's day started strongly with stage points in both segments. Things went south late in the final stage when Byron crashed and collected a number of cars in the incident, though. The No. 24 was unable to continue and the day ended with him in the 28th position, making it two races into the 2026 season with a best finish of 12th. Despite the stumbling start to the year, Byron is in the battle for the Chase and his outlook should be brightening quickly. At Circuit of the Americas, he is a former winner with two poles from the last three visits and a runner-up finish last season. Next week's race looks likely to be the place he can get some momentum behind him.
9. Carson Hocevar, Spire Motorsports No. 77
Last Week: N/A
Carson Hocevar continues making waves in the Cup Series. He started Sunday's stop in Atlanta in 15th position, but made himself a permanent face among the top runners throughout the race distance. All of this was despite pitting for a flat tire and falling two laps down, too. As miles wound down, Hocevar looked like he could have his first series win within reach, but he was just a little short. Aggressive moves and excellent car control earned a fourth-place finish and a five-spot increase in his position in the championship standings, though. Including the Clash and his qualifying Duel race at Daytona, Hocevar has led a lap in every race so far this season. While it will be tough for him to extend that streak next week in Austin, he did finish 13th there last year.
10. Chris Buescher, RFK Racing No. 17
Last Week: 8
No stage points and a 15th-place finish isn't what Buescher was hoping for at Atlanta. Daytona showed that the RFK Racing Fords made improvements through the winter, but Buescher wasn't able to capitalize on speed last week like he was in Florida. Atlanta's numerous crashes didn't help matters, but Buescher also wasn't able to get to the front to lead like he was the week prior. Fantasy players will have to take a wait-and-see approach to the No. 17 in the coming weeks to learn whether or not the pace on display at Daytona will be present elsewhere. Circuit of the Americas could be a good measure of that, though. From five races at the track, Buescher has three top-10 finishes. Those were all results of eighth or better and ran from 2023 through last year.
Knocking on the Door
Brad Keselowski, RFK Racing No. 6
Last Week: 9
Despite a lower finish at Atlanta than both of his RFK Racing teammates, Keselowski might have been the fastest of the bunch. He started fifth and led 10 total laps before the numerous race incidents caught up with him and relegated him to a 17th-place finish. On the surface, it appears that RFK Racing's progress over the winter was real. For Keselowski, the immediate outlook isn't as bright as his teammates', though. After breaking his leg prior to the start of the season, Keselowski has been in a hurry to recover. That recovery may not have progressed far enough for him to handle the demand of road course racing next week, though. Fans will have to wait and see if Keselowski is able to drive at COTA, or if substitute Joey Hand will have to take the wheel instead.
Shane van Gisbergen, Trackhouse Racing No. 97
Last Week: N/A
Since his arrival in NASCAR, Shane van Gisbergen has been a master of the road courses, and ovals were where he needed to improve. Early in his second full-time season in the Cup Series, he is doing exactly that. He led three laps in the Daytona 500 before a crash dropped him down the order, but two incidents Sunday at Atlanta couldn't hold him back from his career-best finish on an oval. The Trackhouse Racing driver was frequently near the front of the field Sunday, despite starting 28th, finishing 10th in the second stage. Two spins later, SVG had recovered to work himself in contention for the win, ultimately landing a sixth-place finish. Heading to a road course after Atlanta's top finish, SVG will be brimming with confidence and could be very tough to beat.
Ross Chastain, Trackhouse Racing No. 1
Last Week: N/A
Chastain roared to life at Atlanta after a quiet speedweeks at Daytona. The Trackhouse Racing driver started deep in the field Sunday due to his lackluster Daytona run, but that didn't hold him back, Chastain was able to climb through the field and had one of the fastest cars in the race's closing stages. He claimed a third-place finish and moved up 12 places in the series standings to 11th. The revival comes at a great moment for the No. 1 team, too. Next week's race is a track Chastain excels at. He won at COTA from pole in 2022 and hasn't finished worse than 12th in his five series visits. Last week could have been the start of a streak of good form, which could see Chastain continue moving up the standings.
