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The odds for Sunday’s Autotrader 400 at EchoPark Speedway are in favor of a few Team Penske stars.
NASCAR Cup Series qualifying at EchoPark Speedway on Saturday, February 21, 2026. Officials first delayed the morning session, then canceled it after wet weather stayed over the track.
NASCAR set the 38-car starting lineup using its performance-based metric formula. That system uses recent race results, stage finishes, and owner points instead of lap times. The change placed Daytona 500 winner Tyler Reddick at the top of the grid for Sunday’s race.
Teams adjusted quickly, shifting focus from qualifying trim to race setup. The weather call also locked in pit selections and starting spots earlier than expected, giving crews extra time to prepare for the second points race of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season at the Georgia oval.
Tyler Reddick And Joey Logano Lead The Field To Green
Tyler Reddick will start from the pole in the No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota after leading the metric standings. His Daytona 500 win one week earlier boosted his position and secured the top pit stall. Reddick enters Atlanta as the early Cup Series points leader and opens the race at the front of the pack.
Joey Logano will start alongside him on the front row in the No. 22 Team Penske Ford. Logano showed speed at Daytona, where he won his Duel race and finished inside the top five despite late contact. His results kept him high in the rankings used to set the lineup.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. lines up third in the No. 47, followed by Chase Elliott in fourth in the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. Brad Keselowski completes the top five in the No. 6 RFK Racing Ford. Elliott, a Georgia native, returns to his home track with a strong starting spot as he looks for a solid early-season run.
Metric Formula Shapes Top Ten Starters
Because NASCAR used the performance formula, the lineup reflects recent consistency instead of single-lap speed. Results from Daytona, along with carryover owner points and stage finishes, determined the order.
Zane Smith will start sixth, with Chris Buescher seventh. Rookie Riley Herbst earned eighth in the No. 35 23XI Racing Toyota, continuing a steady start to his first full Cup season. Bubba Wallace starts ninth, giving 23XI Racing two cars inside the top ten. Josh Berry rounds out the top ten.
Further back, several contenders face work in the draft. William Byron will start 13th, while Kyle Larson rolls off 16th. Christopher Bell lines up deeper in the field and will rely on pack racing and strategy to move forward. In Atlanta’s current configuration, drivers often gain or lose many positions in a single run, so the starting spot does not always determine the outcome.
Track Conditions And Sunday Race Outlook
EchoPark Speedway’s repaved surface and superspeedway-style package continue to produce tight pack racing. The 1.54-mile quad-oval now favors drafting, quick lane changes, and late strategy calls.
Weather forecasts for race day look better than Saturday’s conditions. Officials expect clear skies and sunshine for the 260-lap, 400.4-mile race.
FOX will broadcast the race live, and viewers can stream coverage through the FOX Sports app. With qualifying canceled and the lineup already set, teams now focus fully on race execution as the Cup Series continues its 2026 season at Atlanta.
Dogli Wilberforce is a sports writer who covers NASCAR, Formula 1 and IndyCar Series for Heavy Sports. With bylines at Total Apex Sports and Last Word on Sports, Wilberforce has built a reputation for delivering timely, engaging coverage that blends sharp analysis with accessible storytelling. Wilberforce has covered everything from major football transfers to fight-night drama, bringing readers the insight and context behind the headlines. More about Dogli Wilberforce
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