HAMPTON, Ga. -- Races at Daytona and Talladega have failed to excite drivers since the introduction of the Gen 7 car. This has not been the case at EchoPark Speedway, the Atlanta track that continues to deliver what they describe as "insanity."
"What a crazy race, man," race-winner Chase Elliott said. "I don't know if y'all had fun, but it was wild from my seat."
The opening laps of Saturday's race featured the field running two- and three-wide, something that has become common at superspeedways in the Gen 7. Passes were fairly difficult to make.
Yet, this trend did not continue as the race progressed.
Many drivers, especially Elliott, began aggressively diving to the bottom of the track in the turns. This put them in position to slide up in front of competitors on exit. Some successfully pulled off the moves while others lost control and brought out the caution.
Many drivers such as Christopher Bell, Bubba Wallace, Shane van Gisbergen, and Riley Herbst just simply lost control and spun.
AGGRESSIVE MOVES! 😱 pic.twitter.com/VPqPQOmKRT
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) June 29, 2025
This trend only continued as the race moved deeper into the night. Alex Bowman, Elliott, Brad Keselowski, Tyler Reddick, and Chris Buescher were only some of the drivers who were able to slice and dice their way through the field.
It didn't matter that Bowman and Keselowski had damage from a 25-car crash; they were still able to contend for the win. They just couldn't hold off Elliott on the final lap.
"Once the sun went down and it certainly cooled off since when I got in the thing, everybody's stuff just starts driving so well that people can make big, really aggressive moves," Bowman said after a third-place finish, per Frontstretch.
A major turning point in this Atlanta race occurred at the start of the second stage. A massive crash took place on the restart. According to NASCAR it collected 23 cars.
This crash eliminated numerous drivers who have already won this season, including Denny Hamlin, Chase Briscoe, and Joey Logano. It buried other winners multiple laps down and created a scenario at the end of the race where winless drivers were the only ones with an opportunity to capture the checkered flag.
Zane Smith led laps, contended for the win, and survived the insanity of stage 2.
He learned a lot, but fell short of his ultimate goal. pic.twitter.com/pzqiQ3JlFn— John Newby (@JohnNewby_) June 29, 2025
This crash also confused some veterans who just wanted to work through the second stage and put themselves in position for the final run to the checkered flag. They didn't understand the level of aggressiveness at that point in the race.
"The beginning of that second stage, I mean, I was going to save a little fuel," Stenhouse Jr. said in response to a question from AltDriver. "And, everybody was racing like we were on the last lap and putting people three wide like at the last second.
"It was just really odd. I wasn't sure exactly why we were doing that."
Said Corey LaJoie, who failed to complete the race due to the wreck, "Watching the replay, I don't know what in the hell they were doing pushing like that in the straightaway.
"It's not really anybody's fault, but it's everybody's fault because you've got three pedals in there and I just don't know where everybody is trying to go."
The field calmed a little after this massive crash. This was understandable considering that a quarter of the field was in the garage. Fewer drivers were in positions to make the aggressive moves and set up potential crashes.
That doesn't mean the race devolved into standard Gen 7 superspeedway race. After all, EchoPark Speedway has aged in such a way that handling has become far more important than drafting. It's more possible to make passes, so drivers don't let these opportunities go.
This is one reason why photo finishes have become commonplace at Atlanta, whether they happen at the end of stages or at the end of the races.
"The end was exciting," Erik Jones said after recovering from multiple incidents and finishing fifth. "The beginning there when it was hot, the grip was real bad, it was tough. Obviously, we saw it with all the wrecks.
"I'm glad it cooled down and the racing got more kind of what it's meant to be here at the end. It was chaotic. There's a lot of big runs and you're just trying to time it out and make the right move. But I was having fun at the end."