Man, what a night at EchoPark Speedway! Chase Elliott lit up his home track, snagging a thrilling win in the Quaker State 400 and sending the Georgia crowd into a frenzy. The Dawsonville native outdueled Brad Keselowski in Turn 2 on the final lap, edging him by a mere 0.168 seconds to claim his first NASCAR Cup Series victory of the season.

“Unbelievable! Are you kidding me? Thank you so much!” Elliott hollered to the roaring fans after climbing out of his No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. It was his first checkered flag in nearly nine months, and the hometown vibe made it extra special.

The race was a wild, crash-filled brawl, with two massive multi-car wrecks wiping out over a third of the 40-car field. One ended Stage 1, and another kicked off Stage 2, taking down heavy hitters like pole-sitter Joey Logano, points leader William Byron, 2023 champ Ryan Blaney, and three-time 2025 winners Denny Hamlin and Christopher Bell.

Those crashes opened the door for winless drivers to shine, and Elliott seized the moment. The final 20 laps were a dizzying lead-swapping fest: Keselowski, Zane Smith, Alex Bowman, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., and back again before Elliott’s last-lap pass sealed the deal. “What a special car,” he said. “This is something I’ll never forget.”

EchoPark Speedway, once just Atlanta Motor Speedway, felt like Daytona or Talladega on steroids. The high-banked 1.54-mile oval, reconfigured in 2022 with 28-degree banking and a narrower 40-foot surface, delivered pack racing with a twist. Unlike Daytona’s 31-degree banks or Talladega’s 33-degree turns, Atlanta’s tighter corners and worn asphalt made handling and tire wear huge factors. And while the superspeedway racing had been a major gripe for the race fans, Atlanta, for some reason, seems to deliver the goods.

Fans on Reddit went wild, crowning Atlanta the new “gold standard” of superspeedway racing, arguing it’s outshining the sport’s bigger tracks with its blend of chaos and skill.

Fans crown Atlanta the king of superspeedways

The Reddit thread lit up after the race, with fans buzzing about Atlanta’s edge over Daytona and Talladega. One user nailed it: “Wild how Atlanta may now be a model for plate racing in this sport, but yeah last night totally felt like a 2000s Daytona or Dega race in a lot of regards (even down to the wrecking).” Those two massive wrecks, one closing Stage 1, the other opening Stage 2, screamed vintage “Big One” energy, taking out stars like Logano, Byron, and Blaney. Fans loved the chaotic throwback to early-2000s superspeedway carnage, calling Atlanta’s pack racing a nod to the Pemberton Pond days of Daytona and Talladega.

Another fan chimed in, “Part of the reason drivers could make those runs is because tires and handling matter at Atlanta, they don’t really at Daytona and Talladega. While they are running the ‘plate package’ at Atlanta, what they can pull off there isn’t really possible at Daytona or Talladega because the drivers are never at the ‘knife edge’ of grip.” Atlanta’s worn asphalt and 28-degree banking force drivers to wrestle their cars as lap times drop over a second from green to worn runs. Tyler Reddick and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. surged from the back despite being handed penalties for speeding on pit road.

“Yep. Atlanta has easily become my favorite track to watch. You get drafting and a little pack racing but handling is a huge factor and so is driver skill. It’s the perfect combination,” another fan raved. The Quaker State 400’s final 20 laps, with five drivers swapping the lead, showcased that mix of drafting chaos and technical precision. Elliott’s last-lap pass was a masterclass in skill, proving Atlanta rewards both guts and finesse in a way the bigger tracks don’t always demand.

One user had a fix for Daytona and Talladega, “Theres a quick and dirty easy solution for this problem. +50 hp 1 inch on the spoiler. make the cars slightly more spread out with less drag and more ability to create runs and when runs are created the cars are more spread out so other cars can slot back in line.” Boosting horsepower and trimming spoilers could thin out the packs, letting drivers make bolder moves without the bumper-tagging pileups that define modern plate racing. It’s a tweak that experts in the garage have floated to bring back Atlanta-style passing to the bigger tracks.

Finally, a fan summed up Atlanta’s hot streak, “Out of the last 4 races at Atlanta, 3 have been great. Unfortunately was at the one that wasn’t great! Now want to go back to see a race like last night’s!” Since the 2022 reconfiguration, Atlanta’s delivered bangers. Who can forget the three-wide photo finish when Daniel Suarez won last year in the spring? Perhaps, the NASCAR leadership group should take notes and try to improve the execution and fuel mileage race at Daytona and Talladega.