Denny Hamlin entered EchoPark Speedway for the In-Season Challenge as the No. 1 seed, the favorite, the guy most expected to make a statement on Day 1. And for a while, it looked like he might. Until it didn’t. In what can only be described as the biggest twist of the night, Hamlin went from title favorite to stunned spectator after getting caught in the 23-car wreck that brought chaos to the Quaker State 400.

He ultimately limped home 31st, ending his million-dollar hopes almost as fast as they began. But instead of ducking questions or shifting blame, Hamlin stepped up post-race to offer an honest, almost humorous breakdown of how things spiraled. From bumper shoves gone wrong to claiming his “a– hurts” from sitting in the garage and reveling in team pride, what he shared was more than just a crash recap. It was classic Denny. Unfiltered.

Denny Hamlin breaks down the wreck at Atlanta

The Quaker State 400 was barely into Stage 2 when chaos erupted. John-Hunter Nemechek was running near the front on the outside lane. As the field surged onto the backstretch, Hamlin became involved in a chain reaction of contact that would ultimately define the night. “We were all pushing on the backstretch. We weren’t really up to speed yet,” Hamlin said, reflecting on the frenetic moments before disaster struck.

Denny Hamlin explained his perspective from behind the wheel. “I was on the bumper of the 42 [John-Hunter Nemecheck]. It looked like whoever he was on the bumper of and whoever he was on the bumper of, you know, just we weren’t all perfectly aligned, and obviously it started a chain reaction there, and then I got into the wall and then came across the track and got clobbered.”

The incident quickly escalated, with cars spinning and the track becoming completely blocked. Among the victims were Joey Logano, Ross Chastain, Corey LaJoie, Austin Cindric, William Byron, Chase Briscoe, Daniel Suárez, Noah Gragson, and Josh Berry. Many of whom saw their races end right there. The crash unfolded during a standard case of what Hamlin called “speedway pushing,” a common but risky maneuver where cars line up in tight drafting and pushing formations to gain speed and positions. The problem? If the bumpers don’t match up perfectly, one wrong push can trigger mayhem. And that’s exactly what happened. “I have to kind of go back and look, but what I kind of feel like it was that just it was normal speedway pushing,” Hamlin said.

The Joe Gibbs Racing #11 crew worked tirelessly to get his car back on track and gain six spots, but the damage was significant. “We would have kept running to avoid, like, a DNF, but it just, there was no sense in going any further. There was nothing else to gain,” he admitted. With Hamlin already locked into the playoffs and no realistic chance to advance in the In-Season Challenge, there was little incentive to continue. He ultimately finished 31st.

As Atlanta’s wild night showed, even the most experienced drivers can find themselves caught in the unpredictable whirlwind of superspeedway racing, especially with a million-dollar prize on the line. With so many top names eliminated in a single wreck, the question remains. Can anyone truly be safe from the chaos of Atlanta?

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Atlanta chaos crowns the 12th race winner of the season

Chase Elliott’s dramatic last-lap pass on Brad Keselowski at EchoPark Speedway not only secured his first win of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season but also made him the 12th different winner in 18 races. Well, nothing speaks better than this about the unpredictability and fierce competition that has defined this year’s campaign.

Elliott, the Dawsonville, Georgia native, led 41 of 260 laps in his No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet and delivered a thrilling performance in front of a hometown crowd. Along the way, he snapped a 44-race winless streak and punched his ticket to the playoffs. The race was a microcosm of the chaos that has become synonymous with Atlanta’s reconfigured superspeedway.

Despite it, Elliott kept his car clean and positioned himself for the final showdown. With just one lap to go, he moved past Keselowski and held on to win by just 0.168 seconds. A classic NASCAR finish there, as Alex Bowman, Tyler Reddick, and Erik Jones rounded out the top five.

The victory was especially sweet for Elliott, who described the moment as unbelievable and something he would always cherish. “How about that? Are you kidding me?.. This is unbelievable. Thank you guys so much. What a special car. It was a lot of fun. This right here is something I’ll never forget,” he rejoiced after the win.

Atlanta’s wild night underscored the volatility of modern superspeedway racing, where fortunes can change in an instant and the unexpected is the only guarantee. As Elliott celebrated in Victory Lane, the rest of the field (including Hamlin) was left to pick up the pieces. The night proved once again that in NASCAR’s 2025 season, anything is possible. What did you think of the Quaker State 400? Let us know in the comments!