Feb 18, 2026 | 5:15 PM EST

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Last year, Chase Elliott‘s home turf Atlanta helped him break his winless streak at the 2025 Quaker State 400. Fans will assemble at the EchoPark Speedway once again, wanting to see him clinch his first win of the season there. But there is a chance Mother Nature could wash away those plans.

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The weather is already cloudy heading into the week. Tonight in Atlanta, the humidity is 80 percent, and temperatures are going to be as low as 61 degrees. But an overcast day is not the only concern for NASCAR and its audience.

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According to weather.com, Friday has a high chance of rainfall throughout the day. The day shows 76 percent precipitation chances and 75 percent for the night. This could directly affect the qualifying for the Truck or O’Reilly Auto Parts series scheduled at 3:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m., respectively.

Saturday will be the worst. The NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts and the Truck Series races will take place under rainy conditions. Weather reports suggest that there is a 74 percent chance of rain. The Cup Series qualifying will also be affected as it’s scheduled at 11 a.m. on the same day.

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Sunday is the only day the luck could change. As of now, it shows a 3 percent chance of rain, but the rainy weather from Friday and Saturday could definitely have a stretched effect. The conditions may change during the week.

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Nevertheless, judging by the current story, the Sunday weather report is still good news for Chase Elliott. He needs to hold out and set a good lap time on Saturday to claim a good spot on the grid. If Elliott manages to conquer the weather on Saturday, he will set himself up on Sunday with a significant advantage.

Considering his track record at Atlanta, Elliott already knows what it takes to win the race at his home track. All that is left is to execute the same winning formula during this weekend. But how does Elliott feel about his last race? He has never been lucky during the Daytona 500, and the latest bout of disappointment ought to affect him slightly.

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Chase Elliott voices frustration about losing out at the last moment

There were plenty of moments where the Daytona 500 surprised the audience this year. The biggest surprise, however, came from the victory lane. Tyler Reddick was not the one leading the lap when the drivers approached the final turn of the race. It was Chase Elliott who was roaring towards the victory.

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Being the leader of the pack put him on the defensive, and as a result, all he could do was mitigate the damage when he was spunout by the other drivers.

Speaking about his P4 finish at the Daytona 500, Elliott said, “It was pretty disappointing. I mean, like, I don’t know what else to tell you other than we were leading the Daytona 500 off of turn four coming to the checkered flag. And we didn’t win.”

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That is more than hurting. Especially considering the close calls and near misses he has been facing in the Great American Race for the past few years. The only positive that came from his crash was the fact that he still brought home a P4 finish. It will help him in the long run due to the emphasis on consistency that the latest format focuses on.

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