Mother Nature’s throwing a curveball at the Quaker State 400, and the NASCAR Cup Series race at EchoPark Speedway is feeling the heat or rather, the wet. Just past the halfway point of Stage 1 on Saturday, a light drizzle forced NASCAR to toss the first caution of the night on Lap 37.

The cars circled under yellow for a few more laps behind the pace car before officials waved the field to pit road on Lap 43, hitting pause on the 260-lap showdown.

Joey Logano’s been untouchable so far, leading every lap from the pole in his No. 22 Ford, with teammate Austin Cindric glued to his bumper in second. Josh Berry’s holding strong in third, followed by Brad Keselowski and William Byron rounding out the top five.

Carson Hocevar, Kyle Larson, Ryan Preece, Christopher Bell, and Ryan Blaney are keeping it tight in the top 10. No wrecks yet, 39 of the 40 starters are still on the lead lap, with David Starr set to snag the free pass when the green flag flies again.

NASCAR’s keeping drivers strapped in their cars, signaling this rain delay won’t last long. The showers are light, but with more looming near Atlanta’s 1.54-mile tri-oval, fans are on edge, hoping the $11,055,250 purse and In-Season Challenge kickoff don’t get washed out. With the race still early, Logano’s got the edge, but Mother Nature’s keeping everyone guessing.

Stage 1 chaos: Bell’s spin sparks a big one

Stage 1 of the Quaker State 400 turned into a wild ride before the rain even had a chance to steal the show. With just three laps left in the 60-lap opening segment, Christopher Bell got loose between Turns 3 and 4, triggering a multicar crash that shook up the field. The incident collected heavy hitters like Ryan Blaney, Kyle Larson, Bubba Wallace, Austin Dillon, Kyle Busch, and AJ Allmendinger, with varying degrees of damage.

Blaney took the worst of it, slamming the outside wall and climbing out of his No. 12 Ford, marking his sixth DNF of 2025. The stage wrapped under caution, with Austin Cindric snagging the win and a playoff point, edging out Brad Keselowski. Joey Logano, William Byron, and Carson Hocevar rounded out the top five, followed by Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Josh Berry, Shane van Gisbergen, Chase Elliott, and Wallace in the top 10.

Stage 1 ended under caution, and Austin Cindric, who was leading the charge, bagged crucial stage and playoff points. Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, William Byron, and Carson Hocevar finished in top 5. Whereas, the likes of Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Josh Berry, SVG, Chase Elliott and Bubba Wallace rounded off the top 10.