The second race of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season at EchoPark Speedway in Atlanta was a huge success. Tyler Reddick once again reached Victory Lane after his success at the Daytona 500 and gained a considerable advantage over his peers early in the season and among the many who were impressed by the racing facilitated by the 1,540-mile track was Dale Earnhardt Jr.
The popular icon discussed the location’s appeal during the Dale Jr.Download podcast and had huge praise for it. He believes that tickets for the Atlanta races are the easiest to sell in the current climate and that the track offers even better races to watch than Bristol or Kansas. That’s a big compliment. But it was not without reasons.
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Dale Jr. said*”The Cup (Series) guys. I know they’re struggling. You know, put Daytona aside with the fuel economy. I know everywhere else they’re struggling. But in Atlanta, I see it. Atlanta. As a fan. I watch. I see it. I see them busting their ass and working hard. The big lifts. Fun to watch. Fun to watch.”*
Dale Jr.. has further expressed keen interest in wanting to see a similar result at Daytona as well. As it stands, drivers and teams often choose to use strategies such as fuel economy to complete races on superspeedways. They do this at the cost of annoying the fans. That’s why the Atlanta race is considered everything a race at Daytona or Talladega should be.
The other reason why Dale Jr. loves Atlanta
Every time the Cup Series field comes to EchoPark Speedway, the grip it provides diminishes and handling becomes more important. It’s one of the aspects that makes racing there more difficult for the drivers and more fun for the fans. Dale Jr. continued to explain why this happens. The answer, it turns out, lies in geography.
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“Just in this little strip of the mid-Atlantic region, I don’t know what it means about asphalt or temperature or weather, but the Atlantic has some crazy weather. » he said. “There’s snow, too. So this place is going to age quickly. The surface is going to age quickly. And the handling is going to be more and more important with each return.”
The difference in surface area is significant from one race to the next and requires teams to be at the top of their game. Dale Jr.’s former crew chief, Steve Letartehas been equally impressed with what he’s seen during the season so far. He said during an appearance on NASCAR: at the heart of the race that at Daytona and Atlanta, the fans got the best version of the sport. Hopefully more releases like this will follow.
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