The list of drivers not involved in the crash was shorter than the list of those that were.

PublishedJune 28, 2025 9:45 PM EDT•UpdatedJune 29, 2025 8:50 AM EDT

The NASCAR Cup Series is in Atlanta this weekend for some night racing at EchoPark Speedway (I know, I liked it when it was called Atlanta Motor Speedway, too), and the race is proving to be one of attrition.

The track in Atlanta was reconfigured into a shorter version of a superspeedway like Talladega or Daytona, and that has led to pack racing similar to what you see on larger tracks.

And what can often happen with pack racing?

The Big One.

Well, the evening's first stage of the Quaker State 400 was winding down when a handful of drivers saw their nights ruined thanks to a crash that involved the likes of Ryan Blaney, Christopher Bell, and Kyle Larson.

That ruined a few nights and gave some other teams quite a bit of work to do to get their cars in a condition to return to the race. 

The stage ended under caution with Austin Cindric taking the win, but the drivers who stayed out in the hope of stealing some stage points cycled back into the pack, and that became a real problem when Stage 2 got underway.

Just a few laps into the stage came the Big One.

You can see an issue for Denny Hamlin in the No. 11 car just a few rows back, and as he cut down across the backstretch, he took just about everyone with him.

I mean, look at this.

Fortunately, everyone involved was alright, but talk about a moment that changes the complexion of a race. There were plenty of cars that looked capable of winning that either retired, sustained damage that needed to be repaired and put them many laps down, or were able to stay in the race on the lead lap, but suffered damage that would make their car difficult to drive for the rest of the evening.

Not fun, but that's the nature of racing on tracks like EchoPark Speedway … by which I mean Atlanta Motor Speedway.