The NASCAR weather-related issues are back in full force for the 2026 season. Rain and lightning have forced the cancellation of qualifying at EchoPark Speedway just outside of Atlanta.
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The weather forced NASCAR to set the starting lineup based on its qualifying metric. This means that Daytona 500 winner Tyler Reddick will start the from the pole for the first time this season. He will lead the field to the green flag as he attempts to start the season with back-to-back wins.
Joey Logano will line up on the front row next to Reddick after finishing third in last weekend's Daytona 500. He will start the race in a prime position to pursue his third win since NASCAR reconfigured the Georgia track.
MORE: Atlanta Cup Series starting lineup
The rest of the top 10 will feature Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chase Elliott, Brad Keselowski, Zane Smith, Chris Buescher, Riley Herbst, Bubba Wallace, and Josh Berry.
Since this video was taken, the torrential downpour as begun. 😬 https://t.co/tfF8OBV8OA pic.twitter.com/hOZlwKklEo
— Kaulig Racing (@KauligRacing) February 21, 2026
With rain and lightning forcing the cancellation of qualifying, the field will have some big names trying to work their way through the pack early in the opening stage. These past winners at the 1.5-mile track will aim to score crucial points and rebound after the Daytona 500.
William Byron, a two-time winner on the current configuration of EchoPark Speedway, will line up on the seventh row. He will be behind Daniel Suarez, who beat Kyle Busch and Ryan Blaney in the photo finish back in 2024.
Christopher Bell, the winner of last season's spring race at EchoPark Speedway, will start the race buried deep in the field. He will line up in the 32nd spot after crashing and finishing 35th in the Daytona 500.
But while these past Atlanta winners will start deeper in the field, the prime starting position could be particularly significant for Reddick considering that he has delivered mixed results at the track since the reconfiguration. He has made eight starts on the mini-superspeedway and posted three top-10 finishes.
Reddick has also finished 27th or worse in four races while crashing twice. His best finish was fourth in last season's summer race.
"Over the years here, I feel like we've always had a very solid Camry and I just, more times than not, I've kind of messed it up here at the end of the race, whether it's just not being too aggressive or just not being towards the front at the end of the race," Reddick said on Saturday morning.
"But most of the time, I feel like we come here and we have what we need to win."
