Racing Insights: Who has the edge in EchoPark’s summertime draft?

For the first time this season, the NASCAR Cup Series heads to a track for the second time, as stock-car racing’s best converge at EchoPark Speedway on Sunday (7 p.m. ET, TNT Sports, truTV, HBO Max, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

With the unpredictable nature of the Atlanta-area drafting track, these 260 laps could ultimately make or break drivers’ Chase hopes as just seven regular-season races remain. Look no further than Team Penske as Austin Cindric enters EchoPark 15th in points on the right side of the bubble, while three-time series champion Joey Logano is 18th and has plenty of work to do. But anytime the Cup Series heads to the draft, Penske and Ford are always a factor.

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But other drivers continue to fly under the radar. Erik Jones quietly sits 16th in the standings, with AJ Allmendinger in 19th and Michael McDowell in 21st. This could be a prime opportunity for these drivers to bank a boatload of points and better their postseason outlooks. Read on to see other drivers worth watching, as well as Racing Insights’ full race projections for Sunday’s expected Cup Series thriller.

DRIVERS TO WATCH

RYAN BLANEY: Don’t count out Ryan Blaney just yet for the season points lead quest. Though the wins aren’t piling up, the 32-year-old Penske ace is on arguably one of his best stretches to date, finishing inside the top 10 in his last seven races — a career best. His 14 top 10s are better than teammates Cindric and Logano combined (nine). Best yet, this shapes up as likely his best part of the schedule, with drafting tracks and short tracks comprising six of the next seven races. If there’s an opportunity for Blaney to make a run, it starts Sunday — and while he’s 113 markers behind Denny Hamlin for the series lead, Hamlin erased a larger gap on Tyler Reddick earlier this year. It’s possible.

TYLER REDDICK: Speaking of Reddick, the No. 45 23XI Racing driver is in desperate need of something to go right. He’s finished 25th or worse in four of the last five, plagued by mechanical failures, a crash at Michigan International Speedway (not of his doing) and a flat tire in the final moments at Naval Base Coronado. Over the last four weeks, Reddick has averaged 12.8 points — 27th in the series — after scoring 44.6 over the first 15. Fortunately for him, he’s the most recent winner at EchoPark, leading 53 laps for a thrilling springtime victory. Reddick has three career Cup wins on drafting tracks and is arguably the best among Toyotas.

CHASE ELLOTT: Dawsonville’s finest returns to Georgia as the defending summer race winner, and his stats here back it up. Elliott’s 9.38 average finish in nine races since the reconfiguration is best among all Cup drivers in the Peach State, and he’s placed 11th or better in six of the last seven drafting-track events. In total, the 2020 Cup Series champion has four wins in this discipline, including two at EchoPark. Somehow, Elliott’s pair of wins in 2026 are the only dubs for Hendrick Motorsports this season, but it wouldn’t be surprising if he tacked on another come Sunday night.

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FULL PROJECTED RESULTS FOR QUAKER STATE 400 AVAILABLE AT WALMART (7 p.m. ET, TNT Sports)