NASCAR insider reveals ‘insane’ stat in wake of massive wreck at Atlanta

It’s been a bad night to be a playoff driver at EchoPark Speedway (Atlanta). The first 70 laps of Saturday’s Quaker State 400 have wiped out a good chunk of the field, and a majority of them have been drivers who are already locked into the 16-driver postseason field.

In fact, of the 11 winners this season, two are still in the race, per Jeff Gluck of The Athletic. The winning drivers remaining in the field are Shane van Gisbergen and Kyle Larson. Van Gisbergen has been running around the top 10 throughout Stage 2, while Larson is holding position inside the top 15.

The first of two big wrecks came on Lap 57. Christopher Bell went for a spin and hit the outside wall of Turn 4, collecting Larson, Austin Dillon, Kyle Busch, Ryan Blaney, AJ Allmendinger and Bubba Wallace. Then, 12 laps later, the “Big One.” In total, 23 drivers — a record for Atlanta — were involved in a massive pile-up down the backstretch. 

Pair of Atlanta wrecks create big opportunity

Many of the sport’s heavy hitters are out of the race. For drivers either sitting on the playoff bubble or facing a must-win situation, Atlanta just became a golden opportunity. Alex Bowman, Chris Buescher, Chase Elliott and Tyler Reddick fit the criteria of the former.

But then there’s drivers such as Zane Smith, Ty Gibbs, Brad Keselowski and a host of others down in the points standings, desperately in need of a victory. This race is wide open and almost begging for a 12th winner of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season.

Over 100 laps remain. As we’ve seen, anything can happen. It’s going to be a wild night in Atlanta.