RICK WARE RACING
Autotrader 400
Date: Feb. 22, 2026
Event: Autotrader 400 (Round 2 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: EchoPark Speedway in Hampton, Georgia, near Atlanta (1.54-mile oval)
Format: 260 laps, broken into three stages (60 laps/100 laps/100 laps)
Note: Race extended 11 laps past its scheduled 260-lap distance due to a green-white-checkered finish.
Race Winner: Tyler Reddick of 23XI Racing (Toyota)
Stage 1 Winner: Austin Cindric of Team Penske (Ford)
Stage 2 Winner: Bubba Wallace of 23XI Racing (Toyota)
RWR Finish:
● Cody Ware (Started 18th, Finished 27th / Accident, completed 257 of 271 laps)
RWR Points:
● Cody Ware (28th with 30 points)
Race Notes:
● Tyler Reddick won the Autotrader 400 to score his 10th career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his second of the season and his first at EchoPark Speedway. His margin over second-place Chase Briscoe was .164 of a second.
● There were 10 caution periods for a total of 67 laps.
● Only 21 of the 38 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.
● Reddick remains the championship leader after EchoPark Speedway with a 40-point advantage over second-place Bubba Wallace.
Sound Bites:
“Missed a couple of (wrecks), but just couldn’t miss the last one. I can avoid a lot of that stuff, but the last one got us there at the end. A disappointing end to the day for the BlueHighway.ai Chevrolet. It just seems like we can’t get quite to the end at this spring race here in Atlanta. But we’ll re-rack and get ready for COTA. I’m just proud of the speed that the car and the team exhibited, and we’ve just got to keep digging and moving forward.” – Cody Ware, driver of the No. 51 BlueHighway.ai Chevrolet
Next Up:
The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the DuraMax Grand Prix powered by RelaDyne on Sunday, March 1 at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas. The race begins at 3:30 p.m. EST with live coverage provided by FOX and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
