REDDICK GOES BACK-TO-BACK TO OPEN 2026 SEASON
Tyler Reddick, Bubba Wallace 1-2 in the point standings leaving Atlanta
HAMPTON, Ga (February 22, 2026) – Despite suffering damage in a mid-race accident, Tyler Reddick proved to have the car to beat and he made the moves in the final overtime restart to win his second consecutive race to open the season, this time at EchoPark Speedway – just outside of Atlanta. Toyota teammate Chase Briscoe pushed Reddick to the win to finish a season-best second, while Bubba Wallace had another impressive run as he won the second stage and led 46 laps. Reddick and Wallace are two of three drivers to score top-10 finishes in the first two races to start the year, and currently lead the overall point standings.
For the second consecutive superspeedway race, Toyota drivers led over half of the race. In Atlanta, Camrys paced the field for 145 of 271 laps.
TOYOTA RACING Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
EchoPark Speedway (Atlanta)
Race 2 of 36 – 400.4 miles, 260 laps
TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, TYLER REDDICK
2nd, CHASE BRISCOE
3rd, Ross Chastain*
4th, Carson Hocevar*
5th, Daniel Suarez*
8th, BUBBA WALLACE
13th, DENNY HAMLIN
19th, JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK
21st, CHRISTOPHER BELL
24th, ERIK JONES
33rd, RILEY HERBST
37th, TY GIBBS
*non-Toyota driver
TOYOTA QUOTES
TYLER REDDICK, No. 45 Pinnacle Toyota Camry XSE, 23XI Racing
Finishing Position: 1st
For the second week in a row, you grab the checkered flag. How did you do it with this beat up race car?
“That’s crazy isn’t it. This place over the years – it just puts on some amazing racing. Handling matters here but, I guess determination outweighs handling. Thank you everybody for coming out. It is cold, but cheers to everyone here. Y’all motivated us to pull off some crazy stuff like that.”
Did you think this car would have enough with the damage to stay up there?
“I really didn’t know. We were back there in 30th when we got collected with the 11 (Denny Hamlin). The Pinnacle Camry was definitely really loose. We were able to make an adjustment on it with air, and I don’t know. They just kept stacking up in the middle and top lanes, and I just found a way to get into the top-five. I tried to stay committed to somebody, and I didn’t have a choice. I had to find out if it would go in the front like that.”
How did you get to the front? Did you just find the holes?
“That’s kind of how it worked out. For the second straight week, we had a great Toyota teammate pushing. We got that damage there, and it is so easy to settle for 20th or 15th – and we got a little air pressure adjustment, fixed the damage a little bit more, and it was like the car was completely back. It was a little bit draggier in a straight line, but was able to make the moves when it mattered. Just superspeedway racing, what can you say. “
CHASE BRISCOE, No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 2nd
Did you have anything else you could do on that last lap?
“I don’t know. Honestly, I felt like I was doing everything that I could. Even all of the situations that happened – everything kind of worked out in my favor. I could never get a big enough run down the straightaway to really do anything with our Bass Pro Shops, Tracker Toyota. I was obviously able to push the 45 (Tyler Reddick) to the win. I wish I would have been able to have a bigger run to go three-wide and try to take the lead, but I just couldn’t do it for whatever reason. I would say the one thing our car kind of lacked all day was the straightaway speed. It drove really good, and I could make moves. It just kind of felt slow down the straightaways, so not sure what else I really could have done, but still a great result. We will go on to COTA next week and see if we can be one spot better.”
BUBBA WALLACE, No. 23 Xfinity Toyota Camry XSE, 23XI Racing
Finishing Position: 8th
How did you process this race?
“Yeah, I’m just pumped that Toyota got to victory lane. I need to go back see. I didn’t think I moved up that much to allow – to put myself in the top of three. Unfortunate, but what a race car we had today. I learned a lot from Rajah (Caruth) yesterday. He had a bad fast car, and he finished second the first stage and won the second stage, just like me, and I was like this car is so fast. Don’t do anything to jeopardize a good finish. I hate that we didn’t get the win, but all-in-all, I appreciate Xfinity – man what could have been. We will go on to COTA – pray for me there (laughter). We will go have some fun.”
TY GIBBS, No. 54 SAIA LTL Freight Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 37th
Can you tell us what happened?
“I guess the 20 (Christopher Bell) made a three-wide bottom move, and I was already rolling the middle on (Josh) Berry and we all collided. Not ideal. It definitely sucks but we will keep digging. Thanks to everyone at SAIA, Monster Energy, Toyota – everyone that supports us and our team.”
About Toyota
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