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.

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

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in the U.S. for nearly 70 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our nearly 1,500 dealerships.

Toyota directly employs nearly 48,000 people in the U.S. who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of more than 35 million cars and trucks at our 11 manufacturing plants. In 2025, Toyota’s plant in North Carolina began to assemble automotive batteries for electrified vehicles.

For more information about Toyota, visit www.ToyotaNewsroom.com.

Austin Dillon and the No. 3 Morgan & Morgan Chevrolet Team Show Patience and Speed at EchoPark Speedway but Solid Race Ends Early Following Multi-Car Wrecks

Finish: 29th
Start: 33rd
Points: 34th

“Our Morgan & Morgan Chevrolet was plenty fast to have a great finish today but we ended up with damage in Stage 2. I was in the middle line following my teammate, Kyle Busch, and all of the sudden someone clipped me. we spent the rest of the race salvaging what we could, and our Richard Boswell-led team did a great job making adjustments to give us a shot at a decent finish. Unfortunately, we got clipped again in the closing laps of the race. It was just wrong place, wrong time. I hate it for our No. 3 team and everyone at RCR, ECR and CT Spring because they are putting in the work. We will keep focusing on what we can control and hopefully the luck turns.” -Austin Dillon

Kyle Busch and the No. 8 Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen Chevrolet Team Victims of Circumstance at EchoPark Speedway

Finish: 34th
Start: 14th
Points: 24th

“I hate it for our Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen Chevrolet team, and everyone at RCR. I just didn’t have the best of exits off of Turn Two, and I was a little crooked getting to the wall. I got rammed by the No. 4; no check-up or anything. He didn’t give me an opportunity to make sure I was straight before hitting me or get into me gently to just try and get the momentum back going again. He just drove right through me and it ended our race. It sucks for this No. 8 team and everyone at RCR, ECR and CT Spring. I thought we had a really good Chevy. We definitely would have finished better than where we were.” -Kyle Busch

Ford Racing Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
Autotrader 400 — EchoPark Speedway
Sunday, February 22, 2026

Ford Unofficial Finishing Results:

7th – Zane Smith
9th – Ryan Preece
10th – Ryan Blaney
14th – Noah Gragson
15th – Chris Buescher
17th – Brad Keselowski
18th – Joey Logano
25th – Todd Gilliland
26th – Austin Cindric
38th – Josh Berry

ZANE SMITH, No. 38 Aaron’s Rent To Own Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “My Aaron’s Rent To Own Ford Mustang didn’t start out great. It had speed, but it was a lot to manage, and then as we got through the race we just kept working on it and I felt like we made big gains at one point in time, and then we got to the front row and I had a loose left-rear tire after we took right side tires, so I have no idea how that happened. I’m just glad we didn’t wreck because it was a handful, and then after that I had a little right-front damage, but was able to charge back up through the field and have a shot at it somewhat. My gut told me to take the bottom there and it was looking really good for a second, but I just needed a little bit more help. I’m proud of everyone.” HOW HAVE THESE FIRST TWO RACES GONE FOR YOU? “Great. I wish we scored stage points today because that would have been great, but with that said, we’ve had a couple of great results and a couple great weekends. Hopefully, we can keep going.”

RYAN PREECE, No. 60 Kroger/Red Baron Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “For how we initially thought the race was gonna be, we were not very good. We made some adjustments and our Kroger/Red Barone Ford Mustang Dark Horse drove way better, so I think moving forward to come back here to Atlanta I feel way more confident and I think we can have quite a bit more success.” YOU WERE ON THE OUTSIDE OF ROW 4 ON THE FINAL RESTART. WHAT WERE YOU THINKING? “I thought with how the 77 was driving the entire day I figured that he was gonna cause a stack up on the bottom. Lesson learned. Just take the short line. The outside had been working so well for us all day and it just didn’t work out that last one, but it’s nice to be able to be in position to where you can take experiences like this and think, ‘OK, next time I’d probably change the way I think about lining up.’”

RYAN BLANEY, No. 12 Menards/Dutch Boy Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “We had a little bit of a different strategy there in the second stage. We topped off once and then that gave us the ability to take less gas and two just to try and get some track position and we had it. We had good control of it for a while and then just lost control of it there and that was the end of it.” DID YOU HAVE ANY OPPORTUNITY ON THE FINAL RESTART STARTING IN ROW FIVE OF THE OUTSIDE LANE? “You’re looking for lanes to go. You’re looking for stuff like that, but I was just kind of hemmed in there and trying to take the runs. Sometimes there aren’t any, but overall it’s nice to finish and have a pretty solid day.”

BRAD KESELOWSKI, No. 6 BuildSubmarines.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “It was an up-and-down day. It didn’t end great, but there were times we had a lot of speed. We were just missing a little bit of handling to keep it there at the end.”

CHRIS BUESCHER, No. 17 Body Guard Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “We kind of survived it and got the handling a little bit better, especially as night time came, and just wasn’t able to move our lane there at the end and I got bottled up on the bottom. It should have been a lot better.”

JOSH BERRY, No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “It looked like I faded up a little bit to give the 20 room and Ty went to make a move it looked like and we just got together. It’s just a racing deal at Atlanta.” IT’S TOUGH TO GIVE UP POINTS EARLY IN THE YEAR. “Yeah, in this style of racing I think all of us just want to make it out with a decent finish. We were able to do that last week and we were able to do that in the Duel, but not so lucky this time.” WHAT WAS YOUR PERSPECTIVE ON WHAT HAPPENED? “It’s just tight racing there. It’s Atlanta. It’s always gonna be close with a lot of tight moves. I had to move up a little bit to give the 20 room and Ty went to make a move off the 48 and we just barely got together. It felt like we were pretty close to making it through, but unfortunately we didn’t quite make it.” YOUR CAR SEEMED TO BE PRETTY GOOD. “Yeah, I felt like I was really strong at the beginning. We got pretty tight at the end of the first run and tried to make it better. We probably made it worse at the start of that run. which you lose a little bit of track position and your car handles so much worse that it’s hard to tell. That’s why we all race so hard to stay up front is just because the cars drive so bad in midpack, but yet you have no choice. Overall, the guys did a good job. We had a really good car here last year. I think we got a little bit of work to do coming back here in the summer, but, overall, the guys did a really good job here. Hopefully, one of the other guys gets the win.”

NASCAR Cup Series
EchoPark Speedway
Autotrader 400
Team Chevy Post-Race Report
February 22, 2026

Chastain Leads Chevrolet to Four Top-Six Finishes in Overtime Finish at EchoPark Speedway

In an overtime attempt, it was Team Chevy’s Ross Chastain that drove his No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet to a third-place finish – marking his first top-five finish of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season. The 33-year-old Alva, Florida, native led the Bowtie brigade to four top-six results with Spire Motorsports Carson Hocevar and Daniel Suarez in the fourth and fifth positions, respectively, and Trackhouse Racing Shane van Gisbergen in sixth.

 Race Recap:

• With rain washing out yesterday’s qualifying session for the NASCAR Cup Series, the starting lineup was set by the rulebook – putting Team Chevy’s Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Chase Elliott on the second row to lead the Bowtie brigade to the green-flag at EchoPark Speedway. The beginning laps of Stage One saw the majority of the field settle into their double-file formation. But it was Spire Motorsports’ Carson Hocevar that quickly started to make a march through the field – sitting among the top-five of the race’s biggest movers as the No. 77 made his first appearance in the top-10 within just the first 10 laps of the race. But the run went south at the midway point of the opening stage when Hocevar tagged the wall – quickly losing positions before the Michigan native opted to hit pit road with the threat of a tire going down. The 60-lap stage went on caution-free with the reigning champion, Kyle Larson, turning a 16th-place starting position into a battle for the stage win with a pair of his Hendrick Motorsports teammates, with the California native ultimately leading the Chevrolet camp to the first green-white checkered flag in the third position. Among the five Team Chevy drivers that earned points in the opening stage included rookie Connor Zilisch, who made an impressive charge through the field from 31st to a ninth-place result in Stage One.
• Following a podium result in Stage One, the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet picked up two positions to win the race off pit road – inheriting a front-row position to start the next 100-lap run. With the first natural caution of the day falling at Lap 82 and sitting within the fuel window, the majority of the field hit pit road for a gas-and-go stop. Maintaining a position in the top-five throughout much of Stage Two, Larson put his No. 5 Chevrolet in prime position for the battle for the stage win. But a fight to the line saw Larson make contact with the No. 97 that ultimately saw his hopes for his first drafting-track win come to an end.
• Two-time EchoPark Speedway winner, William Byron, entered the final run of the race with a pair of back-to-back top-four stage points. With the gamble for four tires called by new crew chief, Brandon McSwain, the fresh set paid early dividends for the No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet team with Ross Chastain making a quick climb back into the top-five with 50 laps to go. With multiple players battling for the lead, a multi-car incident mid-pack led to an overtime attempt to finish the 400-mile event. Leading the Bowtie brigade to the green-flag was the No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet of Carson Hocevar, who made the ultimate rebound from his Stage One troubles to a true contender for the win. Lining up for a second overtime attempt saw Hocevar take the outside lane of the front-row with a pair of Team Chevy drivers, Chastain and Daniel Suarez, in tow. But it was Chastain that was able to maneuver his Chevrolet-powered machine up to the third position on the final lap to lead the manufacturer to the checkered-flag.

 
Team Chevy Unofficial Top-10 Results

Pos. Driver

3rd – Ross Chastain
4th – Carson Hocevar
5th – Daniel Suarez
6th – Shane van Gisbergen

Chevrolet’s season statistics with two NASCAR Cup Series races complete:

Wins: 0
Poles: 1
Top-Fives: 5
Top 10s: 6
Stage Wins: 0

The 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season continues at Circuit of The Americas with the DuraMax Grand Prix Powered by RelaDyne on Sunday, March 1, at 3:30 P.M. ET. Live coverage can be found on FOX, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

Post-Race Driver Quotes:

Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

Finished: 3rd

“I needed the No. 19 (Chase Briscoe) to not push the No. 45 (Tyler Reddick) into Turn One there, but he followed him because that was his best bet. And then the No. 45 pulled us down the backstretch like supersonic. That was insane how fast that car with the damage pulled the lane down the backstretch. We were all wide-open and we couldn’t gain anything.

We needed to be turning better with our No. 1 Wendy’s Chevy today. We were just a little too tight in traffic, and then even in clean air, we were scrubbing the fronts too much. We were never quite good enough to get control of the race. We’re always trying to cycle forward. Brandon McSwain (crew chief) made some great calls from the pit box.”

Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

Finished: 29th

“Our Morgan & Morgan Chevrolet was plenty fast to have a great finish today but we ended up with damage in Stage 2. I was in the middle line following my teammate, Kyle Busch, and all of the sudden someone clipped me. We spent the rest of the race salvaging what we could, and our Richard Boswell-led team did a great job making adjustments to give us a shot at a decent finish. Unfortunately, we got clipped again in the closing laps of the race. It was just wrong place, wrong time. I hate it for our No. 3 team and everyone at RCR, ECR and CT Springs because they are putting in the work. We will keep focusing on what we can control and hopefully the luck turns.”

Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

Sidelined by damage sustained in an accident coming to the green-white checkered flag to end Stage Two.

Finished: 32nd

“I just messed up. I knew the No. 45 (Tyler Reddick) was inside of me at one point of the corner, but I got clear of him. I didn’t quite realize that the No. 97 (Shane van Gisbergen) had gotten inside of him. So once I was clear, I just wanted to cut distance and short-cut my way to the stage finish. The No. 97 was out of my mirror. I just hung a quick left and ran right into him. There was nothing anyone else did wrong, it was all on me.

I hate it for this No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Chevrolet team. We had a great Chevy. I felt like up until that point, I was doing a pretty good job. As always, we’re just trying to build our notebook up on these places. I know we crashed, but I feel like we are still getting better and better when we come to drafting tracks, especially here at Atlanta.”

Daniel Suarez, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

Finished: 5th

“Honestly, I thought we were in an amazing spot for that last restart. The No. 77 (Carson Hocevar) was leading the top lane and the No. 1 (Ross Chastain) was in front of me. I thought we were in a beautiful spot to make it work. The No. 97 (Shane van Gisbergen) was on my left side and pushed me wide. I felt like that broke down the top lane a little bit. I’m not sure, but I feel like we could have done a little bit better. I feel like we gave that one away because we were in the perfect spot.

But overall, I’m very, very proud of everyone at Spire Motorsports. I couldn’t be prouder, honestly. This team just continues to fight; continues to show up and continues to get better. They never doubt that we can make the car better. I can’t thank everyone at Chevrolet and the Hendrick Engine Shop for the power under the hood. We just need to keep cleaning a few things up to keep getting better, but very excited for the start of the season.”

Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

Sidelined by damage sustained in an accident in Stage Two

Finished: 34th

“I just didn’t have the best of exits off of Turn Two and I was a little crooked getting to the wall. I just got rammed by the No. 4 (Noah Gragson); no check-up or anything. He didn’t give me an opportunity to make sure I was straight before hitting me or get into me gently to just try and get the momentum back going again. He just drove right through me. It sucks for this No. 8 Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen Chevrolet team and everyone at Richard Childress Racing. I thought we had a really good Chevy. We definitely would have finished better than where we were.”

William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

Finished: 28th

“I just didn’t have much grip, so I was searching for air and got loose. It was on me. I was just pushing hard and had to kind of put myself in some weird spots. I didn’t have any steering, so the further I got down the track, I just kept turning to the right. When I slowed down, I was just hoping I could get back to pit road, but then I got clocked.

It was a wild race. It was getting really wild there at the end. I felt like I was in a good spot to at least get a good finish. I don’t think I was going to be able to lead with the damage I had, but I was just trying to mix myself into the top-five. I think I was probably fifth or sixth there. It was crazy, but nothing out of the ordinary, really. Overall, I enjoyed it. Our No. 24 Raptor Chevrolet was pretty good all day.”

Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet

Sidelined by damage sustained in an accident in Stage Two.

Finished: 35th

“I couldn’t really see a lot in front of me. All of a sudden, the No. 35 (Riley Herbst) turned sideways in front of us. I locked up my brakes as hard as I could, but our No. 47 Chef Boyardee Chevy just came to a stop. We were having some fueling issues and that’s just what kind of got us back further than where we wanted to be. We’ll have to go take a look at that. But I was having a blast. It’s a lot of fun out there. We made a few changes that I felt made our Chevy way better. We worked our way back up there in the later part of Stage Two, so bummed how it ended. We’ll regroup and get ready for COTA.”

Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

Finished: 4th

“I was really happy with this No. 77 Spectrum Chevrolet. Our car was really fast to go from two laps down to getting stage points and finishing fourth. Overall, it was a good points day for us. I was taking every run I could. I’m sure I owe people apologies, but I think we’re all battling for spaces and runs. At the end, all four tires were straight. My toe was knocked out, but it was still pretty fast. Pretty excited about a strong start to the season.”

Connor Zilisch, No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

Sidelined by damage sustained in an accident in the final stage.

Finished: 30th

“I couldn’t see much, really. I was behind the No. 48 (Alex Bowman). He checked up and I just didn’t quite have enough time to check up. I couldn’t see what was going on in front of the No. 48. He had a gap in front of him and he could see it. It’s unfortunate for the No. 88 Tootsies Orchid Lounge Chevrolet team. We were making moves and getting up towards the front. It’s just unfortunate for it to end like that.”

About General Motors

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GM Motorsports, including the Cadillac Formula 1® Team develops and proves advanced technologies in the most demanding environments, accelerating innovation in performance, safety, efficiency, and electrification for its production vehicles. Cadillac Racing is one of the leading manufacturers in the IMSA and FIA World Endurance Championships (WEC). Chevrolet competes in single seaters in the US IndyCar series, and in NASCAR with multiple team partners and drivers. Corvette customer teams compete in GT series across the globe including IMSA and WEC. Learn more at GM.com.