The Post Race Inspection - 2025 Quaker State 400 at Atlanta

Photo by Krista Jasso/Getty Images

By Adam Carabine & Logan Morris

Logan Morris: Hey, Adam! We’re back after this year’s second race at the newly renamed EchoPark Speedway, and what a wild one it was! The si-reen might still be ringing in Dawsonville! 

Adam Carabine: It probably is! We shouldn’t be shocked to see Chase Elliott in victory lane, though I am surprised it took 18 races for him to get there this year.  PS - I’ve been to the Dawsonville Pool Room, friendly folks there!

What did you think of the race - one of the rare Saturday night Cup Series adventures?

LM: Overall, I enjoyed the race. Some of it left a little to be desired, and we will break that down. It was a long night!  The win for Elliott breaks a pretty lengthy winless streak. The grumbles of his fan base were getting louder every week.  I must say that I prefer races on Sunday afternoons. My Sunday felt a little off.

AC: Yes, Elliott’s win broke a 44-race winless streak dating back to Texas last year, but he’s probably been the most consistent driver this season week in and week out.  He still has yet to finish outside of the Top 20!  I agree about the Sunday race thing, too - I was unable to watch the race live due to prior commitments, so I stayed up until 4am watching it!  

The hometown hero got it done in Atlanta, and we saw some insane amounts of chaos and calamity.  Where do you want to start?

LM: Well, we have to start with that big one that felt like it collected the entire field. Chaos doesn’t even begin to describe it. One of the greatest tracks in NASCAR history became nothing short of a parking lot in one fell swoop, that had cars getting beaten around like lotto balls. As spectacular of an image as that created, and it’ll be viral for a long time, a pile up like not really doesn’t say much for the quality of the race. I stand by the belief that Atlanta doesn’t have enough room to be an effective drafting style track. 

AC: I’m not sure if you caught the interview with Joey Logano after he’d been released from the infield care centre, but he reacted live to watching the instant replay for the first time.  He was audibly shocked at the calamity of it all, and he’s a guy who’s been around the block and seen a few wrecks in his time!  

I think Dale Jr. said it best on the broadcast - it’s not so much the high speeds that make Atlanta crazy, it’s the fact that the speeds don’t really get any slower in the corners.  The banking is now such that they can run full throttle and they lose maybe 5mph in the corners.  Then you add the narrowness of the track, and up to 40 cars all jockeying for position - it’s a wonder we haven’t seen something like this happen sooner.  

However, the rest of the racing - including that final run to the finish - was absolutely fantastic.  It was so fun to watch many different drivers build up momentum and be able to pass, only to then be passed back again.  It really was a game of who can be at the front at the right time - the very end.   

LM:  I agree that much of the rest of the night provided fantastic racing. However, when nearly half the field is wiped out and several others forced to kind of limp along for as much as they could, there is an asterisk that goes with it. I’ve seen fantastic racing in the All-Star Open or Clash heat races, but it doesn’t have quite the same juice because much of the field isn’t in the race. Now, don’t get me wrong, this is far from NASCAR’s first calamity, and it won’t be its last.  But, if I’m not mistaken, 36 cars out of the 40-car field were damaged somehow or another. I don’t know if that’s selling people on the greatness of the sport. It at times felt like a demolition derby. 

AC: Fair enough, I suppose that does open the door to a bigger discussion than what we have time for right now - what makes NASCAR great?  I bet you could poll 100 fans and find 100 different answers.  It isn’t necessarily known for its clean racing, but let’s not get too far down that path.  Maybe later this offseason we can debate it!

LM: No one appreciates the old school beating and banging nature of what NASCAR was built on more than I. But, I think races like last night can cross the line. You’re right, it’ll be a wonderful debate for another time, and I look forward to it. What else stuck out to you?

AC: I think we’d be remiss if we didn’t touch on the first broadcast of the TNT portion of the schedule.  Many certainly praised the NASCAR on Prime broadcasts, and often with good reason.  What did you make of TNT - even though many of the on-air talent were actually the exact same!

LM: I enjoyed it. We’ve talked about it before, but Dale Jr’s passion in the booth just shines through and is infectious.  I loved that there was an alt-cast on TruTV. I plan to pay some more attention to that this weekend in Chicago. I felt like it was also a coming down to earth broadcast for many of the Fox critics. So many seem to act as though Fox wants to go to commercials as often as they do. TNT did much of the same. It’s the difference between a streaming service and cable. Nothing more, nothing less. 

I’m kind of glad the Prime portion of the schedule is over because so many people acted as though they found some way to reinvent the wheel as far as broadcasting NASCAR goes. As long as we have a true post-race show, I’m pretty easy to please. What did you think?

AC: I’ll always give Dale Jr. his flowers - he’s got an amazing ability to describe the action and his enthusiasm is contagious.  I was watching the closing laps at about 3:30am and I was wide awake, partly due to the commentary!  I know you are staunchly against the anti-Fox arguments (especially when it comes to the Prime broadcast), but I still just found this product to be more enjoyable to watch.  I’ll take this booth any day over the Fox booth - and yes, that includes Mike Joy. 

Finally before we hit our awards, we haven’t really had a chance to talk about the In-Season Tournament Bracket.  First of all, thoughts? Love it? Hate it? And second of all, any intriguing matchups to look for next week?

LM: You know, at first I was pretty skeptical, but once I saw it in action and the way it meant a little more to the drivers, I’m looking forward to the next four rounds. It’s too soon to say that I want it back next year, but my first impressions are really positive. I mean, how about Ty Dillion giving Denny Hamlin fans some flak? When would you typically see that kind of playful jabs from him? I’d venture to say never.  If the drivers keep embracing it and showing their personalities, they could prove that there’s more charisma in this era than previously thought. How did you feel about it?

AC: I agree entirely.  I like the idea, in theory, but it’s been so nice to see the drivers actually caring about it too.  There will probably be more to watch for as the bracket gets to the end, as the stakes get higher, but I think it’s a great concept and it gives the fans something else to think about while watching.  Okay, let’s get on to our awards now!

Best Performer

LM: My best performer has to be Brad Keselowski. I know he came up short, but he had his best race of the season. I felt a little bad for him coming up short. He proved he’s still a very capable force on the drafting tracks. 

AC: I felt so bad for him, it really looked like he was going to finally get off the schneid, but Elliott stole his thunder at the last minute.  My best performer is going to go to Carson Hocevar.  There’s lots of chatter around him - is he too aggressive, does he need to grow up, etc.  I care less about that and more about the fact that this guy continually drives his way up through the field and has solid speed nearly every week.  In Atlanta he had the highest Pass Differential of any driver, +39 (meaning he passed others 39 times more than he got passed).  He’s certainly a talented guy, and I think he is improving each week.

Biggest Move of the Race

LM: My biggest move of the race has to go to Alex Bowman. He made it impossible for Brad Keselowski to have any shot of passing the 9, simply because Bowman refused to push him! Elliott owes Bowman a steak dinner! 

AC: No kidding, that was some incredible teamwork there - especially after Hendrick Motorsports had one of its worst days the week before.  I’m having trouble narrowing down the single biggest move, and so I’m going to give a bit of a cop-out answer and say whoever was passing for the lead in the final 30 or so laps.  There were some amazing divebombs, crossover moves, and just overall amazing driving being done by the leaders, and so I just wanted to shout them all out for keeping it clean and yet so, so entertaining.

Biggest Disappointment

LM: I’m going to take the low-hanging fruit on this one and say Ryan Blaney. In this era of Atlanta, Blaney has proven his prowess. But Saturday night was another lowlight in what is, in many ways, a miserable season for him. Yes, he’s going to the playoffs. But, overall, this season has left a lot to be desired so far.   

AC: If I had a dollar for every time that Blaney has been turned into the outside wall in a violent head-on collision, I’d have way more money than I would like to for such things.  This season must be taking a toll on his body after all of these wrecks he’s been involved in - and truly a lot of it is just simply bad luck.

I’ll go with Keselowski as my biggest disappointment - but really just that I’m disappointed he couldn’t get the dub.

What to Watch for Next Weekend

LM: This weekend we head to the streets of Chicago. Alex Bowman got it done here one year ago. This is also the place where SVG burst on the scene. It seems to be a yearly question of wondering if the weather will cooperate, and we’re not sure if NASCAR will return to Grant Park next year. Is this the year calamity doesn’t break out?

AC: I hope so - I actually think the course is fun, and it has potential if we can remove the weather and other distractions from the race.  Last year we had a somewhat surprise winner in Alex Bowman, could we be in for another surprise?  When it comes to tracks that are newer to the schedule, there’s just less reps for any of the drivers/teams and so that leads to more mistakes.  I’m looking forward to seeing how it shakes out!

LM: Let’s go back to that same old place, sweet home Chicago!