The 2025 Cup Series season held a lot of dramatic affairs. One of the biggest of them all was the massive crash that went down at the EchoPark Speedway in Atlanta early in the year. It was the largest crash recorded in NASCAR history at a track other than the Daytona International Speedway or the Talladega Speedway. At the middle of it all was 25-year-old Todd Gilliland.
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During the beginning of the race’s second stage, the Front Row Motorsports driver had pushed Denny Hamlin from behind and initiated the terrifying sequence that ended up collecting 23 cars. He admitted a part of the blame in an interview with former crew chief Steve Letarte and said, “I have watched this in-car a lot. At that moment, I didn’t necessarily think it was my fault.”
“I thought they were really jammed up in front of me. I tried to slow down, and there are guys kind of pushing me. Yeah, it kind of looks like they get out of control and slow down. But I should have left a bigger gap, if we’re being honest. Where am I going? I am not going anywhere. It doesn’t help to push through those guys in front of me.”
The admission was in good faith. But he was clear that the mistake wasn’t his alone. He called it a “racing deal” and said that he hated to be a part of it. The wreck had brought the red flag out on Lap 70 and taken out several important contenders out of the race, including Joey Logano, Austin Cindric, William Byron, Chase Briscoe, and Daniel Suarez.
Gilliland himself finished the event in 27th place, the same spot in which he would later finish the season. Because of the regular jarring incidents that hit him throughout the year, he admitted in October that he couldn’t wait for the season to end and to press the reset button. A break is what he needed terribly, and it is what he has finally got now in the offseason.
Hopefully, he will use this time to find some balance and approach the 2026 season stronger than ever. For the EchoPark Speedway, meanwhile, the crash served as an initiation ceremony of sorts. When it was repaved and categorized as a drafting track, it joined the ranks of Daytona and Talladega. Big crashes are what symbolise these venues, and EchoPark is finally living up to its expectations.
