One day after pocketing $1 million from the NASCAR Driver Ambassador Program, Joey Logano saw his hopes of another $1 million in the inaugural In‑Season Challenge end quickly in Saturday night’s Quaker State 400 at EchoPark Speedway.
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Logano was among several drivers involved in a multi-car wreck early in the second stage that involved almost half of the field. Other notables — and almost all eliminated from advancing to Round 2 of the Challenge next week in Chicago — included Ross Chastain, Corey LaJoie, Austin Cindric, Denny Hamlin, William Byron, Chase Briscoe, Daniel Suarez, Noah Gragson and Josh Berry.
“I was in the middle of it and I haven’t seen a replay to even know what happened,” Logano said. “Cars were sideways and you hit the brakes and everyone is just running into each other.
“Just a speedway wreck. Wrong place at the wrong time. Tried to win the stage and we couldn’t get that done, and you got to pay the piper when you go to the back there.”
Logano eventually did see the replay and said, “The whole field wrecked, and I’m just in the soup there. Oh my gosh, look at that. Oh, that’s horrible.”
OMG
A massive crash red-flags the #NASCAR Cup race at Atlanta, collecting over 20 cars
@NASCAR pic.twitter.com/xhCMoXZo0P
— Motorsport.com (@Motorsport) June 29, 2025
NASCAR unofficially counted 23 cars involved in the Stage 2 wreck — the most they’ve ever recorded in a Cup race outside Daytona or Talladega. When EchoPark Speedway was reconfigured after the 2021 season, adding higher banking and other changes, it created a speedway that is, in essence, a mini version of Daytona and ‘Dega.
More on the multi-car wrecks
Coupled with the multi-car crash three laps from the end of Stage 1 — which eliminated Ryan Blaney from the Challenge — Team Penske lost all three of its drivers, as Blaney, Joey Logano, and Austin Cindric were all knocked out of contention for advancing.
The two big wrecks eliminated nine of the 11 drivers who have won at least one race this season. In a sense, those mishaps benefitted the more than two dozen Cup drivers who have yet to win a race this season.
Atlanta is the 18th race of the season — the halfway point of the full 36-race season — and leaves just eight races for drivers to qualify for the 10-race NASCAR Cup playoffs.
