Samwise NASCAR Cup Series Newsletter
Saturday, July 11, 2026
Logano wins EchoPark pole as Ford sweeps Atlanta’s top eight starting spots
Joey Logano claimed the pole position Saturday at EchoPark Speedway for Sunday’s Quaker State 400 Available at Walmart, with Ford drivers locking out all eight top starting positions in single-car qualifying. The Team Penske No. 22 Ford earns the front row for Sunday’s 7 p.m. ET race on TNT Sports, truTV, and HBO Max. The result extends Ford’s streak at the reconfigured Atlanta oval to eight consecutive Cup Series poles, a run beginning in 2019. NASCAR.com’s Fantasy Fastlane column noted Friday that Ford was “looking for their eighth” consecutive Atlanta pole this weekend, with Logano delivering on Saturday qualifying day.
Sources: NBC Sports Share ↗ ✉︎ Email 💬 Text
NASCAR announces public celebration of life for Kyle Busch at Charlotte Motor Speedway on October 9
NASCAR and the Busch family have announced a public celebration of life for Kyle Busch, scheduled for October 9 at Charlotte Motor Speedway during the venue’s fall ROVAL race weekend. The event will be open to fans wishing to honor the two-time Cup Series champion, who passed away earlier this year at age 41. Busch won 62 Cup Series races over a 20-year career and holds the all-time wins record in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series. The celebration announcement was reported on Thursday, July 10, by Jayski and NASCAR.com.
Chicagoland Cup race draws 2.1 million viewers on TNT, topping Sonoma telecast
Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Chicagoland Speedway averaged 2.1 million viewers on TNT Sports, according to Adam Stern of Sports Business Journal, per Jayski. The figure topped the previous week’s Sonoma race on TNT, which drew 1.8 million viewers, and fell just below Amazon Prime Video’s five-race average of 2.29 million viewers earlier in the 2026 season. The Chicagoland event marked the Cup Series’ first return to the Illinois track since 2019, with Chase Briscoe taking the checkered flag for Joe Gibbs Racing. Strong viewership supports TNT’s expanding NASCAR broadcast partnership heading into the second half of the season.
Fantasy Fastlane: Blaney’s seven-race streak and Logano’s lap-leading history make Penske the team to watch at EchoPark
NASCAR.com’s weekly Fantasy Fastlane column (July 10) identified Team Penske as the Atlanta team to beat Sunday. Ryan Blaney carries a career-best seven consecutive top-10 finishes into EchoPark and leads all Cup drivers with seven top 10s at the reconfigured Atlanta layout. Joey Logano has led a series-high 359 laps at Atlanta across his last nine visits. Chase Elliott, the defending EchoPark summer race winner with a 9.38 average finish at the reconfigured track, was also listed as a must-start. All three headline a field where Ford has historically dominated qualifying and race day at the high-banked drafting oval.
Sources: NASCAR.com Share ↗ ✉︎ Email 💬 Text
Christopher Bell carries fractured wrist into ISC Round 3 at Atlanta, faces Hamlin in upset bid
Christopher Bell continues his In-Season Challenge campaign at EchoPark Speedway despite racing with a fractured left wrist, sustained at Michigan International Speedway in June. NASCAR.com’s Fantasy Fastlane column described Bell’s ongoing run as “Herculean,” noting the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota is a recent Atlanta winner, having won the spring 2025 race at EchoPark. Bell draws No. 2 seed Denny Hamlin in ISC Round 3, with the NASCAR.com analyst picking Bell as a slight upset. Bell currently sits 10th in Cup Series points with 512 and is fighting to keep his championship hopes alive through the In-Season Challenge.
Sources: NASCAR.com Share ↗ ✉︎ Email 💬 Text
Points leader Hamlin faces five finishes of 23rd or worse at Atlanta despite dominant championship run
Denny Hamlin enters the Quaker State 400 leading Cup Series standings by 44 points over Tyler Reddick, but NASCAR.com’s Fantasy Fastlane column flagged him as a driver to avoid at EchoPark Speedway. Despite gaining 173 points on Reddick over the past seven weeks, Hamlin has five finishes of 23rd or worse at the reconfigured Atlanta layout since the track’s 2022 renovation. The No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota faces Christopher Bell in ISC Round 3. The Fantasy Fastlane analyst wrote that Hamlin’s “positive momentum could come to a halt this weekend” given his Atlanta track record heading into Sunday’s race.
Sources: NASCAR.com Share ↗ ✉︎ Email 💬 Text
Cup Series Standings (Top 16)
1. Denny Hamlin — 764 pts
2. Tyler Reddick — 720 pts
3. Ryan Blaney — 651 pts
4. Ty Gibbs — 627 pts
5. Chase Elliott — 584 pts
6. Kyle Larson — 583 pts
7. Chris Buescher — 541 pts
8. Chase Briscoe — 538 pts
9. Carson Hocevar — 524 pts
10. Christopher Bell — 512 pts
11. Daniel Suárez — 507 pts
12. William Byron — 499 pts
13. Bubba Wallace — 484 pts
14. Shane van Gisbergen — 437 pts
15. Austin Cindric — 434 pts
16. Erik Jones — 411 pts ◆ Cutline
Next out: Ryan Preece — 407 pts (4 back)
Manufacturer Standings
1. Toyota — 547 pts
2. Chevrolet — 495 pts
3. Ford — 404 pts
Curated by JD · samwise.agency
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