Denny Hamlin Appreciates Atlanta Mashup; Kyle Larson Earns Top NASCAR Cup Series Drivers’ Championship Odds

The 18-car crash on Lap 69 last Sunday not only created on-track drama but also provided extra dimensions to the drafting-style racing at EchoPark Speedway. 

Often, multi-machine mashups at drafting tracks, like the 1.54-mile oval in Hampton, Georgia, flip the field, forcing heavy favorites over the wall and placing smaller teams to pull an upset. 

Chase Elliott isn’t precisely an under-funded driver with a no-name organization, but the hometown pilot took advantage of the absence of several contenders. Among the drivers caught up in the crash were pole-sitter Joey Logano, William Byron, Austin Cindric and Daniel Suarez, who placed P2 in the 2024 event. 

In their place, second-tier drivers like Erik Jones (P5) and Ty Dillon (P8) secured top-10 finishes and John Hunter Nemechek registered the fastest lap (29.82 seconds). 

Denny Hamlin, who was out after 72 laps and placed P31, said the big crash created situations NASCAR officials appreciated, entertainment-wise, that is. 

“That wreck was the best thing that happened to that race,” Hamlin said Monday on his “Actions Detrimental” podcast. “There’s no question about it whatsoever. It created space between the cars. We were not log-jammed two by two by two by two.  

“There was only 15 cars maybe that were not damaged. All the passing that was done at the end of that race, it was created through space of the cars and that’s what we used to have on superspeedways is space to work. Atlanta cleared out the field to create the space to create great racing. 

“This is what we aspire Daytona and Talladega to be is where handling actually matters to then start spreading out the field of good handling cars and bad handling cars. Give us space to work and work the lines and the best driver will come out on top.” 

On Sunday, it was Elliott, who qualified for the playoffs and earned a chance to claim his second circuit title. 

Elliott’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate, Kyle Larson (+350), drew the top sports-betting odds to capture the drivers’ championship, according to FanDuel Sportsbook. 

Here's another look at that massive crash on lap 69 in Saturday's Quaker State 400 at EchoPark Speedway involving nearly 20 cars, with 7 drivers unable to continue. #NASCAR #EchoParkSpeedway #QuakerState400 pic.twitter.com/4SZ6dmMWta

— Dan Snyder Motorsports (@DanMotorsports) July 1, 2025

2025 NASCAR Cup Series Drivers’ Championship Odds

Here is a Week 19 look at the drivers’ odds for the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series drivers’ championship, according to FanDuel Sportsbook:

*-Odds current at time of publication