NASCAR in Atlanta weather delay: When Cup Series qualifying will resume at EchoPark Speedway

After 14 cars went out on the track, NASCAR has put a pause on Cup Series qualifying at EchoPark Speedway in Atlanta. Lightning in the area, in an otherwise mostly blue sky, has put a hold on the on-track activities.

NASCAR is attempting to finish qualifying. It was set to only last one round anyway due to lightning earlier today during the Xfinity Series qualifying session.

Right now, Cole Custer is the fastest driver to make a lap. If the session is called off, NASCAR will set the Atlanta field by the metric. The delay is currently for 30 minutes. There could be further delays.

Tonight’s Xfinity Series race is scheduled for 7:30 on The CW. So, there is very little time to get this session completed with any further delays.

UPDATE: We are in another delay for weather in the area. Fans are encouraged to seek shelter and stay tuned for further updates. https://t.co/IHAs62R9LV

— EchoPark Speedway (@EchoParkSpdwy) June 27, 2025

UPDATE: After a short half-hour delay, the qualifying session is back on. It looks like the NASCAR Cup Series will get in the full round for Atlanta. Cole Custer is still trying desperately to hang on to his top spot in qualifying.

Joey Logano on NASCAR Cup Series pole for Atlanta

Thankfully, Mother Nature was kind to NASCAR for once. I wasn’t sure that the track would avoid another lightning strike and another 30-minute delay. Good news, we don’t have to wonder about that. Joey Logano went out after the delay was over and put down a fast lap. He will be on pole for tomorrow’s race.

“Well, you know, we all have the same things, and obviously, Team Penske does a great job of building the same cars, it seems like,” Logano said on the TNT Sports broadcast. “All of us in the top four there. Proud of everyone at the shop, proud of Roush Yates Engines. This is always a test of, you know, like you said, how close you can build all the cars, but how much speed you can put in them. So, yeah, they’re fast for qualifying, we’ll see what we got in the race. But neat to have AutoTrader up front again.”

Joey Logano is looking forward to having a great pit stall. He’s also hoping his Penske teammates can help make his job easier on Saturday night.

“Well, obviously, got good pit stalls. That’s going to be great. This is a really tight pit road that we’re standing on right now, stalls are super small. So, that should help with that. Obviously, with track position. Then keeping numbers together and help control the race is a huge deal. So, we’re all there to start, a million things can happen throughout the race, but we can control what we can control today, and tomorrow we’ll try to work our strategy the best we can.”