The 2026 In-Season Problem rolls into Spherical 3 this Sunday when the NASCAR Cup Sequence visits EchoPark Speedway (7 p.m. ET, TNT Sports activities, truTV, HBO Max, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). It is the primary monitor the collection visits for a second time in 2026, and the hybrid superspeedway will virtually actually placed on a summer season showdown price remembering for a very long time.
Spherical 2 at Chicagoland Speedway had loads of pleasure, that includes 5 statistical upsets — together with No. 32 seed Alex Bowman advancing into the quarterfinals over No. 16 seed Austin Cindric, in addition to No. 25 seed Todd Gilliland defeating No. 9 seed Carson Hocevar. However typically talking, the cream has risen to the highest via two races as Joe Gibbs Racing and Hendrick Motorsports every nonetheless have three canines within the hunt with Group Penske’s Ryan Blaney lurking as effectively.
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Coincidentally, three Spherical 3 matchups characteristic a pair of vehicles from powerhouse organizations, whereas the 2 Cinderella tales sq. off within the fourth. When it is all stated and carried out, three Hendrick vehicles may make up the semifinals — which might undoubtedly show the group is headed in the precise course after a shaky begin to 2026.
RELATED: Examine your bracket! | In-Season Problem hub
ROUND 3 MATCHUPS:
(No. 2) Denny Hamlin vs. (No. 10) Christopher Bell
(No. 3) Ryan Blaney vs. (No. 11) William Byron
(No. 4) Chase Elliott vs. (No. 12) Chase Briscoe
(No. 25) Todd Gilliland vs. (No. 32) Alex Bowman
TRACK BREAKDOWN
EchoPark Speedway’s status as Daytona on steroids has rapidly made the Atlanta-area facility one of many hottest tickets in NASCAR. Six completely different drivers have gained in 9 races because the pre-2022 reconfiguration, and no driver has gained greater than twice. It is the final word check between superspeedway prowess and automobile management, all whereas hauling broad open at 180 mph on a 1.5-mile monitor.
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Three of the remaining In-Season Problem drivers have victories at EchoPark, and two of them depend as multitime winners. William Byron gained the inaugural race in 2022 and picked up one other dub the subsequent fall, whereas Chase Elliott has gained a pair of summer season races — together with final yr’s race. Elliott owns one of the best common end amongst all drivers at 9.38, with Ryan Blaney proper behind him in third at 10.78. All three drivers rank inside the highest seven for many laps led within the Peach State draft.
Shockingly, regardless of Ford successful the pole for every of the 9 races because the reconfiguration, the producer has gained simply twice, each coming from Joey Logano — who was eradicated in Spherical 1. A few of that, nonetheless, is because of crashes. Per Racing Insights, a median of 25.3 vehicles are concerned in incidents at EchoPark races, and twice the crashed-car depend exceeded 30. Sure drivers clearly carry out higher than others at EchoPark, nevertheless it’s nonetheless a wild card on the finish of the day.
MATCHUP OF THE WEEK: (No. 2) Denny Hamlin vs. (No. 10) Christopher Bell
A pair of Joe Gibbs Racing teammates will sq. off at EchoPark Speedway with a visit to the semifinals on the road. Each Bell and Hamlin completed on the rostrum at Chicagoland behind fellow JGR driver Chase Briscoe, every making important beneficial properties of their championship factors conditions. However with a drafting monitor on deck, how a lot will these two shopmates assist one another on this high-speed chess match?
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As soon as the most effective within the draft — as evidenced by his three Harley J. Earl trophies for successful the Daytona 500 — Hamlin has struggled at superspeedway-like tracks within the Subsequent Gen automobile, particularly EchoPark, the place he has simply two high 10s in 9 races because the reconfiguration. In the meantime, Bell is sneaky good right here with three high fives and a last-lap victory in 2025.
However as we have discovered in years previous, something can occur when the Cup Sequence visits the Atlanta-area facility. EchoPark served because the In-Season Problem opener final yr and busted brackets with eight Spherical 1 upsets. And with these two teammates pitted towards one another, this might function probably the most important matchup in the complete match. Each drivers are contenders at each oval on the circuit, and Toyota continues to point out unbelievable power throughout the board. With North Wilkesboro and Indianapolis to observe, the winner of this head-to-head duel may very effectively go all the way in which.
A cut up picture of Denny Hamlin and Christopher Bell, who’re featured within the In-Season Problem Spherical 3 Matchup of the Week at EchoPark Speedway.
MORE: Recap Spherical 2 motion
KEY MATCHUP: (No. 3) Ryan Blaney vs. (No. 11) William Byron
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That is about pretty much as good because it will get with a pair of multitime drafting-track winners squaring off for a spot within the semifinals. Each Blaney and Byron gained their first two matchups pretty simply. Blaney’s first two opponents completed exterior the highest 20 because the Group Penske driver scored a sixth at Sonoma and a seventh at Chicagoland. Byron beat Ricky Stenhouse Jr. by 9 spots on the street course, whereas capitalizing on teammate Kyle Larson’s misfortunes at Chicagoland with a high 5 and a race-best 94 laps led.
Ford typically has extra pace in some of these races, and Penske drivers all the time appear to work one of the best within the draft. Blaney has seven high 10s within the final eight EchoPark races, and whereas Byron has wrecked his final 3 times in Atlanta, he is nonetheless a two-time Daytona 500 champion. Count on Ford to qualify effectively on Saturday, which ought to give Blaney the required monitor place. If he can hold it, Blaney will possible transfer on to Spherical 4 — however take into account the No. 12 workforce nonetheless ranks exterior the highest 30 in pit-crew efficiency.
KEY MATCHUP:(No. 4) Chase Elliott vs. (No. 12) Chase Briscoe
It is fairly protected to say Chase will win this battle, however which one? Elliott has the numbers to again it up at EchoPark, incomes a pair of victories and boasting the aforementioned greatest common end at his house monitor. However Briscoe has all of the momentum on this planet, as he almost defeated Shane van Gisbergen at Sonoma earlier than lastly ripping the bandage off with a victory final weekend at Chicagoland.
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To that time, Briscoe’s document at EchoPark is borderline abysmal. He did end second this spring, however earlier than that, he had only one top-15 end because the reconfiguration. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver is bettering at drafting tracks, although, as Briscoe banked a Talladega win final fall to make his first Championship 4. Nonetheless, Elliott’s numbers are much more spectacular throughout the board at some of these tracks, and as one of many Cup Sequence’ most constant drivers, he’ll set a excessive bar that can be tough to beat. Elliott is the favourite, however in a yr dominated by Toyota, something is feasible — particularly at this place.
KEY MATCHUP:(No. 25) Todd Gilliland vs. (No. 32) Alex Bowman
Everybody actually penciled this as a quarterfinal matchup of their brackets, proper? This yr’s two Cinderellas are on a crash course, and one thing clearly has to provide. Bowman’s on considered one of his higher stretches this season, incomes a pair of top-10 finishes at Sonoma and Chicagoland. Gilliland, nonetheless, is benefiting from a survive-and-advance mentality. His Twenty ninth-place consequence at Sonoma eeked him previous No. 9 Daniel Suárez, who suffered an early tire problem on the street course and ran a lot of the race off the lead technique. At Chicagoland, Gilliland’s Spherical 2 rival, Carson Hocevar, acquired fenced by Zane Smith, and the Spire Motorsports driver may by no means recuperate.
As evidenced by his six front-row beginning positions for the Daytona 500, Bowman has loads of pace at drafting tracks. His outcomes do not essentially replicate that, however the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports workforce quietly has 4 high 10s within the draft because the begin of 2025. Bowman needs to be the favourite right here.
