Back-to-back first-time winners in the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season have thrown the summer stretch into a wild spin, and it’s about to get crazier at Saturday night’s Quaker State 400 at EchoPark Speedway (7 p.m. ET, TNT Sports/truTV, HBO Max, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). The season’s halfway mark has the garage buzzing, with Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney pegged as the favorite, per Racing Insights.Blaney’s a beast at Atlanta, racking up six straight top-10 finishes, the longest active streak—and boasting a 6.7 average finish since the track’s reconfiguration. With 301 points in those seven races, he’s the top dog in scoring, ready to burn rubber under the lights. But Underdogs are sniffing opportunity, though. Daniel Suárez stunned with a 2024 spring win, and the numbers are tilting toward dark horses. Last spring, Carson Hocevar, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Todd Gilliland, and John Hunter Nemechek were passing machines, all landing top-15 finishes.Hocevar, Stenhouse, and Nemechek have flashed top-10 speed this year and have the potential to steal the show. Suárez, with three top-two finishes in his last four Atlanta races, is itching to lock his No. 99 Chevrolet into the playoffs alongside his Trackhouse Racing teammates. All this is good unless the weather gods unleash their fury.Rain clouds loom over Atlanta’s Superspeedway showdownMother Nature’s got a mean streak, and EchoPark Speedway’s weekend is in her crosshairs. Friday’s forecast looks rough, with a high of 91°F and a 50% chance of scattered showers and thunderstorms by afternoon, packing gusty winds that could disrupt the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series practice (1:05 p.m. ET, FS2), Xfinity Series qualifying (3 p.m. ET, CW), and Cup Series qualifying (5:05 p.m. ET, truTV).The Xfinity race at 7:30 p.m. ET might dodge the worst, but evening storms, with a 50% chance of rain, could force delays. Lows around 70°F offer little relief for crews battling the elements.Saturday’s no picnic either. The day starts partly cloudy but brings a 40% chance of afternoon showers and thunderstorms, threatening the Truck Series qualifying (9:30 a.m. ET, FS1), Truck race (1 p.m. ET, FOX), and ARCA race (4 p.m. ET, FS2).By the Cup Series race at 7 p.m. ET, temps hover at 87°F, dropping to 71°F overnight, with clouds building and a 24% chance of rain. EchoPark’s lights give NASCAR wiggle room, but a slick track could shake up the draft-heavy chaos, favoring bold movers like Stenhouse or Suárez. If storms hit hard, NASCAR’s rain protocols and tire strategies will be tested, potentially flipping the script on Blaney’s dominance.In-Season challenge adds spice to EchoPark Speedway’s returnThe final weekend of June is packed with firsts. For the first time this season, the Cup Series revisits a track, now rebranded as EchoPark Speedway. After a hot five-race run on Amazon Prime Video, the broadcast shifts to TNT Sports, with Dale Earnhardt Jr., Steve Letarte, and Adam Alexander keeping the booth familiar for TNT’s five-race stretch.The real kicker? The debut of the In-Season Challenge, a 32-driver head-to-head bracket kicking off with the Quaker State 400, cutting the field in half each week until a $1-million showdown at Indianapolis on July 27.Saturday’s steamy 80s temps, unlike February’s chilly 50°F when Christopher Bell edged out Hocevar, will make the reconfigured superspeedway’s slick track a beast. Veterans like Joey Logano, last year’s September winner, and William Byron, with EchoPark wins in 2022 and 2023, thrive in this chaos.Byron, licking wounds from a Pocono wreck, said, “We had a rough weekend in Pocono, but I’m proud of how the team came together… The goal remains the same though, go for the win.” He faces Ryan Preece in the Challenge’s opening round, while top seed Denny Hamlin takes on Ty Dillon. With nine races left, a win locks in a playoff spot, and Atlanta’s draft could crown an underdog.The post NASCAR Atlanta Weather Update: Superspeedway Weekend Under Threat From Mother Nature’s Wrath appeared first on EssentiallySports.