For the first time in 2026, the NASCAR Cup Series is set to visit a venue for the second time, that being EchoPark Speedway (Atlanta Motor Speedway) for Sunday night's Quaker State 400.
The order for Saturday's qualifying session to determine the starting lineup for Sunday's 260-lap race around the four-turn, 1.54-mile (2.478-kilometer) high-banked Hampton, Georgia oval was set be the two-variable qualifying metric which has been in place since 2025.
This formula replaced the older and more complicated four-variable formula that was used from 2020 to 2024.
Because Atlanta is considered a superspeedway, each driver is set to make a single-lap qualifying attempt, and instead of those runs determining the full starting lineup, the fastest 10 drivers are set to advance to the second round to battle for pole, with each set to make an additional single-car attempt.
The entry list for Sunday's race has seen four total changes from this past weekend's race at Chicagoland Speedway. The two non-chartered (open) cars that competed at Chicagoland will not compete in Atlanta, while two that did not compete at Chicagoland are set to compete this weekend.
NY Racing Team fielded the No. 44 Chevrolet for J.J. Yeley at Chicagoland, while 23XI Racing fielded the No. 67 Toyota for Corey Heim. Neither is on the Atlanta entry list.
Meanwhile, Garage 66 (MBM Motorsports) are set to field the No. 66 Ford for Chad Finchum, after withdrawing from the Chicagoland entry list. Live Fast Motorsports plan to field the No. 78 Chevrolet for team owner B.J. McLeod.
Here's a look at the full qualifying order.
NASCAR Cup Series qualifying order at Atlanta
Order | Driver |
|---|---|
1 | B.J. McLeod, No. 78 Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet |
2 | Chad Finchum, No. 66 Garage 66 Ford |
3 | Connor Zilisch, No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet |
4 | Austin Hill, No. 33 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet |
5 | Josh Berry, No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford |
6 | Cole Custer, No. 41 Haas Factory Team Chevrolet |
7 | Cody Ware, No. 51 Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet |
8 | Noah Gragson, No. 4 Front Row Motorsports Ford |
9 | Ryan Preece, No. 60 RFK Racing Ford |
10 | Michael McDowell, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet |
11 | Zane Smith, No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford |
12 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet |
13 | Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota |
14 | Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet |
15 | Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet |
16 | John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Toyota |
17 | Ty Dillon, No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet |
18 | Shane van Gisbergen, No. 97 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet |
19 | Brad Keselowski, No. 6 RFK Racing Ford |
20 | Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet |
21 | Todd Gilliland, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford |
22 | Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet |
23 | A.J. Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet |
24 | Erik Jones, No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota |
25 | Chris Buescher, No. 17 RFK Racing Ford |
26 | Riley Herbst, No. 35 23XI Racing Toyota |
27 | Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford |
28 | Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford |
29 | Daniel Suarez, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet |
30 | Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet |
31 | Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet |
32 | Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota |
33 | Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota |
34 | William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet |
35 | Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford |
36 | Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota |
37 | Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota |
38 | Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota |
The Quaker State 400 is set to be shown live on TNT Sports from EchoPark Speedway starting at 7:00 p.m. ET this Sunday, July 12. Don't miss any of the action from Atlanta's second race of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season!
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