For the first time in the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season, NASCAR has the data required to set the qualifying order via the simple metric that was introduced before the 2025 season.
The Daytona 500 qualifying order was set by two random draws based on the 2025 owner points, but the qualifying order for this coming Sunday's Autotrader 400 at EchoPark Speedway (formerly Atlanta Motor Speedway) was set via the two-variable formula.
Prior to 2024, qualifying orders were based on four variables: the car's rank in the owner standings (35%), the driver's finish in the most recent race (25%), the car's finish in the most recent race (25%), and the rank of the driver's fastest lap in the most recent race (15%). The two categories weighted at 25% effectively made up one category weighted at 50% for the drivers who didn't change cars from race to race.
In 2025, NASCAR made things far easier to compute. The weight of the car's rank in the owner standings was dropped to 30%, and the weight of the car's finish in the most recent race was increased to 70%.
The driver's finish in the most recent race is no longer a separate category, and fastest lap only matters in terms of the bonus point awarded the race itself, a bonus point that was slightly tweaked ahead of the 2026 season.
With that in mind, here's the order for Saturday's qualifying session at the four-turn, 1.54-mile (2.478-kilometer) Hampton, Georgia oval.
NASCAR qualifying order at Atlanta
Order | Name | Entry |
|---|---|---|
1 | J.J. Yeley | No. 44 NY Racing Team Chevrolet |
2 | B.J. McLeod | No. 78 Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet |
3 | Alex Bowman | No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet |
4 | Todd Gilliland | No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford |
5 | Chase Briscoe | No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota |
6 | Austin Dillon | No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet |
7 | Christopher Bell | No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota |
8 | Connor Zilisch | No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet |
9 | Austin Cindric | No. 2 Team Penske Ford |
10 | Denny Hamlin | No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota |
11 | Shane van Gisbergen | No. 97 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet |
12 | Cole Custer | No. 41 Haas Factory Team Chevrolet |
13 | Ryan Preece | No. 60 RFK Racing Ford |
14 | Ty Gibbs | No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota |
15 | John Hunter Nemechek | No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Toyota |
16 | Erik Jones | No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota |
17 | Ryan Blaney | No. 12 Team Penske Ford |
18 | Ross Chastain | No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet |
19 | Michael McDowell | No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet |
20 | A.J. Allmendinger | No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet |
21 | Cody Ware | No. 51 Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet |
22 | Ty Dillon | No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet |
23 | Kyle Larson | No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet |
24 | Carson Hocevar | No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet |
25 | Kyle Busch | No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet |
26 | William Byron | No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet |
27 | Daniel Suarez | No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet |
28 | Noah Gragson | No. 4 Front Row Motorsports Ford |
29 | Josh Berry | No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford |
30 | Bubba Wallace | No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota |
31 | Riley Herbst | No. 35 23XI Racing Toyota |
32 | Chris Buescher | No. 17 RFK Racing Ford |
33 | Zane Smith | No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford |
34 | Brad Keselowski | No. 6 RFK Racing Ford |
35 | Chase Elliott | No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet |
36 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | No. 47 Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet |
37 | Joey Logano | No. 22 Team Penske Ford |
38 | Tyler Reddick | No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota |
Because Atlanta is considered a superspeedway, there are set to be two rounds of qualifying to set the 38-car starting lineup for Sunday's 260-lap race. The fastest 10 drivers in the first round are set to advance to the second round shootout for the pole position.
The Autotrader 400 is set to be shown live on Fox from EchoPark Speedway (Atlanta) starting at 3:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, February 22. Take advantage of FuboTV's free trial offer today and catch all of the action!