The 2026 Quaker State 400 is an upcoming NASCAR Cup Series race that will be held on July 12, 2026, at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia. Contested over 260 laps on the 1.54-mile-long (2.48 km) asphalt quad-oval intermediate speedway (with superspeedway rules), it will the 20th race of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season, as well as the third race of the 2026 NASCAR In-Season Challenge.
| Race details[1][2][3] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 20 of 36 in the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series | |||
 | |||
| Date | July 12, 2026 | ||
| Location | Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 1.54 miles (2.48 km) | ||
| Distance | 260 laps, 400.4 mi (644.4 km) | ||
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | TNT | ||
| Announcers | Adam Alexander, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Steve Letarte | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | PRN | ||
| Booth announcers | Brad Gillie and Mark Garrow | ||
| Turn announcers | Andrew Kurland (1 & 2) and Pat Patterson (3 & 4) | ||
Report
editBackground
edit
Atlanta Motor Speedway (formerly Atlanta International Raceway) is a 1.54-mile race track in Hampton, Georgia, United States, 20 miles (32 km) south of Atlanta. It has annually hosted NASCAR Cup Series stock car races since its inauguration in 1960.
The venue was bought by Speedway Motorsports in 1990. In 1994, 46 condominiums were built over the northeastern side of the track. In 1997, to standardize the track with Speedway Motorsports' other two intermediate ovals, the entire track was almost completely rebuilt. The frontstretch and backstretch were swapped, and the configuration of the track was changed from oval to quad-oval, with a new official length of 1.54-mile (2.48 km) where before it was 1.522-mile (2.449 km). The project made the track one of the fastest on the NASCAR circuit. In July 2021 NASCAR announced that the track would be reprofiled for the 2022 season to have 28 degrees of banking and would be narrowed from 55 to 40 feet which the track claims will turn racing at the track similar to restrictor plate superspeedways. Despite the reprofiling being criticized by drivers, construction began in August 2021 and wrapped up in December 2021.[4][5] The track has seating capacity of 71,000 to 125,000 people depending on the tracks configuration.
On June 3, 2025, SMI announced the track's renaming to EchoPark Speedway under a new seven-year sponsorship deal with the Smith family-owned business, EchoPark. The renaming ended a 35-year stint under the Atlanta Motor Speedway name.[6]
Entry list
edit- (R) denotes rookie driver.
- (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
Media
editTelevision
editTNT will cover the race on the television side, and it will be produced by NASCAR Productions, as were the previous five races. Adam Alexander, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Steve Letarte will call the race from the broadcast booth. Marty Snider, Danielle Trotta, and Alan Cavanna will handle pit road for the television side.
| TNT | |
|---|---|
| Booth announcers | Pit reporters |
| Lap-by-lap: Adam Alexander Color-commentator: Dale Earnhardt Jr. Color-commentator: Steve Letarte | Marty Snider Danielle Trotta Alan Cavanna |
Radio
editThe race will be broadcast on radio by the Performance Racing Network and simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Brad Gillie and Mark Garrow will call the race from the booth when the field races down the front stretch. Andrew Kurland will call the race from atop a billboard outside of turn 2 when the field races through turns 1 and 2, and Doug Turnbull will call the race from a billboard outside of turn 3 when the field races through turns 3 and 4. On pit road, PRN will be manned by Brett McMillan, TBA and Wendy Venturini.
| PRN | ||
|---|---|---|
| Booth announcers | Turn announcers | Pit reporters |
| Lead announcer: Brad Gillie Announcer: Mark Garrow | Turns 1 & 2: Andrew Kurland Turns 3 & 4: Doug Turnbull | Brett McMillan TBA Wendy Venturini |
References
edit- ↑ "2026 schedule". Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. Retrieved October 25, 2025.
- ↑ "NASCAR releases 2026 schedule, adding Chicagoland and shifting All-Star to Dover". NASCAR. August 20, 2025. Retrieved August 20, 2025.
- ↑ "Atlanta Motor Speedway". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. January 3, 2013. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
- ↑ "Atlanta Motor Speedway to re-profile track in 2022 and drivers are expressing frustration with the changes". CBSSports.com. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
- ↑ "Atlanta Motor Speedway track reprofile begins | NASCAR". Official Site Of NASCAR. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
- ↑ Spanberg, Erik (June 3, 2025). "NASCAR track in Atlanta gets new name with Charlotte ties". Charlotte Business Journals. Archived from the original on June 3, 2025. Retrieved June 3, 2025.
