Track: EchoPark Speedway
Location: Hampton, Georgia
Track length: 1.54 miles
When: 7 p.m. ET
Where to tune in: TNT Sports, truTV, HBO Max, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Race purse: $11,233,037
Race distance: 260 laps | 400.4 miles
Segments: 60 | 160 | 260
Sunday’s starting lineup | Pit-stall assignments
How wild could Sunday’s show get?
HAMPTON, Ga. — With seven races remaining until the NASCAR Cup Series‘ 16-driver Chase lineup is decided, Sunday‘s Quaker State 400 at EchoPark Speedway looms as the first of two “wild card” events in the regular-season homestretch.
EchoPark, known for high speeds, huge drafting packs and teams using different chassis setups and tire strategies, could result in major changes in the points standings, a reputation it shares with Daytona International Speedway, which will host the final race of the regular season Aug. 29.
Prime evidence can be found with a look at the results from last year‘s EchoPark summer race.
MORE: Weekend schedule | At-track photos
Eleven of the 40 cars in the field parked with damage from accidents. Among them were Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, William Byron, Denny Hamlin and Ross Chastain. Twenty-two cars were damaged in a massive wreck on Lap 69, only 12 laps after a seven-car incident.
Race winner Chase Elliott led the final lap after not leading any of the previous 34 laps. He passed Brad Keselowski to win by .168 of a second, ending a 44-race winless string.
The mushy middle of the Chase standings — the area above and below the 16-driver cutline — offers the chance for significant position changes entering Sunday‘s race. Shane van Gisbergen (plus-30), Austin Cindric (plus-27) and Erik Jones (plus-4) float above the line. Hovering below are Ryan Preece (minus-4), Logano (minus-16), AJ Allmendinger (minus-16) and Keselowski (minus-19).
The In-Season Challenge reaches its midpoint (the third of five races) Sunday with intriguing matchups. Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Denny Hamlin and Christopher Bell will race for a spot in the semifinals, and there‘s also a Chase versus Chase matchup, with Elliott, winner of this race last year, against Briscoe, last week‘s Chicagoland winner.
MORE: Watch NASCAR video highlights
The race also will provide the latest backdrop for two ongoing — and somewhat heated — rivalries: Shane van Gisbergen versus Austin Hill, and Zane Smith versus Carson Hocevar. NASCAR officials met with the four drivers at the track Saturday to discuss past issues and to emphasize that cooler heads should prevail going forward.
Atop the point standings, Hamlin will look to pad his 44-point lead over Tyler Reddick, whose sagging season includes three finishes of 35th or worse in the past five races.
In the details …
Late-race heroics have defined the Cup Series at drafting tracks as of late, and EchoPark is certainly no exception. Overall, 14 of the last 17 drafting-track races have featured lead changes in the final two laps, but narrowing the scope, seven of the last eight Atlanta-area races have featured the same.
Including Daniel Suárez‘s three-wide 2024 frenzy with Ryan Blaney and Kyle Busch — which produced the fourth-closest margin of victory in series history — look back at how the final laps played out in the last eight Peach State thrillers.
| DATE | WINNER | TOOK LED FROM | LAPS TO GO |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7/10/2022 | Chase Elliott | Corey LaJoie | 2 |
| 3/19/2023 | Joey Logano | Brad Keselowski | 1 |
| 7/9/2023 | William Byron | AJ Allmendinger | 19 |
| 2/25/2024 | Daniel Suárez | Ryan Blaney | 1 |
| 9/8/2024 | Joey Logano | Daniel Suárez | 2 |
| 2/23/2025 | Christopher Bell | Kyle Larson | 1 |
| 6/28/2025 | Chase Elliott | Brad Keselowski | 1 |
| 2/22/2026 | Tyler Reddick | Bubba Wallace | 2 |
Contributing: Nathan Solomon
Speed reads
Race-day essentials:
• EchoPark, Lime Rock hub: Key information, pit stalls, additional results | Read more
• Sunday Setup: See what crew chiefs have in mind for Sunday night | Read more
• In-Season Challenge: Bracket, format, schedule and more for Round 3 | Read more
• Analysis: Penske in unfamiliar Chase bubble territory | Read more
• Paint Scheme Preview: Fresh looks for Sunday’s 400-miler under the lights | View gallery
• Hauler Talk: NASCAR to meet with Hill, SVG after Chicagoland | Listen now
• NASCAR Classics: Reminisce with full-race replays from EchoPark | Watch now
• Power Rankings: Will Reddick punch back in the Peach State? | This week’s ranks