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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