Chase Elliott at Truist Park during the unveiling of his NAPA No. 9 Desi9n to Drive collaboration with Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta – EchoPark Speedway Photo
HAMPTON, Ga. (July 6, 2026) – NASCAR’s biggest stars race into
EchoPark Speedway this weekend hoping to take home the Quaker State 400
Available at Walmart trophy. Eight drivers, however, also enter the
night hoping to keep $1 million ambitions alive.
After the opening rounds at Sonoma and Chicagoland, the field competing
in NASCAR’s In-Season Tournament has been narrowed down from 32
drivers to just eight entering the Atlanta’s Night Race weekend. These
drivers are paired in four head-to-head matchups; whoever finishes best
at EchoPark Speedway will advance and be among four drivers in
contention for the $1 million prize next weekend — the losers will be
eliminated.
Here is a breakdown of the four heads-up matchups to watch this weekend
at EchoPark Speedway:
2 seed Denny Hamlin vs. 10 seed Christopher Bell
NASCAR Cup Series points leader Denny Hamlin is matched up against his
Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Christopher Bell this weekend. Hamlin enters
Atlanta’s Night Race with four race victories already in the 2026
campaign. Bell, who has finished runner-up four times this season, is
still seeking his first trip to Victory Lane.
Both drivers have one career victory at EchoPark Speedway; however,
Hamlin’s win came on the previous configuration of the speedway back
in 2012. Since the speedway was reconfigured ahead of the 2022 season,
Hamlin has no top-five finishes in nine starts. In that same period,
Bell has three top-five results on the 28-degree high banks, including
his victory in February 2025.
In the spring race at Atlanta, Hamlin came home 13th while an overtime
crash relegated Bell to a 21st-place finish.
3 seed Ryan Blaney vs. 11 seed William Byron
Phoenix winner Ryan Blaney takes on William Byron, one of three drivers
to win multiple times on the revamped EchoPark Speedway since 2022.
Blaney’s 2026 season so far has been defined by consistency, with 14
top-10s in 19 starts. Byron’s 2026 campaign on the other hand has been
up-and-down, with just nine top-10s and no race victories for the No. 24
team so far.
Their records at EchoPark Speedway since 2022 tell a similar story:
despite not scoring a victory, Blaney holds the best average finish
among drivers to start all nine events, with four top-fives and seven
top-10s. Byron’s results have been more boom-or-bust, with three
top-10s (including wins in March 2022 and July 2023) contrasted by six
finishes of 17th or worse.
Earlier this year in the first race in Atlanta, Blaney rounded out the
top-10 with a 10th-place finish while Byron suffered his second
consecutive DNF at EchoPark Speedway and was scored 28th.
4 seed Chase Elliott vs. 12 seed Chase Briscoe
It’s a Chase-off in this matchup between Dawsonville, Ga.’s own
Chase Elliott and the NASCAR Cup Series’ most recent victor, Chase
Briscoe. Both Chases have scored wins this year: Elliott took the
checkered flag first at Martinsville and Texas; Briscoe earned his first
2026 win Sunday night at Chicagoland.
Elliott’s home track has been kind to him since it was reconfigured.
He boasts an average finish inside the top 10, including two wins, most
recently in this race last year. Key to that success — at a track
widely regarded as a “wild card” where good days can turn bad in the
blink of an eye — Elliott has avoided race-ending incidents and
completed every lap in all eight of his starts since 2022. Briscoe’s
stats at Atlanta tell the opposite story, with only one finish better
than 15th in nine starts and an average finish at EchoPark Speedway that
ranks eighth-worst among full-time drivers.
25 seed Todd Gilliland vs. 32 seed Alex Bowman
The In-Season Tournament’s two Cinderellas will go head-to-head for
the right to advance and continue racing for the $1 million prize. On
the path to this matchup, Todd Gilliland knocked off 2026 Coca-Cola 600
winner Daniel Suárez at Sonoma, then bested Talladega winner Carson
Hocevar Sunday night at Chicagoland. Meanwhile, as the last driver to
make the cut for the tournament, Alex Bowman toppled then-Cup Series
points leader Tyler Reddick in California and Austin Cindric in
Illinois.
Examining the EchoPark Speedway résumés shows an advantage for Bowman,
who has two top-fives in the last four races held in Atlanta.
Gilliland’s best result in nine Atlanta starts is 15th.
Back in the spring, this pair was separated by just two positions in the
final results: Bowman finished 23rd while Gilliland suffered a
race-ending crash in the final laps and was scored 25th.
High Stakes Under the Lights
NASCAR’s In-Season Tournament brings added drama to what already
promises to be one of the most exhilarating races of the season. The
green flag drops for the Quaker State 400 Available at Walmart on Sunday
night, July 12, at 7 p.m. The weekend’s NASCAR action kicks off on
Saturday, July 11, with Sunbelt Rentals Qualifying for both the NASCAR
O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and NASCAR Cup Series, followed by the
Focused Health 250 at 7 p.m.
Tickets and camping for the July 11-12 Quaker State 400 Available at
Walmart weekend are available now at EchoParkSpeedway.com [2].
About the Quaker State 400 Available at Walmart:
Atlanta’s Night Race returns with the Quaker State 400 Available at
Walmart on Sunday night, July 12, 2026. Sparks will fly as NASCAR’s
best duel under the lights on EchoPark Speedway’s challenging high
banks.
The rising stars of the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series bring the
action Saturday night in the Focused Health 250 on July 11. Adding even
higher stakes to the weekend is NASCAR’s $1 million In-Season
Tournament. Eight of NASCAR’s stars will compete head-to-head in the
bracket-style elimination tournament – four will leave EchoPark
Speedway with a chance to claim the $1 million prize.
Awaiting Sunday night’s winner in EchoPark Speedway Victory Lane will
be a one-of-a-kind 2026 Harley-Davidson Street Glide “250 Years of
Freedom Edition,” custom-built by Sturgis Harley-Davidson presented by
Sonic Automotive.
More information on the July 11–12 Quaker State 400 Available at
Walmart weekend and ticket availability can be found online at
EchoParkSpeedway.com.
About EchoPark Speedway:
EchoPark Speedway is a premier entertainment venue located about 30
miles south of Atlanta, Ga.
Since 1960, EchoPark Speedway has been a staple of the NASCAR calendar
and currently hosts two weekends of racing in the spring and fall each
year. When NASCAR isn’t in town, EchoPark Speedway’s versatile
facility hosts an assortment of events that attract visitors from near
and far, from Monster Jam to the Georgia State Fair and everything in
between.
For more information on EchoPark Speedway and to see upcoming events at
the facility, visit: Quaker State 400 Available at Walmart: NASCAR Cup Series, Sunday, July 12, 2026
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