The inaugural In-Season Challenge will begin Saturday night at EchoPark Speedway as the 1.54-mile oval south of Atlanta will feature 16 head-to-head matchups during a 260-lap race.
The bracket-style event will begin with 32 drivers who will be winnowed down to a $1 million champion over five races: Atlanta, Chicago, Sonoma, Dover and Indianapolis.
Based off results in the past three races, Denny Hamlin is the top seed in the tournament and will open the first round against Ty Dillon.
Here are the other first-round matchups at Atlanta with the best-finishing driver advancing to the second round held during the Chicago Street Race.
Atlanta also will mark the beginning of the five-race schedule for TNT, which takes over after the past five races were streamed on Prime.
After TNT’s run, NBC Sports will broadcast the final 14 Cup races.
Details for Saturday’s Cup race at Atlanta
(All times Eastern)
START: The command to start engines will be given at 7:08 p.m. by Kyle Petty, Michael Waltrip and Dino Bernacchi of EchoPark Automotive. … The green flag is scheduled to wave at 7:19 p.m.
PRERACE: The Cup garage will open at 4 p.m. … The drivers meeting is at 6:05 p.m. … Driver introductions are at 6:30 p.m. … The national anthem will be performed at 7:01 p.m. by comedian and singer Jessie Woo.
DISTANCE: The race is 260 laps (400.4 miles) on the 1.54-mile oval.
STAGES: Stage 1 ends at Lap 60. Stage 2 ends at Lap 160.
ENTRY LIST: Click here for the 40 cars entered at EchoPark Speedway.
TV/RADIO: TNT will broadcast the race starting at 6:30 p.m. (there will be an alternate broadcast focused on the In-Season Challenge on truTV). … Performance Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio will have radio coverage.
FORECAST: WeatherUnderground — Partly cloudy with afternoon showers and scattered thunderstorms in the evening with a 50% chance of rain and a high of 88 degrees. It’s expected to be 82 degrees with a 37% chance of rain at the start of the Cup race.
LAST TIME: Christopher Bell led only the final lap, nudging just ahead of Carson Hocevar and Kyle Larson as the last caution flag flew on Feb. 22, 2025.
