The most exciting part of the NASCAR season is here.
After a 26-race regular season with 15 different winners, the playoffs are set to begin this weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
The high-banked Georgia track hasn’t hosted a playoff race since 2008. But it will be even more unpredictable this time around after the track was reconfigured to a superspeedway-style venue in 2022.
So, who is racing in Atlanta? What’s the schedule for TV and streaming? And what drivers could contend for the win? Here’s everything you need to know for 2024 Quaker State 400:
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NASCAR Southern 500 entry list, drivers
Thirty-eight drivers will race in Darlington – the 34 full-timers, plus four others.
Shane van Gisbergen, who was recently announced as a full-time Cup driver next season, will make his seventh start of this year for Kaulig Racing. Elsewhere, Cody Ware is back in the No. 15 car for Rick Ware Racing and B.J. McLeod will drive the No. 78 for Live Fast Motorsports.
Here’s the full entry list for Atlanta:
| Car number | Driver | Team | Sponsor |
| 1 | Ross Chastain | Trackhouse Racing | Worldwide Express |
| 2 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske | Menards |
| 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | BREZTRI |
| 4 | Josh Berry | Stewart-Haas Racing | Decisely Insurance |
| 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | HendrickCars.com |
| 6 | Brad Keselowski | RFK Racing | King's Hawaiian |
| 7 | Corey LaJoie | Spire Motorsports | Gainbridge |
| 8 | Kyle Busch | Richard Childress Racing | Global Industrial |
| 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | NAPA Auto Parts |
| 10 | Noah Gragson | Stewart-Haas Racing | Overstock |
| 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Mavis Tire |
| 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Dent Wizard |
| 14 | Chase Briscoe | Stewart-Haas Racing | Mahindra Tractors |
| 15 | Cody Ware | Rick Ware Racing | Mighty Fire Breaker |
| 16 | Shane van Gisbergen | Kaulig Racing | Acceptance Insurance |
| 17 | Chris Buescher | RFK Racing | Fastenal |
| 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Auto-Owners Insurance |
| 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Rheem |
| 21 | Harrison Burton | Wood Brothers Racing | DEX Imaging |
| 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Autotrader |
| 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing | Leidos |
| 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Relay Payments |
| 31 | Daniel Hemric | Kaulig Racing | Cirkul |
| 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | B'laster |
| 38 | Todd Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports | CITGARD |
| 41 | Ryan Preece | Stewart-Haas Racing | Haas Tooling |
| 42 | John Hunter Nemechek | Legacy Motor Club | OLIPOP |
| 43 | Erik Jones | Legacy Motor Club | Dollar Tree |
| 44 | J.J. Yeley | NY Racing Team | US Aviation Academy |
| 45 | Tyler Reddick | 23XI Racing | Jordan Brand |
| 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | JTG Daugherty Racing | Kroger |
| 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Ally |
| 51 | Justin Haley | Rick Ware Racing | Grady Health System |
| 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing | He Gets Us |
| 71 | Zane Smith | Spire Motorsports | Ambetter Health |
| 77 | Carson Hocevar | Spire Motorsports | Delaware Life |
| 78 | B.J. McLeod | Live Fast Motorsports | Delgado Stone |
| 99 | Daniel Suarez | Trackhouse Racing | Quaker State |
When is the NASCAR race in Atlanta?
The Quaker State 400 is set for Sunday, Sept. 8, at 3 p.m. ET.
Before the race, there will be a qualifying session on Saturday. The 38 drivers will take the track one-by-one (in this order) for two-round qualifying. Each driver gets two laps in the first round, with the 10 fastest advancing to the final round. The final 10 drivers will get two more laps to determine the top-10 starting order, with positions 11 through 38 set based on first round times.
What is the NASCAR TV schedule this weekend?
Leigh Diffey (play-by-play), Jeff Burton (analyst) and Steve Letarte (analyst) will be on the call for NBC Sports all weekend. Marty Snider, Dave Burns and Kim Coon will serve as pit reporters. Here’s the full TV and streaming schedule:
Saturday, Sept. 7 (USA Network and streaming)
- Qualifying: 12:30 p.m. ET, USA Network, NBC Sports app
Sunday, Sept. 8 (USA Network and streaming)
- Countdown to Green: 2:30 p.m. ET, USA Network, NBC Sports app
- Quaker State 400: 3 p.m. ET, USA Network, NBC Sports app
- NASCAR Cup Series Post Race: 6:30 p.m. ET, USA Network, NBC Sports app
NASCAR playoff standings entering Atlanta
The 16-driver playoff field was finalized after an eventful regular season finale at Darlington last weekend, with Briscoe winning his way in. Atlanta is the first race in the Round of 16 as drivers have three weeks to secure their position in the Round of 12.
You can find a full explanation of NASCAR’s playoff format right here.
Here are the playoff standings entering Atlanta:
| Rank | Driver | Points |
| 1. | Kyle Larson | 2,040 |
| 2. | Christopher Bell | 2,032 |
| 3. | Tyler Reddick | 2,028 |
| 4. | William Byron | 2,022 |
| 5. | Ryan Blaney | 2,018 |
| 6. | Denny Hamlin | 2,015 |
| 7. | Chase Elliott | 2,014 |
| 8. | Brad Keselowski | 2,008 |
| 9. | Joey Logano | 2,007 |
| 10. | Austin Cindric | 2,007 |
| 11. | Daniel Suarez | 2,006 |
| 12. | Alex Bowman | 2,005 |
| 13. | Chase Briscoe | 2,005 |
| 14. | Harrison Burton | 2,005 |
| 15. | Ty Gibbs | 2,004 |
| 16. | Martin Truex Jr. | 2,004 |
NASCAR Atlanta winners list, race history
Eight of the 38 drivers in the field are past winners in Atlanta, but just four of them have won at the track since it was reconfigured in 2022.
Byron, Keselowski and Busch are the only two-time Atlanta winners racing on Sunday. Both of Byron’s wins were after the reconfiguration, though, while Keselowski and Busch’s victories came before it.
Hamlin (2012) and Blaney (2021) won there before the track change, Elliott (2022), Logano (2023) and Suarez (2024) won with the new layout.
Atlanta predictions, picks, favorites
If the first race in Atlanta this season was any indication, Sunday could be a thriller.
That February race produced 48 lead changes and a 0.003-second margin of victory for Suarez over Blaney, with Busch in third just 0.007 seconds behind.
Looking at Atlanta history since 2022, several clear favorites stand out. There’s Byron, who won in 2022 and 2023 and has 171 laps led over those five races. Logano has a victory and 190 laps led, with at least 10 laps led in four of five races. And finally, Suarez has finished top-six in four of five races, including second last summer and first in February.
The drafting tracks similar to Atlanta this year (Daytona and Talladega) have produced three winners in three races: Byron and Burton at Daytona and Reddick at Talladega.
Some longshots to monitor are Gilliland (58 laps led at Atlanta in February) and Wallace (top-six in three of four drafting tracks this year).
