Why is NASCAR Cup Series race at Atlanta taking place on Saturday?
NASCAR will debut the In-Season Challenge on Saturday in Atlanta, with a primetime slot scheduled over the usual Sunday tradition due to the new competition.
NASCAR heads to Atlanta this weekend. The newly rebranded EchoPark Speedway will host the Cup Series and the Xfinity Series, though both races will run a day earlier than usual.
History will be made at the formerly known Atlanta Motor Speedway as the NASCAR In-Season Challenge officially gets underway. The 32-driver bracket has already been confirmed, with Cup Series drivers set to battle over five races for a $1 million prize.
Ryan Blaney is already starting to focus on the In-Season Challenge due to his comfortable position within the NASCAR standings. In an attempt to capitalize on the historic moment, NASCAR has scheduled the Cup Series race for Saturday night.
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Typically, NASCAR operates over a three-day weekend. The Craftsman Truck Series race is scheduled for Friday. The Xfinity Series gets underway on Saturday, before the Cup Series race on Sunday concludes the action.
However, NASCAR has scheduled several Cup Series races for the Saturday night primetime slot in the past, and with the NBA and the NHL wrapped up for another season, the In-Season Challenge fell on the perfect weekend. Therefore, the Cup Series race will start at 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, June 28.
The Xfinity Series race will start at the same time on Friday, June 27. The Craftsman Truck Series will still compete over the weekend, but the race will begin at 1 p.m. ET in Lime Rock Park, Connecticut.
In addition to the In-Season Challenge excitement, EchoPark Speedway has been restored with fresh paint and new signage. The track's executive vice president and general manager, Brandon Hutchison, said: "We’re just excited about all of the news going around the speedway change.
"We’re excited about the In-Season Challenge. We’re excited about our new broadcast partner, and we’re excited about the fact that more fans are going to be at EchoPark Speedway this weekend than have been here in quite some time.
"Fans will quickly see that the entire place has changed. We’ve got an incredibly cool paint job. We’ve got all new signage. We’ve worked real hard to make sure that the place looks as beautiful as it always does, but it’s going to come with a facelift."
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The In-Season Challenge will start at EchoPark Speedway and then travel to the Chicago Street Course, Sonoma Raceway, Dover Motor Speedway, and Indianapolis. The field of eligible drivers will be cut in half with each race until two remain for the finale at Indianapolis.
The final remaining driver will clinch $1 million on July 27 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and Hutchison told fans what to expect at EchoPark. "Through Michigan, Mexico City, and Pocono this past weekend, they have seated 32 drivers, so there will be 16 different brackets when they leave here," he said.
"Sixteen drivers will move on. Sixteen drivers will be done. So fans will have some exciting storylines to watch. It’s got a million bucks on the line, so drivers will do just about anything for that kind of money."
