Race Information
● Event: Autotrader 400 (Round 2 of 36)
● Date/Time: Sunday, February 22 | 3 p.m. ET
● TV/Radio: FOX / PRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (channel 90)
● Location: Echopark Speedway, Hampton, Georgia
● Layout: 1.54-mile quad-oval, intermediate speedway
● Laps/Miles: 260 laps/400.4 miles
● On-Track Activity:
Saturday
Qualifying 11 a.m. ET
Prime / PRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (channel 90)
Notes of Interest
● EchoPark Speedway hosts the second race on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule this weekend, marking two-straight speedway races to kick off the 2026 campaign.
● Located just south of Atlanta on 850 majestic acres in Hampton, Georgia, today’s EchoPark Speedway is one of the country’s premier sports and entertainment facilities.
● When the 1.5-mile track, then called Atlanta International Raceway, made its debut on July 31, 1960, it became the seventh superspeedway, a paved facility of one mile or more, to play host to a Cup race. Only four of the original seven – Darlington Raceway, Daytona International Speedway, Charlotte Motor Speedway, and Atlanta – are still in operation.
● Announced July 6, 2021, the Next Generation of Atlanta Motor Speedway was unveiled as the track was to be repaved. The six-month, multi-million dollar project began hours after the checkered flag of the Quaker State 400 presented by Walmart on July 11, 2021. In addition to being re-paved, the track was re-imagined, increasing the banking from 24-degrees to 28-degrees, producing superspeedway-style racing on the 1.54-mile oval.
● Inaugural race: July 31, 1960 (Dixie 500). Winner: Fireball Roberts
By the Numbers
● Custer makes his ninth Cup start at Atlanta this weekend, where he has a 23.0 average finish. His lone top-10 finish came in the fall of 2022.
● He started seventh in last season’s fall race, and he boasts a 21.3 average starting position.
● Custer has also made seven NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series starts at Atlanta, where he has three top-10 finishes and a pole in 2019.
No. 41 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 Driver and Crew Chief
Driver: Cole Custer
Hometown: Ladera Ranch, California
Crew Chief: Aaron Kramer
Hometown: Wellsville, New York