NASCAR returns to EchoPark Speedway, Chase Elliott eyes more home-track success

The Hampton track hosts NASCAR's top three series this weekend.

HAMPTON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – NASCAR heads to EchoPark Speedway this weekend for the second race weekend of the 2026 season, following last week’s season-opening tripleheader at Daytona.

The Hampton track, formerly known as Atlanta Motor Speedway, enters its second season under the EchoPark Speedway name. Since its 2022 reconfiguration into a drafting-style superspeedway, the racing has mirrored the pack-style competition seen at Daytona and Talladega.

Georgia native Chase Elliott returns as the Cup Series’ most recent winner there after last summer’s race at the reconfigured track. Elliott finished fourth in Sunday’s Daytona 500 after surrendering the lead to eventual winner Tyler Reddick in the short run from Turn 4 to the tri-oval on the final lap.

Speaking to media on a Zoom call this week, Elliott reflected on racing close to home and what last year’s win meant to him.

“It’s nice to say close to home, number one, but number two, I think it’s the excitement and the energy,” he said. “Got to experience that firsthand after the race there over the summer, which was just really cool to see and kind of feel that support. During the races you don’t always get to feel that when we’re running around out there, and it’s obviously really loud in the cars. You have that pre-race some but nothing like what it was post-race, and that for me was just really special and really cool. And then also to hear the stories after the race of my friends or whatever that happened to be at the event kind of tell me about it from their vantage point, and just how wild and crazy it was.”

According to NASCAR Insights data, Elliott owns the best average finish at the track since the 2022 reconfiguration. In that span, he has two wins and six top-10 finishes with an average finish of 9.14.

Weekend Schedule at EchoPark Speedway

Saturday features a doubleheader with the Truck Series and O’Reilly Auto Parts Series sharing the day. The Cup Series headlines Sunday afternoon.  Get your seats at echoparkspeedway.com.

Saturday, February 21

Fr8 Racing 208 – CRAFTSMAN Truck Series – 1:30 p.m.

Bennett Transportation and Logistics 250 – NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series – 5 p.m.

Sunday, February 22

Autotrader 400 – NASCAR Cup Series – 3 p.m.