Which Drivers Will Run EchoPark Speedway’s Spring NASCAR Cup Race

On Monday, NASCAR officially released the preliminary entry list for the second event of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series campaign, the AutoTrader 400 at EchoPark Speedway (formerly known as Atlanta Motor Speedway). Contained on the entry list are 36 Chartered Entries. These cars are guaranteed spots into the field for Sunday’s event, and would be even if there were more entries than spots available in the field.

Here are the 36 Chartered Entries that are locked into the field for the 2026 AutoTrader 400, but will have to qualify for their starting spots in a single-vehicle, single-lap qualifying set to take place on the afternoon of Saturday, February 21.

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All 36 of the entries listed below have full-time drivers this season, so this list will not change on a week-to-week basis, barring some kind of exentuating circumstance.

Open Entries

There are 38 drivers on the preliminary entry list for the AutoTrader 400 at EchoPark Speedway, which means alongside the 36 Chartered Entries, there are two Open Entries that will take the green flag on Sunday for 400 miles.

After failing to qualify for the 2026 DAYTONA 500, JJ Yeley and NY Racing are returning to the racetrack this weekend at EchoPark Speedway, fielding the No. 44 Chevrolet in the AutoTrader 400. This organization, owned by John Cohen, typically competes on superspeedways (EchoPark Speedway included), but has recently been expanding into other race tracks, mainly the intermediates and select short track events.

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Joining Yeley and NY Racing as an Open Entry for this weekend’s event is BJ McLeod, who had a topsy-turvy Speedweeks, to say the least. After initially failing to qualify for the DAYTONA 500, the Live Fast Motorsports owner-driver was catapulted into the field when Anthony Alfredo was disqualified from the America 250 Florida Duel, putting McLeod into the show.

That garnered the attention of several different brands who wanted to be featured on the No. 78 Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet, meaning that by the time the green flag dropped for the DAYTONA 500, McLeod no longer had a blank racecar. Those sponsors were Stone’s Auto Repair and RepairableVehicles.com.

McLeod was very much in the lead draft in the opening laps of the event, until a part broke on the No. 78, ending his DAYTONA 500 dream after just five laps.

Casey Mears and Garage 66 were forced to withdraw from Sunday’s event, after being caught up during an accident in the America 250 Florida Duels (but getting in the show). In an effort to be ready for the DAYTONA 500, Garage 66 used pieces from its Daytona and Atlanta racecars, and according to Carl Long, there wasn’t enough parts left to run Atlanta.

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The AutoTrader 400 at EchoPark Speedway will take place on Sunday, February 22 at 3:00 PM ET on FOX, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

This article was originally published on www.si.com/onsi/racing-america as Which Drivers Will Run EchoPark Speedway’s Spring NASCAR Cup Race.