NASCAR Saturday schedule at Atlanta
The 1.5-mile oval will have Cup qualifying at 11 a.m. ET. Both pole positions at the Hampton, Georgia, track last year were swept by Michael McDowell, who has moved to Spire Motorsports this season from Front Row Motorsports.
Two-time Cup Series champion Kyle Busch will return to the truck series Saturday, driving the No. 7 for Spire Motorsports as the defending winner of the 135-lap race that starts at 1:30 p.m. ET.
The Xfinity race will start at 5 p.m. Georgia native Austin Hill swept last year's Xfinity races at his home track.
Atlanta Motor Speedway
(All Times Eastern)
Garage open
8:30 a.m. - 1 p.m. — Cup Series
10:30 a.m. - 7 p.m. — Truck Series
2 - 11 p.m. — Xfinity Series
Track activity
11 a.m. - 12:20 p.m. — Cup qualifying (Prime, Performance Racing Network, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
1:30 p.m. — Truck race (135 laps, Stage 1 at Lap 35, Stage 2 at Lap 65), 207.9 miles); FS1, Motor Racing Network, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
5 p.m. — Xfinity race (163 laps, Stage 1 at Lap 45, Stage 2 at Lap 90, 251.02 miles; CW, Performance Racing Network, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Weather
Saturday: Mostly sunny skies with an afternoon high of 52 degrees and zero chance of rain. It's expected to be sunny and 50 degrees for the start of the truck race; mostly sunny and 51 degrees for the start of the Xfinity race.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
36 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Video - Al Nassr: Mané congratulated in the locker room after securing a spot in the final
Sadio Mané Sent off with a red card during the Saudi Super Cup semi-final against Al Ittihad, Sadio Mané still received praise in the locker room. Watch the video! On Tuesday night, Al Nassr faced Al Ittihad in the semi-finals of the Saudi Super Cup. Thanks to an early goal from Sadio Mané, Al Nassr managed to book their place in the final even though the Senegalese star was sent off just minutes after scoring. At the final whistle (2-1), Sadio was congratulated by his teammates in the dressing room. The Senegal international even shared the video on X.
Fox Sports
38 minutes ago
- Fox Sports
Dover, Watkins Glen Moves Will Test NASCAR Risk-Taking
NASCAR Cup Series Dover, Watkins Glen Moves Will Test NASCAR Risk-Taking Updated Aug. 20, 2025 3:41 p.m. ET share facebook x reddit link Dover as the All-Star Race? Watkins Glen in May? Those were the two somewhat startling reveals of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series schedule. In fact, some might be scratching their heads asking, "what are they thinking?" Speedway Motorsports has the All-Star Race and wanted North Wilkesboro to have a points race on the 30th anniversary of the last points race at the track. Nothing wrong with that. But of all its tracks, it chose Dover, a track that doesn't have lights. So most likely, this will be a daytime race. Now, where temperatures are concerned, Dover in May is likely going to be cooler than Dover in hot July. And it is a short track, at one mile in length. It will be an intriguing All-Star Race — one that fans should want to watch since it will be unique. But what about Nashville? Maybe the idea was to wait to see if the Fairgrounds deal could be pushed through and then bring the All-Star Race there. Or Bristol? That has some of the same challenges as Dover, but it would also differentiate the two Bristol events. ADVERTISEMENT "We worked with Speedway Motorsports on the shift there," NASCAR Executive Vice President Ben Kennedy said. "Part of it was taking into consideration whether moving them into May felt like it was a better time of year from at least a heat perspective, and we considered a handful of other tracks as well. We felt like that one was the best. NASCAR Executive Ben Kennedy speaks during the NASCAR Awards and Champion Celebration at the Charlotte Convention Center in Nov. 2024 "A number of considerations just as we think about each one of these moves, and Dover was the best option that we had for '26." If the All-Star Race went to Bristol, that would mean adding another track in the early months of the schedule. And the decision to move Watkins Glen shows there are limited options. Richmond had enough success with a recent Saturday night summer race that it appears a summer Saturday night works best for its one event. Could Iowa have moved to May? Possibly, although then it would likely be within a week or two of the Kansas race. Maybe St. Louis? Sonoma? So, yes, it is a little bit of a challenge. But camping in August at Watkins Glen seems like the perfect time. NASCAR's Jusan Hamlin, who is managing director for racing operations and handles much of the schedule issues, is from that area of New York and is hopeful the new date will work. "The cool thing about having the race take place that time of year, school is still in session. The population of central New York is much higher that time of year, so you have the opportunity to potentially reach a fan demographic up there that's typically not around during the summer," Hamlin said. Cup Series drivers race at Watkins Glen in Aug. 2025 "As far as weather goes, we look at a lot of data at all our venues, and weather is always certainly a consideration. You look at that time of the year. It says on average lower 70s during the day, chance of rain is relatively low even compared to August." Whether upstate New York will be recovering from a spring snow remains to be seen, but it is nothing that NASCAR hasn't dealt with in March and April at some venues. There's lots to like in the 2026 Cup schedule. Homestead as the finale and the addition of points races at San Diego (Naval Base Coronado), Chicagoland and North Wilkesboro should all generate excitement. But as a series generates excitement, it often generates questions. We'll see how these two work out. Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR and INDYCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass. What did you think of this story? share
Chicago Tribune
an hour ago
- Chicago Tribune
Afternoon Briefing: What's fueling the CPS budget standoff?
Good afternoon, Chicago. Chicago Board of Education President Sean Harden challenged the district's new proposed budget yesterday, expressing doubts about its heavy reliance on revenue from special taxing districts to close a $734 million deficit. The hesitancy repeatedly expressed by Harden, who was appointed by Mayor Brandon Johnson, during two public hearings signals further growing tension within the school board over how to address the district's deepening fiscal crisis. Chicago Public Schools' fiscal road map, backed by interim CEO Macquline King, runs counter to the agenda of Johnson, a former Chicago Teachers Union organizer, who has advocated both now and in the past for borrowing to address budget woes. Here's what else is happening today. And remember, for the latest breaking news in Chicago, visit and sign up to get our alerts on all your devices. Subscribe to more newsletters | Asking Eric | Horoscopes | Puzzles & Games | Today in History More than two months after her death, Chicago police Officer Krystal Rivera's autopsy was finalized last week by the Cook County medical examiner's office. It was reviewed by the Tribune today after an open-records request. Read more here. More top news stories: While NASCAR is bypassing the Chicago Street Race next summer, it is filling the void on the schedule with a Cup Series race during July Fourth weekend at the long-dormant Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet. Read more here. More top business stories: Will there be any surprise cuts or salary-cap casualties? What about trading for a running back — or even making calls about disgruntled edge rushers Trey Hendrickson and Micah Parsons? Brad Biggs answers these questions and more in his weekly Bears mailbag. Read more here. More top sports stories: Jacob Ryan Reno, long and boyish, wearing the kind of blue smock you imagine a painter would wear in a cartoon about a painter, is not good at his job. He draws and has become pretty popular in Chicago for those drawings. Read more here. More top Eat. Watch. Do. stories: From Florida to New England, people trying to enjoy the last hurrahs of summer along the coast were met with rip current warnings, closed beaches and in some cases already treacherous waves as Hurricane Erin inched closer today. Read more here. More top stories from around the world:
