Atlanta Motor Speedway, located in Atlanta, Georgia, has been on the NASCAR Cup schedule since 1960, but when the series returns there this summer, it will be going by a different name.

Atlanta will now be known as EchoPark Speedway as part of a seven-year branding deal worth several million dollars. The name atop the grandstands has already been changed.

EchoPark Automotive specializes in selling pre-owned vehicles and is owned by Sonic Automotive, which is headed by David Smith. He is the brother of Marcus Smith, who is the CEO of Speedway Motorsports, which owns Atlanta and many other tracks on the NASCAR schedule.

“We have enjoyed serving guests in the Atlanta metro area since EchoPark Atlanta opened its doors in 2020,” said David Smith, Chairman and CEO of Sonic Automotive. “This partnership allows us to share the value of the exceptional EchoPark car-buying experience with more guests in Atlanta and the surrounding area who enjoy the excitement of NASCAR racing at this iconic venue.”

The track hosts two Cup races each year and will serve as the opening round of TNT’s NASCAR broadcast schedule on June 28, as well as beginning the $1 million dollar in-season tournament that is being introduced this year.

Austin Cindric, Team Penske Ford, Bubba Wallace, 23XI Racing Toyota, William Byron, Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

Photo by: Chris Graythen – Getty Images

The winner of that race will also receive a EchoPark-provided Chevy Silverado and a trailer equipped with a Sturgis Motorcycle Rally Limited Edition Harley-Davidson motorcycle.

“We’re thrilled to partner with an innovative, customer-focused company like EchoPark Automotive as the entitlement partner of our newly named EchoPark Speedway,” said Speedway Motorsports CEO Marcus Smith. “EchoPark Automotive is as committed to exceptional customer service as we are, and we know that together we’ll elevate our fan experience to a new level unmatched for Southern hospitality. This partnership will fuel great experiences for fans attending our speedway for years to come.”

Tracks changing their names as part of entitlement sponsor deals is not a new phenomena in NASCAR. Charlotte once went by Lowe’s Motor Speedway, Sonoma was previously called Infineon Raceway, Fontana became known as Auto Club Speedway, and Phoenix was using ISM Raceway for a time. And even on the current schedule, Gateway is called World Wide Technology (WWT) Raceway.

If there is anyone who can get Carson Hocevar to listen to reason, it is probably Carl Edwards and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hocevar is the wild child of the NASCAR Cup Series right now, and his comments after the Ricky Stenhouse Jr. incident today are the latest example.

Carson Hocevar is full-throttle 100% of the time. He talked in the pre-race about not wanting to have regrets as a driver. But there is a fine line between having no regrets and creating your own problems.

On the Prime Video post-race show, both Carl Edwards and Dale Earnhardt Jr. issued warnings to Hocevar. They see him going down a path that could lead to unwanted consequences.

“Well, I hear a guy that doesn’t know that he ran into the back of somebody and wrecked them,” Earnhardt said after hearing Hocevar’s comments on the incident. “Hey, I’ll call it like it is. I like Hocevar a lot. Kid’s awesome. Ran second tonight. I like his attitude, I like his personality, and I like his style. But yeah, I think he could have cut the 47 a break, and he chose not to do that.

“That’s his way that he wants to race. He’s not very apologetic about it. A lot of people are going to love that. A lot of people are going to love how he races and how he does his job. From what I saw tonight, I think he probably could have gave Ricky an opportunity there and continued to race. And he’ll have to hear that side from Ricky, and it will be interesting to see how that plays out.”

Carl Edwards agreed. He followed up by echoing many of the same sentiments that Dale Jr. had.

“He sat up here in the pre-race and said, ‘Hey, I’m just going to be aggressive. No regrets, I’m going to go, I’m going to get it.’ And there you see it,” Edwards said. “And I talked about it a little bit, but there’s a price, and it hurts, and I’ve been there, and it’s not fun to be on the receiving end of what’s coming.”

Don’t get it twisted, Dale Jr. enjoys watching Carson Hocevar. He likes the aggression. However, the 22-year-old may be shortsighted in his “no-regrets” outlook on life.

“I like what I see out of Hocevar. As a fan and a broadcaster, it is entertaining,” Earnhardt said. “I just don’t like it when he wrecks the good guy, you know? I know Stenhouse has had his issues, too, but you kinda gotta pick and choose who your enemies are, and you can’t just kind of blanket the garage, right?

“So, I don’t know that I want him to dial it off or dial it back because it’s great as a fan to see him in controversy. We need a little color, we need a little personality, and he brings tons of it. But the garage kind of will police it a little bit. To your point, Corey, nobody’s really stepped to him just yet, but I think he might have messed with the wrong guy tonight.”

Big Game Motorsports recorded back-to-back runner-up results in North Dakota last weekend.

That gives team driver David Gravel 17 podium finishes in 28 races this season and it extended his lead in the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series championship standings to 188 points.

“I felt happy with how our weekend went,” he said. “The second night was definitely a more deserving second place. If everything goes right the first night we could have or should have won, but that’s racing.”

Gravel kicked off the weekend on Friday at River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks, where he qualified fourth quickest. A heat race win was followed by a dash victory to earn the pole position for the main event. Gravel led the first five laps before dropping a position.

“With them doing track work I didn’t know which lane would be the best and stayed on the bottom a little too long,” he said. “Buddy (Kofoid) got by me and took the lead. From there we were able to pace him and stick with him, but didn’t have the opportunity to get back by him. I was a little bummed with that second place.”

The weekend wrapped up on Saturday at Red River Valley Speedway, where Gravel timed in third quickest. He won a heat race and moved from fourth to third place in the dash to start the feature on the inside of the second row.

“Fargo was stressful with how the track was greasy,” he said. “To qualify good that night was a big relief. We qualified and put ourselves in position. To win our heat and draw the No. 4 for the dash was pretty good. We did good to gain a spot.

“We were okay early (in the feature). As the race went on we were good. Donny (Schatz) sniffed me out on the bottom and took my lane away, which slowed me up. We were able to get by him late.”

Gravel got into second with a late-race move, but was unable to make a bid for the lead. It marked his sixth second-place outing of the season.

This week is a big one for the team with four races in five days, beginning on Wednesday with the FENDT Showdown hosted by Jackson Motorplex in Jackson, Minn. A trip to Wisconsin encompasses races on Friday at Plymouth Dirt Track in Plymouth during the Badger State Triple; on Saturday at Beaver Dam Raceway in Beaver Dam during the Jim “JB” Boyd Memorial; and on Sunday at Angell Park Speedway in Sun Prairie during the Badger State Triple.

“Jackson is a track I haven’t won at so I’m eager to try to win there,” Gravel said. “Wisconsin will be interesting. The Plymouth track is one I haven’t been to. Beaver Dam is a track we’ve been fast at and I think I’ve ran second there five or six times. And Sun Prairie, I’ve been to it one time I think in 2016. It was a very unique track that is very flat and round.”

QUICK RESULTS –

May 30 – River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks, N.D. – Qualifying: 4; Heat race: 1 (1); Dash: 1 (1); Feature: 2 (1).

May 31 – Red River Valley Speedway in West Fargo, N.D. – Qualifying: 3; Heat race: 1 (1); Dash: 3 (4); Feature: 2 (3).

SEASON STATS –

28 races, 8 wins, 24 top fives, 28 top 10s, 28 top 15s, 28 top 20s

UP NEXT –

Wednesday at Jackson Motorplex in Jackson, Minn., for the FENDT Showdown; Friday at Plymouth Dirt Track in Plymouth, Wis., for the Badger State Triple; Saturday at Beaver Dam Raceway in Beaver Dam, Wis., for the Jim “JB” Boyd Memorial; and Sunday at Angell Park Speedway in Sun Prairie, Wis., for the Badger State Triple with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series

ILP PR

The NASCAR Cup Series is set to take on the Michigan International Speedway for the next race of the 2025 season, with 36 cars registered for the race.

Check out the entry list for this year’s Firekeepers Casino 400.

2025 NASCAR Michigan Entry List

1. Ross Chastain (#1, Trackhouse Racing)
2. Austin Cindric (#2, Team Penske)
3. Austin Dillon (#3, Richard Childress Racing)
4. Noah Gragson (#4, Front Row Motorsports)
5. Kyle Larson (#5, Hendrick Motorsports)
6. Brad Keselowski (#6, RFK Racing)
7. Justin Haley (#7, Spire Motorsports)
8. Kyle Busch (#8, Richard Childress Racing)
9. Chase Elliott (#9, Hendrick Motorsports)
10. Ty Dillon (#10, Kaulig Racing)
11. Denny Hamlin (#11, Joe Gibbs Racing)
12. Ryan Blaney (#12, Team Penske)
13. AJ Allmendinger (#16, Kaulig Racing)
14. Chris Buescher (#17, RFK Racing)
15. Chase Briscoe (#19, Joe Gibbs Racing)
16. Christopher Bell (#20, Joe Gibbs Racing)
17. Josh Berry (#21, Wood Brothers Racing)
18. Joey Logano (#22, Team Penske)
19. Bubba Wallace (#23, 23XI Racing)
20. William Byron (#24, Hendrick Motorsports)
21. Todd Gilliland (#34, Front Row Motorsports)
22. Riley Herbst (#35, 23XI Racing)
23. Zane Smith (#38, Front Row Motorsports)
24. Cole Custer (#41, Haas Factory Team)
25. John Hunter Nemechek (#42, Legacy Motor Club)
26. Erik Jones (#43, Legacy Motor Club)
27. Tyler Reddick (#45, 23XI Racing)
28. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (#47, HYAK Motorsports)
29. Alex Bowman (#48, Hendrick Motorsports)
30. Cody Ware (#51, Rick Ware Racing)
31. Ty Gibbs (#54, Joe Gibbs Racing)
32. Ryan Preece (#60, RFK Racing)
33. Michael McDowell (#71, Spire Motorsports)
34. Carson Hocevar (#77, Spire Motorsports)
35. Shane van Gisbergen (#88, Trackhouse Racing)
36. Daniel Suárez (#99, Trackhouse Racing)

Planning for the 2025 edition of the world’s largest gathering of motorsports professionals–December 11-13, Indianapolis–is well underway, but it’s not too late to stake your claim to a piece of the 2025 PRI Show floorplan. Ensure your brand has a presence at this one-of-a-kind industry event by securing a booth now.

Securing your booth space is the first step toward success at the PRI Show, which presents an unrivaled opportunity for racing industry professionals to drive sales, meet new clients and increase brand awareness, December 11-13, in downtown Indianapolis.

Exhibiting at the PRI Show offers a myriad of benefits to your brand:

• Increase Your Brand Awareness: Whether you are an established brand or looking to break into the motorsports market, exhibiting at PRI is the best investment to advance your brand goals.
• Connect With Your Customers: See existing customers and connect with them on the Show floor. Determine their business needs and use this opportunity to strengthen relationships.
• Expand Your Sales Channels: Take your products to new markets, whether through retailers, distributors or other sales channels, expanding your brand’s reach domestically and internationally.
• Introduce New Products: Ensure your latest and greatest products are seen by a large audience of potential customers at the PRI Show.

To reserve a booth at the 2025 PRI Show, visit here. For more information on why to exhibit, visit performanceracing.com/trade-show/exhibit.