After returning from its trip to Mexico City and hosting the much-awaited race at the ‘Tricky Triangle,’ NASCAR is ready to visit Atlanta for the second time this year.
While the first race yielded a rather unexpected outcome with Christopher Bell arriving in the victory lane at the last minute, fans are excited about the upcoming contest at the EchoPark Speedway.
There are a handful of alterations in NASCAR’s schedule for the upcoming weekend. The first one is that the usual Cup Series race on Sunday will run on Saturday this time, while the Xfinity race will be held on Friday. The Truck and ARCA Series races will take place at Lime Rock Park.
However, apart from these, one crucial event is missing from the weekend schedule altogether.
Why the NASCAR Cup Series Practice Race Is Missing From the Atlanta Schedule
When motorsports journalist Bob Pockrass put up a post on his X handle for the weekend schedule at the EchoPark Speedway, it had one event missing. In the schedule, while the other events were lined up to commence from 3 p.m. on Friday, it had no mention of a practice race for the Cup Series.
One fan pointed this out and asked Pockrass about it. In his response, he revealed a crucial detail about the track, which eliminated the possibility of a practice race.
No practice at Atlanta because it’s a drafting track. https://t.co/GCdNMd3jXw
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) June 23, 2025
Since Atlanta is now a drafting track, a practice session on the track would do but little for the teams. The primary function of a practice race is for a driver to get a better hang of the track ahead of the actual contest.
However, this is not the case on superspeedways and drafting tracks. On any drafting track, the cars cruise at high speed with the help of tight-pack drafting by other cars.
In the practice sessions, though, drivers are unable to indulge in draft racing, and thus, a practice session makes little sense. While some drivers and teams have argued against the lack of practice races for drafting tracks, NASCAR has largely eliminated them to avoid additional problems.
How the Atlanta Race Has Changed Over the Years
One of the oldest tracks on the NASCAR calendar, Atlanta has been hosting races since its inception in 1960. Over the years, Atlanta has served some of the finest racing action in the sport, so much so that it has often topped the chart of favorite tracks for both fans and drivers.
The track has also undergone a handful of changes over time. The first one was in 1997 when it was transformed into a modern quad oval from a traditional oval.
However, the major change came in 2021 when the banking of the track saw an ascend from 24 to 28 degrees. Along with this, even the track width was narrowed down to 40 feet.
In what started being famously known as the ‘Atlanta Treatment’ in NASCAR, the track started promoting superspeedway-style racing. While this did not sit right with many drivers as well as fans, it added a whole new twist to the flavor of racing that Atlanta served for many decades.
