Straight Talk Wireless 500
It is a short drive for the haulers from Daytona Beach to Hampton, GA, more commonly known as the site of Atlanta Motor Speedway. This year, there are some new naming rights, as the NASCAR Cup Series is at EchoPark Speedway for this weekend’s Autotrader 400. The name of the race and the name of the track may have changed for 2026, but this is still the same 1.54-mile quad oval it has been for a while.
This is the second race of 36 for the Cup Series season, which will include three road course races, a street course, a revamped playoff format, the second annual In-Season Challenge, and a whole lot of exciting Saturdays and Sundays for race fans and bettors.
How to Watch The Straight Talk Wireless 500
When: Sunday, March 8, 2026
Where: Phoenix Raceway in Avondale, AZ
Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
Channel: FS1
2026 NASCAR Cup Series Winners and Standings
In a season where first place points were bumped up to 55, Reddick has gone 3-for-3 and led the most laps in two of them. Reddick leads the field with 70 more points than anybody else, but he does only have 21 Stage points out of his 186 points. Bubba Wallace has three top-11 finishes in the three races and sits second in points. The only others with 100+ points are Chase Elliott and Ryan Blaney.
Nobody has finished in the top 10 in all three races except for Reddick. In fact, nobody else has two top-five finishes besides Reddick.
The postseason format has changed, as there are no rounds anymore and playoff points will not be awarded. The top 16 drivers in points will qualify for the Cup Series Chase and how they perform over the 10 races as a whole is how a winner will be decided. In other words, a win does not guarantee entry into the Chase like it would have in the past.
Straight Talk Wireless 500 Winners
There are a lot of data points for Phoenix Raceway. This was the site of the Championship Race from 2020-25. In terms of looking at recent history over the last 10 races, Christopher Bell and Joey Logano have won two races in that span. Ross Chastain, Kyle Larson, William Byron, Blaney, and Chase Briscoe.
Blaney has eight top-five finishes in the last 10 races here. Larson has six top-five finishes, while Logano has four and six other drivers have three top-five finishes. Logano has actually led 522 laps over the last 10 races, easily the most of any driver.
Straight Talk Wireless 500 Predictions
For the latest odds and VSiN’s NASCAR Best Bets, head to our NASCAR Hub to see Steve Makinen’s simulation results and more stats on the drivers.
