HAMPTON, G.A. (WSPA) – With 26 races down and ten to go in the NASCAR Cup Series, playoff action begins this weekend in Atlanta. Things are also heating up in the Xfinity Series as the postseason field of drivers begins to narrow.

It’s win and advance, or have enough cumulative points to be above the cutline for NASCAR playoffs.

This weekend, thousands of fans are expected to pack into Atlanta Motor Speedway for a pair of races that will put drivers’ seasons on the line.

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First up in Saturday action is the Xfinity Series. With only two races remaining in the regular season, the playoff field is narrowing.

Xfinity Series championship contender Sheldon Creed and Joe Gibbs Racing will sport a CW Sports car after the network locked in a seven-year deal as the official broadcast partner of the NASCAR Xfinity Series. The plan also includes televising the final eight races of this year’s playoffs, beginning on September 20 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

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On Sunday, the NASCAR Cup Series Playoff action returns to the speedway for the first time since 2008.

“There’s potential at all three of them to be crazy,” said Martin Truex Jr., 2017 Cup Series Champion. “Atlanta, of course, we know what that’s going to be like. It’s going to be wild- three, four wide and drafting.” 

“Our group is super confident in going into Atlanta weekend and hopefully having a good start to the playoffs,” said Ryan Blaney, defending 2023 Cup Series Champion.

For playoff returners and newcomers, drivers said Atlanta can be unpredictable. Drivers will be doing everything they can to stack points and avoid wrecks.

“You know this first round of the playoffs is all about not eliminating yourself,” said Cup Series driver Chase Briscoe. “You just can’t build a huge points deficit. So that’s the big thing, is understand when it’s time to take those risks to try to calculate those out.”

“I think it’s got everyone really nervous. I think it’s a race that you could very well win and you could very well wreck in the first five laps,” said Harrison Burton, Cup Series driver.

“Most of us feel like our hands are tied. We know that if it’s in our control we can have good races, but on the same breath, there’s going to be wrecks. There’s going to be massive wrecks that take out a lot of cars. You need to be on the good side of that,” added Cup Series driver Christopher Bell.

Atlanta is the first of three playoff races, including Watkins Glen and Bristol, before teams face the looming cut down to the final 12 contenders.

Sunday’s action features drivers in the hunt for a NASCAR Cup Series Championship.

The Xfinity Series will drop the green flag at 3 p.m. on Saturday. Cup Series playoff action will follow on Sunday at 3 p.m.