Everything you need to know before the AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 kicks off

The NASCAR Cup Series playoffs will begin its second round at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday with the AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 race. Last year’s winner Tyler Reddick will attempt to win the event in back-to-back years.

Here’s everything fans need to know before the NASCAR playoffs come to Fort Worth.

What time is the race?

The race takes place at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday at the Texas Motor Speedway. The event can be watched on USA Network or streamed on the NBC Sports app.

How can fans buy tickets?

Fans can buy tickets on the Texas Motor Speedway’s website. Prices begin at $71 and go as high as $300.

What is the NASCAR playoff format?

The NASCAR playoffs have four rounds with drivers eliminated after each round until four drivers are left to compete for the championship. The playoffs consist of the Round of 16, Round of 12, Round of Eight and the Championship Four.

Drivers eliminated from the playoffs still compete in races to improve their final league standings.

What are the NASCAR playoff standings?

Here are the NASCAR playoff standings.

1. William Byron

2. Martin Truex Jr

3. Denny Hamlin

4. Kyle Larson

5. Chris Buescher

6. Kyle Busch

7. Christopher Bell

8. Tyler Reddick

9. Ross Chastain

10. Brad Keselowski

11. Ryan Blaney

12. Bubba Wallace

Other events at Texas Motor Speedway

Racing fans looking for events before this Sunday’s race have several they can attend. The first is the Labonte Brothers Celebrity Clay Shoot which begins at 2 p.m. on Thursday at the Circle T Ranch in Westlake. Tickets start at $375.

Texas Motor Speedway will host its second annual Micro Mania from Sept. 20-23. The event showcases smaller versions of full-sized sprint cars racing around a one-fifth-mile on the Lil’ Texas Motor Speedway dirt oval. Micro Mania has an adults (Outlaw Sprint) and kids (Junior Sprint) division for races. Fans can buy pit passes ($155) and regular tickets ($99 ) through Texasmotorspeedway.com.

The NASCAR Xfinity Series, NASCAR’s second-tier stock racing league, will also have its own playoff race at Texas Motor Speedway. The Andy’s Frozen Custard 300 will begin at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday and fans can buy tickets ($25) here.

The last event on this NASCAR playoffs weekend takes place on Monday and it allows fans to step behind the wheel of a NASCAR race car. Tickets start at $319 and go as high as $2684.98 depending on how much drive time is purchased.

Last playoff race in Texas?

The Texas Motor Speedway has hosted the Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400 for the last 18 years.

However, Beyond the Flag’s Jack Gutzler predicted that Texas Motor Speedway will not host a playoff race during the 2024 NASCAR season. Instead, the racing schedule at TMS could move to the spring.