Bust Or Bracket-Buster Fun? NASCAR Attempts $1M In-Season Tournament
When NASCAR signed its new broadcast deal, siphoning off five-race packages to two entities, it provided the perfect road map for an in-season tournament. To do nothing would have been a lost opportunity, so kudos to NASCAR for putting together its 32-driver in-season tournament that begins this weekend at Atlanta, coinciding with the five-race stretch on TNT.
Here's how it works:
The top 32 in driver points after Nashville were eligible for the tournament. Seeding is based on best finish over the past three races — Michigan, Mexico City and Pocono — resulting in Denny Hamlin earning the top seed. Ties were broken by the next-best finish. If two drivers had the exact same three finishes, then whoever had the best finish first over the three weeks got the higher seed. NASCAR now has a traditional tournament bracket that will run concurrently with the next five races — all regular-season events run as normal with the addition of the tournament as somewhat of a sideshow. In Atlanta, the No. 1 seed (Hamlin) is matched against the No. 32 seed (Ty Dillon), the No. 2 seed (Chase Briscoe) faces No. 31 (Noah Gragson) and so on. Whoever has the best finish at Atlanta in each of the 16 matchups advances to the next round at the Chicago street course.The winner of No. 1 vs. No. 32 gets matched against the winner of No. 16 vs No. 17 at Chicago, the No. 2 vs. No. 31 winner gets the No. 15 vs. No. 18 winner and so on.
After Chicago, eight drivers remain for Sonoma, four for Dover and the final two facing off at Indy. There is no reseeding, drivers already know potential opponents based on where they are seeded in the bracket.
There are plenty of things to wonder about whether NASCAR is doing this the right way.
Did the seeding by best finish over the last three races make sense? William Byron, the series points leader, enters as the 18th seed. Kyle Larson, who is second in the standings, is the 10th seed.
Either doing it by overall points or points the last few races could make more sense, although there certainly are some intriguing first-round matchups, including Michael McDowell vs. AJ Allmendinger — two drivers who are solid drafting track and road-course racers. The winner could have a strong chance at making the Final 4.Which leads one to wonder if having three wild-card type races — Atlanta and two road courses at Chicago and Sonoma — is a recipe for quite an unconventional Final 4.
NASCAR is paying the winning driver $1 million. Not the team but the driver. Does that really make sense when all we hear is how it is a team sport? NASCAR will likely argue that the more money they can pay the driver, the more incentive for a driver to take this tournament seriously.
Just remember: This is an attempt and doesn't have to be the same for 2026. NASCAR can learn lessons this year.
This tournament certainly should grab the attention of fans during the summer beyond the standard playoff bubble chatter. People will fill out brackets and watch, hopefully creating buzz on social media. Gambling sites can use it to offer other ways for people to bet on the race. If someone's favorite driver exits early, there remains something to dig into beyond just who will win the race.
Some might feel the race should be good enough. But as the NBA in-season tournament has shown, having something additional during the regular season isn't a bad thing.
It will be interesting to see the fan reaction and whether drivers get engaged in this tournament. For now, don't bother me. I'm busy filling out my bracket.
Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR and INDYCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass.
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