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Hamilton Spectator
9 hours ago
- Automotive
- Hamilton Spectator
NASCAR's Cup Series to debut In-Season Challenge as $1 million backdrop to points race for title
HAMPTON, Ga. (AP) — The debut of NASCAR's In-Season Challenge in Saturday night's Cup Series race in Atlanta generated differing opinions and expectations from drivers. After all, there's a points race to attend to. Every team's top priority is qualifying for the playoffs and trying to win the championship. Some drivers acknowledge they simply haven't paid attention to the new race within the race. Joey Logano says he sees no reason to view the new tournament as a distraction. 'If there's something to win, you want to go win it,' Logano said Friday. Denny Hamlin is the No. 1 seed in the 32-driver In-Season Challenge, a five-race, bracket-style tournament. Chase Briscoe, who held off Hamlin for his first win for Joe Gibbs Racing last week at Pocono Raceway, is the No. 2 seed. A $1 million prize awaits the winner as part of a new media rights deal that includes TNT. Briscoe said Friday he felt 'definitely a sigh of relief, you know, just a weight off your shoulders' following last week's win. He said that sense of relief was shortlived. 'I'm expected to win multiple races, not just one,' Briscoe said. 'It's a sense of relief, but also more pressure because now they know you can win.' NASCAR hopes the tournament generates mid-season interest. The single-elimination format cuts the field to 16 at Chicago, eight at Sonoma, four at Dover and the final two at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Many drivers expect their interest in the tournament will increase after Saturday night's race. 'I think some of the drivers have been kind of dismissive over the bracket challenge,' said Brad Keselowski, who enters the race No. 30 in the points standings and in need of a win in Atlanta to earn a playoff spot in his RFK Racing Ford. 'I think it'll become a lot more real, whether it be for the drivers or for the media or the fans, as it progresses into the later rounds over the next few weeks,' Keselowski said. Added Ricky Stenhouse, who is 24th in the points race, of the new tournament: 'It's cool. I think after this weekend you'll have a little better idea of what you have. Our main goal in Atlanta is winning and getting into the playoffs.' Drawing 'Uncle' Noah Briscoe is facing No. 31 seed Noah Gragson in the first bracket. He says it's a difficult matchup, in part because 'he's actually probably my best friend on the circuit … and my son's favorite driver.' Briscoe said his 3-year-old son, Brooks, thinks of Gragson 'like that uncle that just you take your kid to, and he has Pop-Tarts and ice cream and everything else when he's with them.' Added Briscoe: 'Hopefully I'll win. If not I'll never here the end of it from Noah or my son.' Briscoe posted a photo on his X account of his son's bracket . The photo shows the smiling Brooks holding a bracket with his father's No. 19 winning every round of the tournament. Racing for Rhealynn Chase Elliott has a special paint scheme on his No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet that was designed by 11-year-old cancer patient Rhealynn Mills. Elliott chose Mills' design to highlight his foundation's efforts to raise money for Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. Elliott said the 'Design to Drive' program has raised $500,000 for the children's hospital. 'The only bad thing is I feel like we've crashed every time we've done it,' Elliott said, adding his sponsor, NAPA Auto Parts, deserved credit 'for giving up the car' so the paint scheme could instead feature Mills' design. New name for Atlanta track EchoPark Speedway is the new name for the track that was still known as Atlanta Motor Speedway in February when Christopher Bell won while leading only the final lap in overtime. It's the home track for Elliott, from Dawsonville, Georgia, and he acknowledged seeing the name change and the new green paint 'was different for me. I think it's fine.' Odds and ends Ryan Blaney is the favorite (+800) to win the race, per BetMGM Sportsbook. Joey Logano and Austin Cindric, each at +1000, were next. ___ AP auto racing:
Winnipeg Free Press
9 hours ago
- Automotive
- Winnipeg Free Press
NASCAR's Cup Series to debut In-Season Challenge as $1 million backdrop to points race for title
HAMPTON, Ga. (AP) — The debut of NASCAR's In-Season Challenge in Saturday night's Cup Series race in Atlanta generated differing opinions and expectations from drivers. After all, there's a points race to attend to. Every team's top priority is qualifying for the playoffs and trying to win the championship. Some drivers acknowledge they simply haven't paid attention to the new race within the race. Joey Logano says he sees no reason to view the new tournament as a distraction. 'If there's something to win, you want to go win it,' Logano said Friday. Denny Hamlin is the No. 1 seed in the 32-driver In-Season Challenge, a five-race, bracket-style tournament. Chase Briscoe, who held off Hamlin for his first win for Joe Gibbs Racing last week at Pocono Raceway, is the No. 2 seed. A $1 million prize awaits the winner as part of a new media rights deal that includes TNT. Briscoe said Friday he felt 'definitely a sigh of relief, you know, just a weight off your shoulders' following last week's win. He said that sense of relief was shortlived. 'I'm expected to win multiple races, not just one,' Briscoe said. 'It's a sense of relief, but also more pressure because now they know you can win.' NASCAR hopes the tournament generates mid-season interest. The single-elimination format cuts the field to 16 at Chicago, eight at Sonoma, four at Dover and the final two at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Many drivers expect their interest in the tournament will increase after Saturday night's race. 'I think some of the drivers have been kind of dismissive over the bracket challenge,' said Brad Keselowski, who enters the race No. 30 in the points standings and in need of a win in Atlanta to earn a playoff spot in his RFK Racing Ford. 'I think it'll become a lot more real, whether it be for the drivers or for the media or the fans, as it progresses into the later rounds over the next few weeks,' Keselowski said. Added Ricky Stenhouse, who is 24th in the points race, of the new tournament: 'It's cool. I think after this weekend you'll have a little better idea of what you have. Our main goal in Atlanta is winning and getting into the playoffs.' Drawing 'Uncle' Noah Briscoe is facing No. 31 seed Noah Gragson in the first bracket. He says it's a difficult matchup, in part because 'he's actually probably my best friend on the circuit … and my son's favorite driver.' Briscoe said his 3-year-old son, Brooks, thinks of Gragson 'like that uncle that just you take your kid to, and he has Pop-Tarts and ice cream and everything else when he's with them.' Added Briscoe: 'Hopefully I'll win. If not I'll never here the end of it from Noah or my son.' Briscoe posted a photo on his X account of his son's bracket. The photo shows the smiling Brooks holding a bracket with his father's No. 19 winning every round of the tournament. Racing for Rhealynn Chase Elliott has a special paint scheme on his No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet that was designed by 11-year-old cancer patient Rhealynn Mills. Elliott chose Mills' design to highlight his foundation's efforts to raise money for Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. Elliott said the 'Design to Drive' program has raised $500,000 for the children's hospital. 'The only bad thing is I feel like we've crashed every time we've done it,' Elliott said, adding his sponsor, NAPA Auto Parts, deserved credit 'for giving up the car' so the paint scheme could instead feature Mills' design. New name for Atlanta track Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. EchoPark Speedway is the new name for the track that was still known as Atlanta Motor Speedway in February when Christopher Bell won while leading only the final lap in overtime. It's the home track for Elliott, from Dawsonville, Georgia, and he acknowledged seeing the name change and the new green paint 'was different for me. I think it's fine.' Odds and ends Ryan Blaney is the favorite (+800) to win the race, per BetMGM Sportsbook. Joey Logano and Austin Cindric, each at +1000, were next. ___ AP auto racing:
Fox Sports
9 hours ago
- Automotive
- Fox Sports
NASCAR's Cup Series to debut In-Season Challenge as $1 million backdrop to points race for title
Associated Press HAMPTON, Ga. (AP) — The debut of NASCAR's In-Season Challenge in Saturday night's Cup Series race in Atlanta generated differing opinions and expectations from drivers. After all, there's a points race to attend to. Every team's top priority is qualifying for the playoffs and trying to win the championship. Some drivers acknowledge they simply haven't paid attention to the new race within the race. Joey Logano says he sees no reason to view the new tournament as a distraction. 'If there's something to win, you want to go win it,' Logano said Friday. Denny Hamlin is the No. 1 seed in the 32-driver In-Season Challenge, a five-race, bracket-style tournament. Chase Briscoe, who held off Hamlin for his first win for Joe Gibbs Racing last week at Pocono Raceway, is the No. 2 seed. A $1 million prize awaits the winner as part of a new media rights deal that includes TNT. Briscoe said Friday he felt 'definitely a sigh of relief, you know, just a weight off your shoulders' following last week's win. He said that sense of relief was shortlived. 'I'm expected to win multiple races, not just one,' Briscoe said. 'It's a sense of relief, but also more pressure because now they know you can win.' NASCAR hopes the tournament generates mid-season interest. The single-elimination format cuts the field to 16 at Chicago, eight at Sonoma, four at Dover and the final two at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Many drivers expect their interest in the tournament will increase after Saturday night's race. 'I think some of the drivers have been kind of dismissive over the bracket challenge,' said Brad Keselowski, who enters the race No. 30 in the points standings and in need of a win in Atlanta to earn a playoff spot in his RFK Racing Ford. 'I think it'll become a lot more real, whether it be for the drivers or for the media or the fans, as it progresses into the later rounds over the next few weeks,' Keselowski said. Added Ricky Stenhouse, who is 24th in the points race, of the new tournament: 'It's cool. I think after this weekend you'll have a little better idea of what you have. Our main goal in Atlanta is winning and getting into the playoffs.' Drawing 'Uncle' Noah Briscoe is facing No. 31 seed Noah Gragson in the first bracket. He says it's a difficult matchup, in part because 'he's actually probably my best friend on the circuit … and my son's favorite driver.' Briscoe said his 3-year-old son, Brooks, thinks of Gragson 'like that uncle that just you take your kid to, and he has Pop-Tarts and ice cream and everything else when he's with them.' Added Briscoe: 'Hopefully I'll win. If not I'll never here the end of it from Noah or my son.' Briscoe posted a photo on his X account of his son's bracket. The photo shows the smiling Brooks holding a bracket with his father's No. 19 winning every round of the tournament. Racing for Rhealynn Chase Elliott has a special paint scheme on his No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet that was designed by 11-year-old cancer patient Rhealynn Mills. Elliott chose Mills' design to highlight his foundation's efforts to raise money for Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. Elliott said the 'Design to Drive' program has raised $500,000 for the children's hospital. 'The only bad thing is I feel like we've crashed every time we've done it,' Elliott said, adding his sponsor, NAPA Auto Parts, deserved credit 'for giving up the car' so the paint scheme could instead feature Mills' design. New name for Atlanta track EchoPark Speedway is the new name for the track that was still known as Atlanta Motor Speedway in February when Christopher Bell won while leading only the final lap in overtime. It's the home track for Elliott, from Dawsonville, Georgia, and he acknowledged seeing the name change and the new green paint 'was different for me. I think it's fine.' Odds and ends Ryan Blaney is the favorite (+800) to win the race, per BetMGM Sportsbook. Joey Logano and Austin Cindric, each at +1000, were next. ___ AP auto racing: recommended
USA Today
4 days ago
- Automotive
- USA Today
NASCAR In-Season Challenge bracket: Drivers, seedings, matchups, races, dates
The NASCAR Cup Series is set to debut its inaugural In-Season Challenge, in which 32 drivers are seeded and bracketed into a tournament, like March Madness or a tennis draw. The In-Season Challenge, which will run for five weeks, is actually a series of individual races within five larger races. The drivers will not only be competing to win the weekly race as they normally would, but they will also be facing off in head-to-head matchups with the goal of finishing better than their opponent in the race and advancing to the next round. The drivers were seeded based on their finishes at three previous races – at Michigan, Mexico City and Pocono – with the bracket placing the top two seeds on opposite halves of the draw. That means if the tournament holds to form, the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds would not meet up until the final, presuming they both advanced through each round. The winner of the inaugural In-Season Challenge will take home $1 million. The first round begins Saturday, June 28 at Echo Park Speedway (formerly Atlanta Motor Speedway) and features 16 head-to-head matchups among the 32 drivers. Beat your head-to-head opponent and you advance to the second round. Sixteen drivers will be eliminated after the first round. Does that sound complicated? If so, we have you covered with the list of seeds, how the rounds work, every first-round matchup and where and when each of the five In-Season Challenge races will take place. NASCAR In-Season Challenge seedings Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Chris Buescher, No. 17 RFK Racing Ford Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Michael McDowell, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Toyota Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet Zane Smith, No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford Ryan Preece, No. 60 RFK Racing Ford Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Brad Keselowski, No. 6 RFK Racing Ford William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford Erik Jones, No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota Josh Berry, No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Justin Haley, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet Todd Gilliland, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford Noah Gragson, No. 4 Front Row Motorsports Ford Ty Dillon, No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet NASCAR In-Season Challenge matchups, rounds The NASCAR In-Season Challenge puts the 32 drivers in a bracket, which begins with 16 first-round matchups. The No. 1 seed faces the No. 32 seed in the first round, the No. 2 seed takes on the No. 31 seed, No. 3 matches up with the. No. 30 seed, etc. The losers of the head-to-head matchups will be eliminated, and the 16 winners will advance to the second round, where the winner of the No. 1 vs. No. 32 matchup will face the winner of the No. 16 vs. No. 17 matchup, the winner of the No. 2 vs. No. 31 matchup takes on the winner of the No. 15 vs. No. 18 matchup, etc. Like March Madness, the tournament will move from a Round of 32 to a Sweet 16 to an Elite Eight to a Final Four and finally a championship race. First round: 32 drivers in 16 head-to-head matchups; 16 drivers eliminated at end of race. Second round: 16 drivers in eight head-to-head matchups; eight drivers eliminated at end of race. Third round: Eight drivers in four head-to-head matchups; four drivers eliminated at end of race. Fourth round: Four drivers in two head-to-head matchups; two drivers eliminated at end of race. Fifth round: Two drivers in a head-to-head matchup; winner wins the in-season challenge. NASCAR In-Season Challenge first-round pairings Here are the pairings for the first-round race at Echo Park Speedway (formerly Atlanta Motor Speedway) on Saturday, June 28. The winner of each head-to-head matchup advances to the next round. Top half of draw No. 1 Denny Hamlin vs. No. 32 Ty Dillon No. 16 Kyle Busch vs. No. 17 Brad Keselowski No. 8 Alex Bowman vs. No. 25 Joey Logano No. 9 Bubba Wallace vs. No. 24 Daniel Suarez No. 12 John Hunter Nemechek vs. No. 21 Josh Berry No. 5 Chase Elliott vs. No. 28 Austin Dillon No. 13 Ross Chastain vs. No. 20 Erik Jones No. 4 Christopher Bell vs. No. 29 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Bottom half of draw No. 2 Chase Briscoe vs. No. 31 Noah Gragson No. 15 Ryan Preece vs. No. 18 William Byron No. 7 Ryan Blaney vs. No. 26 Carson Hocevar No. 10 Kyle Larson vs. No. 23 Tyler Reddick No. 11 Michael McDowell vs. No. 22 AJ Allmendinger No. 6 Ty Gibbs vs. No. 27 Justin Haley No. 14 Zane Smith vs. No. 19 Austin Cindric NASCAR In-Season Challenge races All times Eastern Round 1 — 32 drivers Echo Park Speedway (formerly Atlanta Motor Speedway) Saturday, June 28 | 7 p.m. | TNT, truTV altcast Round 2 — 16 drivers Chicago street race Sunday, July 6 | 2 p.m. | TNT, truTV altcast Round 3 — 8 drivers Sonoma Raceway Sunday, July 13 | 3:30 p.m. | TNT, truTV altcast Round 4 — 4 drivers Dover Motor Speedway Sunday, July 20 | 2 p.m. | TNT, truTV altcast Round 5 championship — 2 drivers Indianapolis Motor Speedway Sunday, July 27 | 2 p.m. | TNT, truTV altcast
Miami Herald
10-06-2025
- Automotive
- Miami Herald
Kyle Larson unhurt in violent sprint car crash
NASCAR star Kyle Larson escaped uninjured from a violent crash on Friday night in a sprint car race in Wisconsin. The former Cup Series champion was running second in a World of Outlaws race at the Plymouth Dirt Track when his winged vehicle flipped end-over-end before slamming into the catch fence. Larson, 32, who was able to climb out of the car unscathed, said that the right rear axle 'or something' broke. 'It just kind of launched me, and I was along for the ride,' he said, per 'Bummer, but I felt really good pacing Rico (Abreu) there and just finally catching traffic and get racing there. Glad I'm OK, big hit but all-in-all, feel fine.' In addition to racing stock cars and sprint cars, Larson has also competed in the Indianapolis 500 in each of the past two years. Larson is scheduled to be behind the wheel of the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet in Sunday's Cup Series race at Michigan International Speedway. The 2021 Cup Series champion has three wins and 10 top-10 finishes this season and ranks second in the Cup standings, 48 points behind leader William Byron. Field Level Media 2025 - All Rights Reserved
