Seeding for $1 Million NASCAR In-Season Tournament Begins at Michigan
The 32-drivers, who will compete in NASCAR's first-ever $1 million in-season tournament were finalized at the conclusion of last Sunday's Cracker Barrel 400 at Nashville Superspeedway, but the next three weeks will be pivotal to deciding who will ultimately walk out of the Brickyard 400 on Sunday, July 27 with an additional $1 million in their back pocket.
The seeding process for the in-season tournament, dubbed the NASCAR In-Season Challenge presented by DraftKings Sportsbook, will begin with Sunday's FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway, will continue at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City, and will conclude at Pocono Raceway.
How will the 32 drivers eligible to compete in the tournament be seeded?
The seeding will be determined by the best race finish for drivers over the next three events. If there is a tie, the tie will be broken by second-best position, and if there is still a tie after extending to the second-best finish, the tiebreaker will go to the driver with the third-best finishing position.
If there is still a tie after all of that, the points accumulated over the three race stretch will be used to break the tie in the seeding.
What this means is that if a driver wins this weekend's race at Michigan International Speedway, the worst they can be seeded in the in-season tournament would be third. The same could be said for Mexico City, and Pocono.
How Does the NASCAR In-Season Tournment Work? And Which Races Will Be Part of It?
For those confused on how the in-season tournament will work, it will be set in a bracket-style tournament, much like the NCAA Basketball Tournament.
In the opening race of the five-race tournament, which will be contested at EchoPark Speedway (formerly Atlanta Motor Speedway), the No. 1-seeded driver will face off head-to-head against the No. 32-seeded driver, while the No. 2-seeded driver will face off against the No. 31-seeded driver, etc.
The driver who has a higher finish than the other driver they are seeded against in the given race will move on to the next round of the tournament.
After a four-race stretch at Atlanta, the Chicago Street Course, Sonoma Raceway, and Dover Motor Speedway, the 32-driver tournament field will be whittled down to just two drivers, who will battle it out in the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the $1 million payout.
Here is the five-race NASCAR In-Season Challenge Schedule:
Date | Drivers | Race | Track | TV | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
6/28 | 32 | Quaker State 400 | EchoPark Speedway (Atlanta) | TNT | 7:00 PM ET |
7/6 | 16 | Grant Park 165 | Chicago Street Course | TNT | 2:00 PM ET |
7/13 | 8 | Toyota / Save Mart 350 | Sonoma Raceway | TNT | 3:30 PM ET |
7/20 | 4 | Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400 | Dover Motor Speedway | TNT | 2:00 PM ET |
7/27 | 2 | Brickyard 400 | Indianapolis Motor Speedway | TNT | 2:00 PM ET |
Which Drivers Are Eligible for NASCAR's First-Ever In-Season Tournment?
The 32-driver NASCAR in-season tournament field was set by the top-32 positions of the NASCAR Cup Series driver standings following the Cracker Barrel 400 at Nashville Superspeedway on Sunday, June 1.
Here are the drivers eligible to compete in the $1 million NASCAR in-season tournament:
Points Rank | Car | Driver | Team | Manufacturer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
2 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
3 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
4 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
5 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
6 | 45 | Tyler Reddick | 23XI Racing | Toyota |
7 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford |
8 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford |
9 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet |
10 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing | Toyota |
11 | 19 | Chase Briscoe | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
12 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
13 | 2 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske | Ford |
14 | 17 | Chris Buescher | RFK Racing | Ford |
15 | 8 | Kyle Busch | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet |
16 | 60 | Ryan Preece | RFK Racing | Ford |
17 | 77 | Carson Hocevar | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet |
18 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | HYAK Motorsports | Chevrolet |
19 | 16 | AJ Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet |
20 | 21 | Josh Berry | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford |
21 | 71 | Michael McDowell | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet |
22 | 42 | John Hunter Nemechek | LEGACY MOTOR CLUB | Toyota |
23 | 34 | Todd Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports | Ford |
24 | 43 | Erik Jones | LEGACY MOTOR CLUB | Toyota |
25 | 38 | Zane Smith | Front Row Motorsports | Ford |
26 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet |
27 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
28 | 99 | Daniel Suarez | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet |
29 | 7 | Justin Haley | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet |
30 | 10 | Ty Dillon | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet |
31 | 4 | Noah Gragson | Front Row Motorsports | Ford |
32 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | RFK Racing | Ford |
There were four full-time NASCAR Cup Series drivers, who did not advance to the NASCAR in-season tournament. Those drivers were Shane van Gisbergen, Cole Custer, Riley Herbst, and Cody Ware.
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Toby Christie is the Editor-in-Chief of Racing America. He has 15 years of experience as a motorsports journalist and has been with Racing America since 2023.