A new addition to the NASCAR schedule this year is the In Race Challenge that culminates in a million dollar prize.
Just two more races remain before the five race challenge. A total of 32 drivers will be participating in the event. The Field will be set once the Coca-Cola 600 and the Cracker Barrell 400 have been run.
Currently four drivers are competing for the final spot – Riley Herbst, Brad Keselowski, Cole Custer, and Shane van Gisbergen with Herbst in the final spot as it stands now but the drivers are separated by just 13 points.
The NASCAR in-Season Challenge is a five race event beginning on June 28 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The Chicago Street Race, Sonoma Raceway, Dover Motor Speedway, and the Brickyard 400 fill out the schedule.
The races at Michigan, the road course in Nexico City, and Pocono Raceway will set the seeding for the Challenge. Seeding will be determined by the 32 drivers’ finishing spots in the three qualifier races.
The In-Season Challenge is a bracket-style competition with the highest finishing driver moving on to the next round. In a single race elimination, the field will begin with 32 drivers, round two is 16 drivers, round three is eight drivers, round four is four drivers, and the final round pits the final two drivers for the $1 million prize.
The In-Season Challenge will air during TNT’s broadcast schedule.
NASCAR SVP, media and productions Brian Herbst said via a press release, “with the launch of our new media rights partnerships in 2025, we were excited to partner with Prime Video and TNT Sports to collaborate on fan engagement concepts that drive story lines in our sport and innovation from a production perspective. Having head-to-head driver matchups for each one of TNT’s NASCAR Cup Series races will add a compelling fan engagement element across media platforms like TNT, Bleacher Report, House of Highlights and NASCAR digital platforms.”
Executive vice president and chief content officer, TNT Sports Craig Barry said, “it’s never been a better time to be a fan of motorsports, and this new first-ever in-season tournament will bring a new competitive dynamic to NASCAR’s summer race weekends. TNT Sports has always been at the forefront of creativity and innovation, and NASCAR is a perfect partner to bring this vision to life across our networks and platforms.”
Head of sports partnerships, Prime Video Charlie Neiman added, “we’re excited to be part of NASCAR’s first in-season tournament next season. This tournament will showcase the league’s ability to drive innovation and engage fans with increased competition during a key part of the NASCAR schedule.”