NASCAR’s debut In-Season Challenge, which will bring the final four drivers to Dover Motor Speedway for a Monster Mile showdown, begins this weekend in Georgia.
The tournament, first announced last spring, pits NASCAR Cup Series drivers in a bracket-style head-to-head event across TNT Sports’ full five-race schedule. The bracket was set by results from the final three NASCAR Cup Series races that aired on Prime Video in June.
Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing, is the No. 1 overall seed, followed by No. 2 Chase Briscoe (No. 19 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing), No. 3 Chris Buescher (No. 17 Ford, RFK Racing), No. 4 Christopher Bell (No. 20 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing), and No. 5 Chase Elliott (No. 9 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports).
Drivers will compete head-to-head with the higher finishing driver of each race advancing over five rounds. The winner of the tournament will receive a $1 million prize.
The 32-driver starting field will be narrowed down to 16 following Sunday's race at EchoPark Speedway. The 16 drivers remaining will square off at the Chicago Street Course, followed by an eight-driver battle at Sonoma Raceway.
Following Sonoma, four drivers will advance to The Monster Mile, with the final two drivers competing for $1 million at the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
“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 storylines in our sport and innovation from a production perspective,” said Brian Herbst, NASCAR senior vice president for media and productions. “The idea of an in-season tournament has been discussed within the NASCAR industry and as we started to focus on adding promotional elements that drive interest throughout the season, we were excited by the opportunity to leverage the marketing weight of Amazon and TNT Sports to bring this concept to life.
“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.”
“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,” said Craig Barry, Executive Vice President and Chief Content Officer for TNT Sports. “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.”
