In late 2024, NASCAR pulled off something monumental, i.e., signing a $7.7 billion media rights deal that reshaped the sport’s broadcast future. This historic agreement brought two new platforms into the fold: Amazon’s Prime Video and TNT Sports. Starting in 2025, these two giants began sharing the mid-season broadcast rights, ushering in a bold new era for NASCAR with streaming partners. The move wasn’t just about TV; it was about shaking up how fans experience the sport. Prime Video promised live qualifying and practice sessions early in the year, while TNT pledged a more immersive race experience with deeper storytelling and digital tie-ins.

To complement this sweeping change, NASCAR introduced a new feature never before seen in the Cup Series, a midseason, head-to-head In-Season Tournament. It wasn’t just a gimmick; it was a competitive challenge that aimed to add layers of tension and excitement to the middle of the racing calendar. TNT Sports’s Executive Vice President and Chief Content Officer, Craig Barry, explained the vision clearly: “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.”

The tournament’s bracket-style setup, complete with a $1 million grand prize, promised a new level of drama that would play out in prime time. Now, as the new tournament inches closer to its June 28 start at EchoPark Speedway, the focus shifts to the lead-up. The question fans want answered: How is the seeding being done for NASCAR’s In-Season Challenge? Who will face off in Round 1? And how will drivers advance to the next stage? Let’s break it all down.

NASCAR In-Season Challenge: The seeding format and its impact

Seeding for NASCAR’s first-ever in-season tournament isn’t based on overall points. Instead, it’s all about performance across three key races, Michigan, Mexico City, and Pocono. These are the seeding races. Each of the 32 qualified full-time drivers will be ranked based on their best finish in these three events. If two drivers post identical top finishes, their second-best result becomes the tiebreaker. Still tied? Then the third-best finish decides. And if all else fails, total points over those three races settle the tie.

Let’s say Driver A finishes 1st, 12th, and 18th. Driver B finishes 5th, 5th, and 5th. Despite Driver B’s consistency, Driver A gets the better seed due to that win. It’s about peaking, not averaging. Now imagine a scenario where two drivers finish 10th, 15th, and 20th. The one with more total points across those races earns the edge. It’s a unique formula that rewards bold efforts and big results. This seeding structure locks in the tournament bracket. No. 1 faces No. 32. No. 2 battles No. 31. And so on.

The driver who finishes higher in each matchup race advances to the next round. Win the battle, move on. Lose, and you’re out. After the races at Atlanta, Chicago, Sonoma, and Dover, only two drivers will remain. They’ll fight it out for $1 million at the Brickyard 400 on July 27. That’s serious money and serious pressure. This format completely changes how drivers approach each race. Denny Hamlin spoke bluntly about it on his Actions Detrimental podcast.

“I’m gonna tell Gayle, ‘beat that guy.’ I just want to beat that guy. Where we think, ‘Oh well, maybe we’ll stay out and get 3 stage points here.’ Hell no. I want to do whatever I have to do to beat that guy,” he said. It’s no longer just about winning the race. It’s about beating your opponent, even if it means sacrificing stage points or track position. That attitude is exactly what NASCAR was aiming for. According to NASCAR officials, this challenge is built to add “a compelling fan engagement element” and keep the spotlight on individual battles during races.

So even if the leader is 10 seconds ahead, there could be a battle for 14th that decides who moves on. It’s head-to-head combat layered over a regular season, a tournament within a season, and it’s keeping fans locked in. Notably, only the top 32 drivers in points after the Cracker Barrel 400 at Nashville made the cut. Four full-time drivers who missed out are Shane van Gisbergen, Cody Ware, Cole Custer, and Riley Herbst.

Notably, SVG did win the race in Mexico City, but it won’t help him in the Challenge. He was 33rd in points at the time, and that kept him out. So, his win didn’t affect the seeding, but it did keep other drivers from claiming a valuable win-based seeding boost. As the dust settles from two of the three seeding races, Pocono stands as the final decider. The bracket is shaping up, and fans are already imagining key matchups. From rising rookies to proven veterans, the drama is far from over.

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The road to the bracket takes shape in Mexico!

After Mexico’s historic Cup Series race at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, the In-Season Challenge field began to take form. Shane van Gisbergen stunned the field by winning NASCAR’s first-ever Cup race in Mexico, but as he sat 33rd in points after Nashville, he remains ineligible for the tournament. Denny Hamlin, despite missing the race for the birth of his child, held firm as the projected No. 1 seed. Thanks to his Michigan win and SVG’s Mexico victory, no eligible driver surpassed him.

Meanwhile, Chris Buescher sits in the No. 2 seed slot with a second-place finish at Michigan and a solid 11th in Mexico. He currently holds the tiebreaker over Christopher Bell, who placed second in Mexico but lower in his other finishes. However, Ty Gibbs dropped to fourth after Bell’s strong run. Gibbs holds a slight edge over Chase Elliott thanks to a better second-best finish. If the bracket started today, Denny Hamlin would race against No. 32 seed Carson Hocevar. With one race left at Pocono, expect big changes before the first green flag of the tournament at Atlanta.