NASCAR to debut in-season tournament with $1M prize in 2025 - ESPN

NASCAR will introduce a five-race in-season tournament with a $1 million prize going to the winner in 2025.

Under the format, announced Monday, the top 32 drivers will be placed in an NCAA tournament-esque bracket in which the head-to-head result of each matchup will determine who advances to the next round in the following race.

Seeding will be based on the highest result of each driver over the three races preceding the tournament. Ties will be broken by their second-best finish then by their spot in the season standings.

«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,» NASCAR senior vice president of media and productions Brian Herbst said in a statement.

The specific races that make up the in-season tournament were not announced.

The new tournament coincides with the new seven-year media rights deal that begins next year. All five tournament races will air on TNT Sports, while the three races that determine the seeding for the bracket will be on Prime Video.