America loves brackets. Made famous by college basketball’s “March Madness.” People will fill out multiple iterations which are doomed to get busted to bits by the time we get to the Sweet 16. NASCAR will attempt to capture that type of magic with an in-season tournament during the Amazon Prime and TNT portion of the NASCAR schedule. However, the question remains is this a good thing for the sport, or will it go down in flames and gimmick up the sport even further than it already is? It is a legitimate concern NASCAR is already gimmicked with stages, charters, and the playoff system.
NASCAR’s Major Partners Getting Involved
At one time NASCAR’s premier series was called “The Grand National Series.” However, in 1971 R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. became the title sponsor with their top cigarette brand Winston becoming the Winston Cup Series. Winston was a major player in a more organized schedule with a season-long march to a championship, shaping the sport into the more familiar form we see today.
After 33 years of being the title sponsor and due to the new advertising limitations on tobacco products, The Cup series had to make a change. The next major brand to shape NASCAR is the cell phone company Nextel. The phone company was a major player that introduced “The Chase.” The points reset to zero for the last 10 races with the top 10 drivers in points.
The next major sponsor is Monster Energy. The energy drink company would introduce “The Playoff” where 16 drivers qualify with wins being more important than points. After three races the bottom four are eliminated leaving one race in a first to the line race for the championship between the top four drivers in the standings, which is the system we see today.
The Bracket
The bracket itself is a 32 driver bracket. There will be three races for seeding with four charter teams getting left out. Once the tournament begins it is 16 different head to head matchups. In order to advance you only have to beat the driver you’re matched up against. This having the potential to pit rivals and teammates directly against each other. The winner of the tournament will win $1 Million. Other incentives have been rumored but not yet confirmed.
Drivers have made statements about the tournament Denny Hamlin told reporters at North Wilkesboro:
All it is is a competition within a competition, so you’re hopefully going to have the storylines, the things to talk about, the drama of a high seed beating a low seed, those things matter. In a sport where sometimes its news is tough on a Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, I think you’re going to have things to talk about. Certainly in the world where I believe that football took off in many, many, many years ago is getting people involved in fantasy.
Hamlin Continued:
All of a sudden, people cared about their fantasy teams, not their favorite teams. And this creates something like that, where you’re going to have a Chase Elliott fan rooting for Denny Hamlin one week because they’ve got me in their bracket. I mean, it’s going to create those storylines, and certainly, you’re going to have friends talking amongst each other about … they’re going to create their own groups of brackets. So I just think it’s really, really positive, and it’s certainly the jumping-off point of where I think other sports have grown, and we’re just now getting there.
Ross Chastain of Trackhouse told reporters:
When it comes down to it, I’ve had experience with (Truck Series) Triple Truck Challenge and (Xfinity Series) Dash 4 Cash and yeah, it’s impossible not to pay attention to the other people, I’m greedy, I’m selfish, I want to win. I want to win points, I want to win lap time, and I want to win money. So of course when we get there, we’ll know who we’re racing against.
Is it Good For NASCAR?
It is too early to tell whether this new gimmick will be good for NASCAR. A million dollars is a nice payday but I think the pot needs to be sweetened. With the average purse being roughly $5 million, it is a nice paycheck however I think it would be beneficial for NASCAR to add a points incentive to the tournament. Otherwise it will be like the NBA in season tournament and be nothing more than a punchline.
With points on line drivers will be more willing to take risks. A driver who takes risks is bound to make mistakes, and mistakes equals wrecks which equals tempers flaring which equals fights which equals more press. You put a healthy amount of playoff points on the line we will witness incredible moments whether it’s an insane needle threading move or an end it and hope it sticks moment.
I think NASCAR is on the right track to make the dog days of summer more interesting and add a sense of urgency if points are added to the pot. The possibilities are endless with Amazon Prime and TNT going all in on this with signing Dale Earnhardt Jr. to be Amazon’s lead analyst the summer of 2025 will be a time to remember if NASCAR does it right.
About The Author
Dillon Hildreth is a writer for Total Apex and a lifelong fan of Football with my favorite teams being the New England Patriots and the Georgia Bulldogs. Dillon is also a fan of Motorsports Red Bull in Formula One and William Byron in NASCAR. You can catch Dillon Stream F1, NASCAR, and other video games and sidecasts on Twitch.
