NASCAR’s new In-Season Tournament is set to begin next weekend at Atlanta, but many fans are still scratching their heads about what it actually is, how it works, and why it matters. With so much happening late in the regular season, and playoff spots still on the line, it begs the question: is this tournament adding excitement or confusion?
Inspired by formats like the NBA’s midseason tourney, NASCAR has created a five-race bracket-style event. It starts with 32 drivers—locked in based on point standings from three races that serve as seeding events, including Michigan, Mexico, and Pocono. Race winners gain automatic qualification. The remaining drivers are selected by their best finishes across these three races and whittles them down over the next five races including Atlanta, Chicago Street Course, Sonoma, Dover, and Indianapolis. Atlanta serves as the Round of 32, Chicago as the Round of 16, Sonoma as the Round of 8, and so on until Indianapolis crowns the champion. The final driver standing after Race 5 wins a $1 million prize.
So far, reaction has been mixed. On social media, some fans seem intrigued by the bracket concept, and many say it feels gimmicky, especially with the playoff race already heating up. But more than anything, the majority are just plain confused. Several fans have also pointed out that NASCAR hasn’t done a great job of promoting or explaining the format, which makes it difficult to invest emotionally. One user wrote: “I’m not against trying something new, but they barely mentioned this thing on the broadcasts. I had to Google how it works.” Others have echoed that the lack of visible build-up has left them underwhelmed.
So, if the fans are confused and perhaps not taking it seriously, it begs the question: Are the drivers?
That’s also unclear. NASCAR has touted the $1 million prize, but let’s be honest—during the All-Star Race, the million-dollar prize became a point of contention and didn’t seem to move the needle much for many of the drivers. Denny Hamlin has noted that the tournament doesn’t motivate with money; it’s personal competition that fuels them.
In fact, driver interest in the tournament appears lukewarm. While some have said they’re open to it, others have admitted they aren’t totally sure how it works. And some have been honest in saying it won’t change how they race because, with the playoff cutoff looming, they are focused on points, wins, and positioning for the championship.
All five In-Season Challenge races air on TNT, and an alternate broadcast on truTV will focus exclusively on the In-Season Challenge matchups in real time. Other than that, it’s unclear how NASCAR plans to highlight the tournament during the races. Will there be on-screen brackets? Highlighted matchups? Real-time updates on who’s advancing? That part hasn’t been revealed yet. Neither has the idea of special liveries or on-car markings that would depict the driver’s tournament standing. So, any criticism of their execution would be premature at this point. But still… it’s only a week away and seemingly none of this is being discussed.
If NASCAR wants this to be a long-term success, they need to invest in making it understandable and visually compelling for fans. Clearly, explanations on the NASCAR website have not been enough, given the utter confusion on social media. But one thing the comments have made abundantly clear is that fans want to know where to fill out their brackets and submit them, despite that there isn’t such an option.
The idea of adding a midseason competition isn’t a bad one. But when you’re competing with playoff tension and drivers’ livelihoods, it needs to be clear, engaging, and feel like it matters. As of now, the In-Season Tournament feels like a puzzle with a few missing pieces.
We’ll see how things play out at Atlanta, and maybe NASCAR still has a few surprises up its sleeve. But if the drivers aren’t racing any differently, and such a large swath of fans are confused by the tournament, what’s the point?