NASCAR's new $1M In-season Challenge starts with drivers focused more on winning races

Chicago Tribune

5 days ago

LEBANON, Tenn. — Bubba Wallace sees NASCAR having all the momentum possible right now with different media partners.
Perfect timing then for NASCAR's 'In-season Challenge' to debut, right?
Well, Wallace forgot that was about to debut.
'For me to forget about it and remember how exciting it was when they announced, I think it's going to be big for the fans to tune in and and give them a little bit more … you're just invested more,' Wallace said.
Kyle Larson just tried his latest attempt at 'the Double' of the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600. Count him among those who didn't realize NASCAR's new in-season competition had its field of 32 set after Sunday night's Cup Series race at the Nashville Superspeedway.
'I just really haven't seen anything promoted about it, so I think it's easy to forget about it,' Larson said.
NASCAR announced this new in-season competition in May 2024, so drivers can be forgiven for being focused on the second half of the season.
The format is simple: 32 drivers race for seeding over the next three races starting at Michigan on Sunday and concluding at Pocono on June 22. Drivers are seeded by their best finish for the five-race competition starting at Atlanta.
Then it goes to single elimination with the field cut to 16 at Chicago, eight at Sonoma, four at Dover and the final two at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The winner gets $1 million, and that does get drivers' attention as part of the new media rights deal that includes TNT.
'It's going to be something fun that you pay attention to, and there's good money on the line,' said Larson, the 2021 Cup Series champ. 'So, you've just got to be really consistent throughout.'
Chris Buescher of RFK Racing is among those who didn't realize this challenge is starting. He needs race victories after losing points for a penalty at Kansas in May. The prize is nice.
'That's real money,' Buescher said. 'But I don't want that to change how we go to the race track. We need to figure out how to win races. There's a lot more than that on the line at the end of the year.'
Three-time Cup Series champ Joey Logano compared this event's prize to the money up for grabs in the All-Star Race and this new competition like a stage win.
'This is a little longer thing, but it's a race within the race,' Logano said. 'So you're not willing to give up a lot to do that, right?'
Denny Hamlin was excited when the In-season Challenge was first announced. Then he saw the courses for this competition, and his enthusiasm dimmed with the number of road courses included.
'Truthfully, we're going to get pretty lucky or have such a good draw that just things kind of work out,' Hamlin said. 'I wish it was more conventional ovals, but I think that's just the way the schedule works out. And it's unfortunately not probably my prime part of the season.'
Brad Keselowski and his No. 6 Ford for RFK Racing went into Nashville at 32 — right on the line to be included in that chase for seeding. He hadn't given the competition much thought focused on this season. But he thinks it will be fun once it starts.
'It's good for the sport, good for our fans and it's a competition,' Keselowski said. 'If there's competition, we want to win it. But that said, I think our heads down on one week at a time, in some ways one day at a time. … And it's hard to look further ahead than that.'
With Ryan Blaney's first victory of the season at Nashville Superspeedway, Team Penske now has its three drivers qualified for the NASCAR Cup playoffs even with Nashville the first race of the second half of this year.
Blaney, who hadn't won since November, joined Austin Cindric, who won at Talladega, and three-time Cup Series champ Joey Logano, a winner at Texas. Josh Berry, whose Wood Brothers Racing team has a relationship with Team Penske, also won at Las Vegas.
Michael Nelson, president of Team Penske's NASCAR operations, said it was nice to have that pressure off all the teams.
'It's obviously pretty awesome to have a little bit of that pressure off for the guys,' Nelson said. 'And again … it gives you a chance to go out and take some chances here and there and try to rack up a bunch of wins. So now we're grateful to be at this point with our cars this time of year.'
Carson Hocevar matched his career-best finish driving from 26th to second at Nashville. The 22-year-old driver in his second Cup Series season with Spire Motorsports ticked off Ricky Stenhouse Jr. with his aggressive style.
Hocevar clipped Stenhouse on Lap 106 of 300, sending him into the wall and out of the race. Stenhouse said Hocevar was overly aggressive and will talk to the young driver. Just not after the race.
'No,' Stenhouse said, 'that costs too much money.'