{"id":467,"date":"2025-06-23T11:28:09","date_gmt":"2025-06-23T11:28:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/?p=467"},"modified":"2025-06-23T11:28:18","modified_gmt":"2025-06-23T11:28:18","slug":"chase-elliott-didnt-know-the-nascar-in-season-tournament-paid-1-million","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/?p=467","title":{"rendered":"Chase Elliott Didn\u2019t Know the NASCAR In-Season Tournament Paid $1 Million"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"col-body mb-4 leading-7 text-[18px] md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0\">For the first time, NASCAR is attempting an in-season tournament to add drama to the end of the regular season. In its first year, the rules and seeding have been confusing to some, with some drivers avoiding news of the tournament completely. 2020 Cup Series Champion Chase Elliott admitted to The Athletic&#8217;s Jeff Gluck that he didn&#8217;t know there was a prize associated with the tournament, and now that he knows it&#8217;s a million dollars, he wants to win it.<\/p>\n<div class=\"col-body\">\n<div class=\"twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered\"><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-0\" class=\"\" title=\"X Post\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=Yahoo&amp;dnt=true&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=eyJ0ZndfdGltZWxpbmVfbGlzdCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOltdLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X2ZvbGxvd2VyX2NvdW50X3N1bnNldCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOnRydWUsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdHdlZXRfZWRpdF9iYWNrZW5kIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6Im9uIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd19yZWZzcmNfc2Vzc2lvbiI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfZm9zbnJfc29mdF9pbnRlcnZlbnRpb25zX2VuYWJsZWQiOnsiYnVja2V0Ijoib24iLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X21peGVkX21lZGlhXzE1ODk3Ijp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InRyZWF0bWVudCIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X3Nob3dfYmlyZHdhdGNoX3Bpdm90c19lbmFibGVkIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6Im9uIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd19kdXBsaWNhdGVfc2NyaWJlc190b19zZXR0aW5ncyI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdXNlX3Byb2ZpbGVfaW1hZ2Vfc2hhcGVfZW5hYmxlZCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdmlkZW9faGxzX2R5bmFtaWNfbWFuaWZlc3RzXzE1MDgyIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InRydWVfYml0cmF0ZSIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfbGVnYWN5X3RpbWVsaW5lX3N1bnNldCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOnRydWUsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdHdlZXRfZWRpdF9mcm9udGVuZCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9fQ%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1936420663608451484&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.roadandtrack.com%2Fnews%2Fa65139316%2Fchase-elliott-didnt-know-nascar-in-season-tournament-paid-1-million%2F&amp;sessionId=f7fc397c92325ff35874831fe03675f23efbd634&amp;siteScreenName=Yahoo&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&amp;width=550px\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-tweet-id=\"1936420663608451484\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 leading-7 text-[18px] md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0\">With Elliott&#8217;s fifth-place finish at Pocono Sunday evening, he moved up to fifth in the seeding and will face Austin Dillon in a head-to-head match-up next week at the newly named Echo Park Speedway in Atlanta, Georgia.<\/p>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 leading-7 text-[18px] md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0\">The last three races, which coincided with the end of Amazon Prime&#8217;s coverage of NASCAR, determined the seeding for the 32 drivers participating; those 32 drivers were locked in based on points leading into the race at Michigan International Speedway three weeks prior.<\/p>\n<div class=\"col-fullbleed mb-4 bg-marshmallow pb-5 dark:bg-ramones md:invisible md:mb-0 md:h-0 md:overflow-hidden md:pb-0\">\n<div class=\"py-2 text-center text-xs uppercase\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"flex w-full flex-nowrap justify-center\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 leading-7 text-[18px] md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0\">The driver with the best two finishes would get the top seed, with their worst finish being the least important in the seeding. This caveat was greatly appreciated by Denny Hamlin, who stayed home last weekend when the NASCAR Cup Series visited Mexico City for the first time, just hours after Hamlin welcomed his newborn baby boy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 leading-7 text-[18px] md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0\">The 32 drivers will face off in Atlanta, with the highest finishing in each match-up moving to the round of 16 at the Chicago Street Race.<\/p>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 leading-7 text-[18px] md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0\">Eight drivers will remain in the hunt for the million-dollar payday at Sonoma, then four at Dover, and the final two will duel at Indianapolis Motor Speedway at the end of July.<\/p>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 leading-7 text-[18px] md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0\">Hamlin was able to claim the No. 1 seed even with his DNS in Mexico thanks to his\u00a0<a class=\"link \" href=\"https:\/\/www.roadandtrack.com\/news\/a65003461\/denny-hamlin-survives-fuel-save-battle-michigan-third-win-nascar-season\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" data-ylk=\"slk:win at Michigan;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-rapid_p=\"41\">win at Michigan<\/a>\u00a0and his runner-up finish today at Pocono. Hamlin will face Ty Dillon, who had the worst performance of the tournament drivers with a best finish of 24th and two 33rd-place finishes.<\/p>\n<div class=\"col-fullbleed mb-4 bg-marshmallow pb-5 dark:bg-ramones md:invisible md:mb-0 md:h-0 md:overflow-hidden md:pb-0\">\n<div class=\"py-2 text-center text-xs uppercase\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"flex w-full flex-nowrap justify-center\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 leading-7 text-[18px] md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0\">Sunday&#8217;s winner,\u00a0<a class=\"link \" href=\"https:\/\/www.roadandtrack.com\/news\/a65148518\/chase-briscoe-holds-off-hamlin-pocono-1st-win-joe-gibbs-racing\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" data-ylk=\"slk:Chase Briscoe,;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-rapid_p=\"42\">Chase Briscoe,<\/a>\u00a0moved up to the second seed and will face Noah Gragson next week. Briscoe and Hamlin are the only two winners since Mexico City was won by a racer not in the top 32 points position at the start of the tournament.<\/p>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 leading-7 text-[18px] md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0\">Last week,\u00a0<a class=\"link \" href=\"https:\/\/www.roadandtrack.com\/news\/a65069473\/shane-van-gisbergen-wins-nascar-cup-race-mexico-city-weekend-international-sweep\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" data-ylk=\"slk:Shane van Gisbergen won the Mexico City race;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-rapid_p=\"43\">Shane van Gisbergen won the Mexico City race<\/a>, but since he was 33rd in the points at the beginning of the seeding rounds, he&#8217;s not included in the year&#8217;s tournament.<\/p>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 leading-7 text-[18px] md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0\">Chris Buescher, with the third seed, will face Todd Gilliland. Christopher Bell,\u00a0<a class=\"link \" href=\"https:\/\/www.roadandtrack.com\/news\/a63890772\/christopher-bell-delivers-surprise-toyota-victory-at-atlanta\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" data-ylk=\"slk:who won Atlanta's spring race;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-rapid_p=\"44\">who won Atlanta&#8217;s spring race<\/a>, takes the fourth seed to face off against Ricky Stenhouse Jr.<\/p>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 leading-7 text-[18px] md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0\">As previously mentioned, Elliott faces the elder Dillon brother, with his third-place finish in Mexico and fifth at Pocono, deleting his mid-pack finish of 15th at Michigan.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative col-body mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"rounded-lg\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/i9loLhbQAza.BtSsqAzYyg--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTY0MA--\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/road_track_223\/d80c9a1acc7d05768f5ff1e15c846120\" alt=\"nascar cup series w&amp;#xfc;rth 400\" width=\"960\" height=\"640\" data-nimg=\"1\" \/><button class=\"group absolute bottom-3 right-3 size-10 md:size-[50px] lg:inset-0 lg:size-full lg:bg-transparent\" aria-label=\"View larger image\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\" data-rapid_p=\"10\" data-v9y=\"1\"><\/button><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-[0.875rem]\/[1.25rem] mt-1 line-clamp-2 pr-2.5\">\n<div><span class=\"caption\">Carson Hocevar and Ryan Blaney stand with Bubba Wallace ahead of the W\u00fcrth 400 at Texas Motor Speedway; the former two will face off against each other in the first round of the head-to-head tournament.<\/span>\u00a0<span class=\"photo-credit\">Chris Graythen &#8211; Getty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<p><button class=\"mt-1 bg-white text-sm text-scooter dark:bg-inkwell dark:text-[color:var(--link-color)] ml-2 absolute bottom-0 right-0 before:content-['...']\" data-ylk=\"elm:More;itc:1;sec:content-canvas;slk:readmore;\" data-rapid_p=\"11\" data-v9y=\"1\">More<\/button><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 leading-7 text-[18px] md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0\">Ty Gibbs and Ryan Blaney follow as the other two drivers with third-place finishes. Gibbs will face Justin Haley, and Blaney will face Carson Hocevar, who has been hot in recent races, even if his best finish of 18th doesn&#8217;t show it.<\/p>\n<div class=\"col-fullbleed mb-4 bg-marshmallow pb-5 dark:bg-ramones md:invisible md:mb-0 md:h-0 md:overflow-hidden md:pb-0\">\n<div class=\"py-2 text-center text-xs uppercase\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"flex w-full flex-nowrap justify-center\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 leading-7 text-[18px] md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0\">Eighth Seed Alex Bowman is matched with 25th seed Joey Logano. Bubba Wallace, who suffered a mechanical issue at Pocono, stayed ranked in ninth and will face Daniel Su\u00e1rez.<\/p>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 leading-7 text-[18px] md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0\">We have a sprint car vs. late model duel in 10th-ranked Kyle Larson vs. 23rd-ranked Tyler Reddick.<\/p>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 leading-7 text-[18px] md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0\">Michael McDowell is matched with AJ Allmendinger and John Hunter Nemechek against Josh Berry.<\/p>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 leading-7 text-[18px] md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0\">13th-seeded Ross Chastain faces 20th-seeded Eric Jones, followed by Zane Smith against Austin Cindric.<\/p>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 leading-7 text-[18px] md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0\">Ryan Preece, who finds himself the first driver under the cutline, is surprisingly the higher seed in his matchup against William Byron, the regular-season points leader who\u00a0<a class=\"link \" href=\"https:\/\/www.roadandtrack.com\/news\/a63812433\/william-byron-avoids-last-lap-wreck-becomes-two-time-daytona-500-winner\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" data-ylk=\"slk:secured his playoff-clinching win early;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-rapid_p=\"45\" data-v9y=\"1\">secured his playoff-clinching win early<\/a>\u00a0but has a best finish of ninth in the last three rounds.<\/p>\n<div class=\"col-fullbleed mb-4 bg-marshmallow pb-5 dark:bg-ramones md:invisible md:mb-0 md:h-0 md:overflow-hidden md:pb-0\">\n<div class=\"py-2 text-center text-xs uppercase\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"flex w-full flex-nowrap justify-center\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 leading-7 text-[18px] md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0\">The final match-up is between two former Cup champions, with 2015 and 2019 champion Kyle Busch seeded one position ahead of 2012 champion Brad Keselowski in 16th and 17th, respectively.<\/p>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 leading-7 text-[18px] md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0\">The in-season tournament is designed to provide fans with another layer of excitement during these closing summer races, mirroring similar tournaments in stick-and-ball sports, most notably the NBA Cup, which was announced in 2023 and has been played twice, with the Los Angeles Lakers winning it in 2023 and the Milwaukee Bucks winning it last winter.<\/p>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 leading-7 text-[18px] md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0\"><strong>You Might Also Like<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul class=\"col-body mb-4\">\n<li class=\"ml-4 list-disc\">\n<div class=\"grid grid-cols-[[fullbleed-start_body-start]_auto_[body-end_fullbleed-end]]\">\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 leading-7 text-[18px] md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0\"><a class=\"link \" href=\"https:\/\/www.roadandtrack.com\/car-culture\/a41297415\/torque-wrench-tools-we-love\/?utm_medium=syn&amp;utm_source=yah&amp;utm_campaign=77\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" data-ylk=\"slk:You 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the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":468,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-467","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-autos","category-life-autos"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/467","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=467"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/467\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":470,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/467\/revisions\/470"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/468"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=467"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=467"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=467"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}