NASCAR’s Cup Series to debut In-Season Challenge as $1 million backdrop to points race for title
HAMPTON, Ga. (AP) — The debut of NASCAR’s In-Season Challenge in Saturday night’s Cup Series race in Atlanta generated differing opinions and expectations from drivers.
After all, there’s a points race to attend to. Every team’s top priority is qualifying for the playoffs and trying to win the championship. Some drivers acknowledge they simply haven’t paid attention to the new race within the race.
Joey Logano says he sees no reason to view the new tournament as a distraction.
“If there’s something to win, you want to go win it,” Logano said Friday before winning the pole for Saturday night’s race in his Team Penske Ford.
Denny Hamlin is the No. 1 seed in the 32-driver In-Season Challenge, a five-race, bracket-style tournament. Chase Briscoe, who held off Hamlin for his first win for Joe Gibbs Racing last week at Pocono Raceway, is the No. 2 seed. A $1 million prize awaits the winner as part of a new media rights deal that includes TNT.
Briscoe said Friday he felt “definitely a sigh of relief, you know, just a weight off your shoulders” following last week’s win. He said that sense of relief was shortlived.
“I’m expected to win multiple races, not just one,” Briscoe said. “It’s a sense of relief, but also more pressure because now they know you can win.”
NASCAR hopes the tournament generates mid-season interest. The single-elimination format cuts the field to 16 at Chicago, eight at Sonoma, four at Dover and the final two at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Many drivers expect their interest in the tournament will increase after Saturday night’s race.
“I think some of the drivers have been kind of dismissive over the bracket challenge,” said Brad Keselowski, who enters the race No. 30 in the points standings and in need of a win in Atlanta to earn a playoff spot in his RFK Racing Ford.
“I think it’ll become a lot more real, whether it be for the drivers or for the media or the fans, as it progresses into the later rounds over the next few weeks,” Keselowski said.
Added Ricky Stenhouse, who is 24th in the points race, of the new tournament: “It’s cool. I think after this weekend you’ll have a little better idea of what you have. Our main goal in Atlanta is winning and getting into the playoffs.”
Team Penske dominates qualifying
Team Penske claimed four of the top five qualifying positions and Ford claimed all of the top five spots.
Logano was first at 178.960 mph, tying Josh Berry, who drives for Wood Brothers but has a technical alliance with Team Penske. Ryan Blaney qualified third and Austin Cindric was one spot back for Team Penske, while Ryan Preece, in another Ford for RFK Racing, was fifth.
“It definitely helps at the start for sure,” Logano said. “Being at the front and controlling the race is the thing for sure.”
Drawing ‘Uncle’ Noah
Briscoe is facing No. 31 seed Noah Gragson in the first bracket. He says it’s a difficult matchup, in part because “he’s actually probably my best friend on the circuit … and my son’s favorite driver.”
Briscoe said his 3-year-old son, Brooks, thinks of Gragson “like that uncle that just you take your kid to, and he has Pop-Tarts and ice cream and everything else when he’s with them.”
Added Briscoe: “Hopefully I’ll win. If not I’ll never here the end of it from Noah or my son.”
Briscoe posted a photo on his X account of his son’s bracket. The photo shows the smiling Brooks holding a bracket with his father’s No. 19 winning every round of the tournament.
Racing for Rhealynn
Chase Elliott has a special paint scheme on his No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet that was designed by 11-year-old cancer patient Rhealynn Mills. Elliott chose Mills’ design to highlight his foundation’s efforts to raise money for Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.
Elliott said the “Design to Drive” program has raised $500,000 for the children’s hospital.
“The only bad thing is I feel like we’ve crashed every time we’ve done it,” Elliott said, adding his sponsor, NAPA Auto Parts, deserved credit “for giving up the car” so the paint scheme could instead feature Mills’ design.
New name for Atlanta track
EchoPark Speedway is the new name for the track that was still known as Atlanta Motor Speedway in February when Christopher Bell won while leading only the final lap in overtime. It’s the home track for Elliott, from Dawsonville, Georgia, and he acknowledged seeing the name change and the new green paint “was different for me. I think it’s fine.”
Odds and ends
Ryan Blaney is the favorite (+800) to win the race, per BetMGM Sportsbook. Joey Logano and Austin Cindric, each at +1000, were next.
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