HAMPTON, Ga. — NASCAR’s In-Season Challenge, set to make its debut this weekend, has generated differing opinions and expectations from drivers.
Yes, even before the green flag drops for Saturday night’s Cup Series race at EchoPark Speedway, the track formerly known as Atlanta Motor Speedway.
After all, there’s a points race to attend to. Every team’s top priority is qualifying for the 10-race playoffs, which start at the end of August, and trying to win the season championship. Some drivers acknowledge they simply haven’t paid attention to the new season within the season.
Joey Logano, who won the third Cup Series championship of his career last year, 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 No. 22 Ford.
Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin, who has three Cup Series wins this year, is the No. 1 seed in the 32-driver In-Season Challenge, a bracketed tournament that will cover the next five races. First-year JGR driver Chase Briscoe, who held off teammate Hamlin last week at Pocono Raceway for his first win of the year, is the No. 2 seed. A $1 million prize awaits the winner as part of a new media rights deal that includes cable network TNT.
Briscoe said Friday he felt “definitely a sigh of relief, you know, just a weight off your shoulders” after last week’s win in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. He said that sense of relief was short-lived.
“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 interest during the middle of the season and the heat of summer, when interest sometimes lags and — at least this year — more than half of the 16-driver playoff field is already occupied as 11 drivers have at least one victory, essentially locking them into a postseason berth.
For the In-Season Challenge, the single-elimination format cuts the field to 16 heading to Chicago, eight at California’s Sonoma Raceway, four at Delaware’s Dover Motor Speedway 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 is No. 30 in the Cup Series points standings and in need of a win to earn a playoff spot in his RFK Racing No. 6 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.”
Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who drives the Hyak Motorsports No. 47 Chevrolet and is 24th in the point standings, called the new tournament “cool” — although he would be happy to win this weekend even if advancing in the bracket wasn’t at stake.
“I think after this weekend you’ll have a little better idea of what you have,” Stenhouse said. “Our main goal in Atlanta is winning and getting into the playoffs.”
Ford drivers earned the top eight qualifying spots Friday for Saturday’s starting lineup, and all three Penske cars are in that group.
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, Penske teammate Austin Cindric was one spot back.
“It definitely helps at the start for sure,” Logano said. “Being at the front and controlling the race is the thing for sure.”
The oval is only 1.54 miles but races much like a superspeedway due to its high banking, and it has produced some exciting close finishes.
RFK Racing’s Ryan Preece will start fifth, followed by Keselowski — his teammate and car co-owner — Haas Factory Team’s Cole Custer and Zane Smith of Front Row Motorsports. Alex Bowman starts eighth in a Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, and JGR’s Briscoe rounds out the top 10 on the grid as the highest-qualified Ford driver.
It’s still home
Chase Elliott, the 2021 Cup Series champion, is from just up the road in Dawsonville, so this is essentially his home track. While he was the winner here in July 2022, he’s also had his share of frustration when NASCAR visits the Peach State.
Saturday would be a fine time for the 29-year-old Hendrick driver to make his way back to victory lane.
Elliott has a special paint scheme on his No. 9 Chevy 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 that primary sponsor NAPA Auto Parts deserved credit “for giving up the car” so the paint scheme could instead feature Mills’ design.
This will be the first Cup Series race at the track since it was renamed EchoPark Speedway earlier this month in a seven-year sponsorship deal. It was still known as Atlanta Motor Speedway in February, when JGR’s Christopher Bell won a Cup Series race while leading only the final lap in overtime.
Elliott acknowledged seeing the name change and the new green paint “was different for me. I think it’s fine.”