NASCAR planning in
ATLANTA (AP) — Following the lead of the NBA, the NASCAR Cup Series is planning a five-race, bracket-style tournament in the midst of the 2025 season, beginning with a night event at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
The tournament, which comes with a $1 million prize to the winner, is part of a new media rights deal that includes TNT.
The Atlanta-based cable network will broadcast all five races in the tournament, starting with a 400-miler in its home market on June 28, 2025.
“Next year, having $1 million on the line, that’s for sure going to be a goal before the season starts and something that you and your team strategize around and all that,” Kyle Larson said. “I look forward to it. The summer months get stale. Not boring, but it just gets repetitive. You lose some excitement.”
Atlanta, which has produced some of NASCAR’s most thrilling races since the track was redesigned with higher banking, gets the honor of hosting the first tournament race. The remainder of the 36-race schedule will be announced later.