The NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament has its March Madness centerpiece. Playing off that exciting countdown to an eventual champ is NASCAR, which will soon have its own version of March Madness. Call it Summer Spectacular, which for the five-race stretch from June 28 through July 27 will include a race-within-a-race where the 32 top drivers in the standings at the start of the tournament will be vying for a top prize of $1 million.
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And, of course, bragging rights. Even though the “championship” won’t have any real meaning per se on how the season ultimately plays out — other than the cool million bucks that comes with winning it — NASCAR is hoping the tournament will inject mid-season excitement and interest among fans around the globe.
The idea germinated from Cup driver Denny Hamlin, who had an unofficial tournament of sorts during last season (NASCAR had no involvement in it, it was just for bragging rights among drivers).
And even though the start of the tournament isn’t for another two months, Hamlin’s idea is definitely starting to generate excitement among fellow drivers like Chase Elliott.
“I’m looking forward to it,” the 2020 NASCAR Cup champion said in an interview this week on News Nation. The season is so long, and anyway, you can spice up the year and have something else going on within our season is ultimately good not only for the fans but also for us.
“I think it’s exciting for us to have something else going on in any given weekend.”
How The Tournament Works:
The five-race tournament will work like this:
- It features the top 32 drivers
- Drivers are placed in brackets with head-to-head matchups
- Seeding, which will run from June 8 – 22, will be determined by the best finish in the three races preceding the tournament (Michigan, Mexico City, and Pocono)
The winner of each match-up advances to the next race
- The first race takes place in Atlanta. The field of contenders shrinks to 16 for the Second Round Race (Chicago), 8 for the Quarterfinal Race (Sonoma), 4 for the Semifinal Race (Dover), and the final 2 for the tournament championship (Indianapolis).
“I’m looking forward to it,” Elliott said. “It’s the first time we’ve done it, and I’m curious to see how it plays out. I think it’s a good addition, and I’m glad to see us try new things.”
Hamlin loves the idea. Of course, as we said earlier, it is HIS idea to begin with.
“I think it certainly has got all positives,” Hamlin said. “I don’t think of anything negative that can go along with it. Certainly, you’re gonna have some storylines, and we know this thing is gonna come down to someone at the very end of the race battling for an irrelevant position, what we think is an irrelevant position, but it will move someone on, so I think that’s all positives.”
Hamlin’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Christopher Bell, is looking forward to the tournament.
“I think it’s going to be a great addition to the sport,” Bell said. “And it’s certainly going to open up the strategy a lot, because it really creates a head-to-head racing scenario where if the yellow flag comes out, you might just do the opposite of the guy that you’re racing, regardless of what that does to your finishing position.
“So I think it’s going to be awesome for the sport, and it’s going to be really fun to pay attention and see how it influences the race.”
TNT Will Televise the Five-Race Tournament
The tournament will be part of TNT’s five-race part of the Cup schedule and will feature the return to the broadcast booth of Dale Earnhardt Jr., which in and of itself will also be a big draw of both viewership and fan interest as well.
“This just gives you this extra dynamic where every race of those five races means a little bit more,” said TNT Chief Content Officer Craig Barry. “It creates something really interesting for the casual fan.”
