NASCAR announced their new in-season tournament that will debut next summer. Denny Hamlin likes that idea because it was his!
Last year Denny Hamlin and Dirty Mo Media put together a bracket challenge. It featured the full-time NASCAR drivers in a “March Madness” type bracket. It was simple, weekly, head-to-head matchups until one driver was left standing.
Well, NASCAR has taken the idea and is putting $1,000,000 up for grabs. Hamlin is totally in on that idea.
“This is such a win for our sport and drivers. Many story lines will made [sic] during this 5 week period. I will collect by 1M royalty next season,” Hamlin wrote on X/Twitter.
The in-season tournament will take place during the five races that TNT Sports airs. The final three races of the Amazon Prime Video races will determine the seeding for the 32 drivers in the tournament. Then those five TNT races will determine the winner.
Single elimination, one-on-one, and just one driver will be left standing after that fifth race. It’s like the Winston Million but taken to another level.
Anything that is going to make these drivers race a little harder on a weekly basis is good with me. You could see two of the drivers going against each other run in the back of the pack just struggling to finish, and it would be exciting.
It’s all thanks to Denny Hamlin.
NASCAR is taking Denny Hamlin’s idea
Look, let’s just be honest about this – Denny is the one who deserves credit for this. Last year the Dirty Mo Media bracket challenge was great. It was fun, there were small storylines, and even though there wasn’t much for the drivers besides bragging rights, a few of them paid attention to the matchups.
If you make it a tournament for $1,000,000 then you’re going to get teams and drivers going for every position possible. We know how big of a deal $100,000 is in the Dash 4 Cash in the Xfinity Series. Well, this is ten times as much money in the top series of NASCAR.
Denny Hamlin helped lay the groundwork. Basically, all he did was show that a tournament like that was possible in racing. Let’s not ignore what this will do for betting on the sport. There is a lot that this tournament can bring in marketing and entertainment.
Next summer when we’re all clamoring over the final four drivers in the in-season tournament, we can take time to thank Denny for making it all happen.
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