NASCAR is bringing a new level of excitement and intrigue to the 2025 Cup Series schedule. On Monday, the sanctioning body announced the addition of an in-season, bracket-style tournament that will take place during the portion of races aired by new broadcast partner TNT Sports.

The three Cup races preceding TNT’s coverage window, which will be aired exclusively on Prime Video as part of NASCAR’s new media rights deal, will set the seeding for the 32-driver tournament field. The driver with the best finish in those three Prime Video races will be the No. 1 seed, with the remainder of the field filled out by descending finish positions and points standings used as tiebreakers.

Once the tournament kicks off with TNT Sports’ first race broadcast, drivers will go head-to-head in a bracket format with the higher-seeded driver advancing after each round. The tournament will span five rounds over the stretch of TNT’s portion of the Cup schedule, culminating with the championship matchup.

The winner of this unprecedented in-season tournament will be awarded a $1 million prize, injecting an extra dose of intensity and competition into a key stretch of the NASCAR calendar.

The in-season tournament format is the latest innovation as NASCAR enters a new broadcast era in 2025 with its historic seven-year media rights agreement. Alongside Fox Sports and NBC Sports, the Prime Video and TNT Sports partnership aims to deliver unprecedented coverage and engagement opportunities for NASCAR fans.