The full 32-driver bracket for the inaugural NASCAR in-season tournament was only solidified this past weekend at Pocono Raceway, but four of the Cup Series' 36 full-time drivers knew their fate even before the three-race stretch of seeding races.
The other two seeding races were the races at Michigan International Speedway and Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. Before those races began, four full-time drivers were already eliminated.
One of those drivers actually would have been the No. 3 seed had he not been eliminated, but because NASCAR needed to come up with a number that could be divided up evenly for five rounds, they opted to reduce the pool of eligible drivers from 36 to 32 even before those seeding races began.
Four NASCAR drivers not in the tournament
As a result, only the 32 drivers who entered the race at Michigan inside the top 32 in the point standings were eligible. So Trackhouse Racing's Shane van Gisbergen, Haas Factory Team's Cole Custer, 23XI Racing's Riley Herbst, and Rick Ware Racing's Cody Ware were not eligible.
Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Denny Hamlin and Chase Briscoe won the races at Michigan and Pocono, respectively, to seal the top two seeds, as the seeding was based on best finish during this three-race stretch (with the tiebreaker being the top second-best finish).
Van Gisbergen won in Mexico, but again, he was not among the 32 tournament-eligible drivers, even though he is now in 31st in the standings.
As a result, the No. 3 seed went to RFK Racing's Chris Buescher. Here's a full look at the bracket.
Here are the in-season tournament seedings pic.twitter.com/yPtyKBDQZV
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) June 23, 2025
The tournament is based entirely on individual matchups, meaning that a race's second place finisher can technically be eliminated while a driver who records a 35th place DNF can advance. In fact, a driver with five straight 35th place DNFs can technically win the whole tournament.
Tournament races are scheduled to take place at Atlanta Motor Speedway, the Chicago Street Course, Sonoma Raceway, Dover Motor Speedway, and Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The Quaker State 400 is set to open up the five-race tournament this Saturday, June 28 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, and live coverage is set to be provided by TNT Sports beginning at 7:00 p.m. ET.