Field for inaugural NASCAR In-Season Challenge finalized at Nashville

RFK Racing’s Brad Keselowski became the final driver to secure a spot in NASCAR’s inaugural In-Season Challenge with a 23rd-place finish in Sunday’s Cup Series race at Nashville Superspeedway.

Keselowski beat out Trackhouse Racing’s Shane van Gisbergen by 21 points for a chance at $1 million in the knockout-style bracket. Among full-time drivers, 23XI Racing’s Riley Herbst, Haas Factory Team’s Cole Custer and Rick Ware Racing’s Cody Ware all failed to qualify. The top 32 drivers in Cup Series points after 14 races are eligible.

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Drivers will be seeded in the challenge by their best overall finish over the next three weeks at Michigan International Speedway (June 8), Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez (June 15) and Pocono Raceway (June 22). The first tiebreaker is a driver’s second-best finish, with the next tiebreaker being the driver’s overall points position. All three seeding races will air on Prime Video.

Once the challenge officially begins at Atlanta Motor Speedway (June 28), it’s simple: drivers will be placed in head-to-head matchups based on seed, and whoever finishes better in each race advances. The last driver standing after Indianapolis Motor Speedway (July 27) pockets $1 million.

All five races of the In-Season Challenge will air on TNT Sports and HBO Max with an alternate broadcast available on truTV.

2025 In-Season Challenge Field