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PHILADELPHIA -- NASCAR is entering uncharted territory as the sport continues to look for ways to spice up a long season. The summer months have been focused on the playoff chase and the addition of new venues and markets to the schedule to keep fans interested, but the sport sought to do more with new television partners coming in and dwindling attention spans amongst a younger generation. 

Enter the NASCAR In-Season Challenge, a race within a race with a $1 million prize to the winning team. 

The 32 drivers will compete in a head-to-head knockout style bracket -- think the NCAA men's and women's basketball tournament -- with each round taking place over the next five races. The tournament begins Saturday at Atlanta and continues all the way to Indianapolis in late-July. 

With the head-to-head matchups, there will be individual battles that will be focused on throughout the race along with the contenders for the win -- and the automatic playoff berth. The in-season tournament is a way for NASCAR to open itself up to new audiences, with a simpler way to follow the drivers competing in the challenge. 

"For the gamblers, I'm sure they're gonna be very tuned in," NASCAR driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. said with a smile. "I can't gamble on it, but if I could I'd be interested, right!"

The in-season tournament does add some extra incentive for teams seeking for momentum in a long season, but the primary goal is competing for a championship. 

Take Stenhouse as an example. He currently sits 24th in the standings, needing a victory to ensure a playoff spot -- which is the primary focus. He isn't near the elimination line to make the playoffs on points with nine regular season races remaining, so winning is the way to compete for a championship.

The prize for winning the in-season tournament is $1 million, but should it be more than money? What about a playoff spot for the winner? 

"It will be interesting to see how much traction it does get," Stenhouse said. "Nobody paid attention to it last year in the sport, because there was no financial benefit from it. There is now, so it's similar to winning the All-Star Race."

"I don't think you're gonna tailor your strategy when it comes down to it. You get through Atlanta, you get through a few of the races doing your thing."

The concept for the in-season tournament was created based on fellow NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin and his Actions Detrimental podcast. Hamlin created a non-official version of the format during the 2023 and 2024 seasons on his podcast with no financial incentive, just something to follow along for fun. NASCAR copied portions of the concept and added the financial incentive for the first official version of the tournament. 

"For us, we're focused on points," Stenhouse said. "You wanna get the best finish possible, right? But if you do get closer to those end rounds, I think it's a thing you should pay attention to. As a team, financially, it's really important to pay attention. $1 million could go a really long way." 

This is NASCAR's attempt to emulate in-season soccer tournaments across the world, which have become popular to American sports fans. The NHL's 4 Nations Face-Off replaced last season's traditional All-Star Game and was wildly popular with fans. The NBA started the NBA Cup in 2023 to spice up a long regular season as well, with the champion team getting a major financial prize. The WNBA's Commissioner's Cup championship is July 1.

There have been some bumps in the road leading up to the tournament, including how the seeding process was determined. The top-32 in points after the Nashville race on June 1 determined the competitors, so Mexico City winner Shane van Gisbergen -- who is in the playoffs -- will not participate since he was outside the top 32 in points at that stage in the season. 

The seeding for the tournament was based on a driver's best finish in the three races between Michigan, Mexico City, and Pocono. The first tiebreaker was the next-best finish in the three races, followed by the third-best finish in the three races. If there's still a tie after that, then season-long points standings after Pocono will determine who gets the better seed for the challenge opener.

"It's confusing," Stenhouse laughed. "I actually think it was more confusing trying to get seeded."

The format for the tournament is much simpler, the highest-finisher in the head-to-head matchup wins. Denny Hamlin is the No. 1 seed, while Chase Briscoe is the No. 2, and Chris Buescher No. 3. Stenhouse is the No. 29 seed, a longshot to win against No. 4 seed Christopher Bell -- even though Atlanta is a drafting track. (Stenhouse has all four of his career wins on drafting tracks.) 

"The first race being Atlanta is wild," Stenhouse said. "Once you get through two-three weeks, you'll start paying attention to it a little bit more."