The summer stretch of NASCAR features the debut of the in-season tournament, which awards $1 million to the winning driver. It's set to be a major storyline for many people, but the drivers are downplaying its importance ahead of the summer stretch.
They say they certainly aren't letting the upcoming tournament affect their preparation for races.
"I guess if you had told me it started three weeks ago, I would have believed you," Chris Buescher told AltDriver at Charlotte Motor Speedway. "It's not something I'm aware of. I don't even know how it goes.
"I'm admittedly not a huge sports fan in general. I'm kind of extremely casual in what I watch anyway, and I don't even understand how brackets typically work."
Buescher is far from the only driver who says he doesn't know how the in-season tournament starts, or even when it begins. So, here's a quick primer.
The final three races of the Prime Video schedule -- Michigan, Mexico City, and Pocono -- will seed 32 drivers into a bracket. These drivers will then go head-to-head in a knockout-style format for the five weeks that TNT Sports airs the Cup Series races.
The drivers who finish higher than their respective opponents advance. The final two will race for the $1 million prize in the final event. The in-season tournament schedule features Atlanta, Chicago, Sonoma, Dover, and Indianapolis.
"Screw whoever made that," Bubba Wallace joked after hearing the tournament schedule. "We haven't talked about that. What's the prize? A million. It's basically an All-Star Race, but points matter.
"...I don't know enough about it to give you that much. Clearly, I'm asking questions, but I think we treat it like another race. Execute on pit road, stay out of the mess. Our speed is well capable of having a good in-season tournament, but to me, it's just having a good summer stretch."
The goal of having a good stretch in June and July was a common theme as AltDriver spoke to drivers over the last two weeks. Sure, it's exciting to think about winning $1 million, but the goal is to make the playoffs, have a deep run, and contend for the championship.
"I think if I'm truly honest, I don't really know anything about it," Ty Dillon told AltDriver. "So we're just trying to focus on each weekend, the weekend in front of us, and being the best we can, especially for our team (at Kaulig Racing).
"We can't really get too far out ahead. We've got to work on some execution of our races. And I think we've had the speed that we can make it challenging to hopefully get up through that tournament. I understand the basis of it, and anything can happen. So yeah, it'd be a big deal for us to show well throughout that time, but it'll also be a big deal just to continue to run good."
What about Denny Hamlin, the man who came up with the idea of the tournament and then allowed NASCAR to run with it? He says he is aware of the important details -- other than when the bracket seeding begins -- but he doesn't plan on letting it affect how he races.
But he certainly appreciates how it could enhance coverage of the sport.
"I certainly will be aware when it's happening, but I'm not going to change anything on the track for the seeding part of it," Hamlin said. "The only thing that changes is kind of the head-to-head when it actually comes to fruition.
"The tracks don't line up. I mean, there's a bunch of road courses and stuff in there, so my chances are going to be limited to do it. You're going to have to rely on some other people messing up. But, yeah, I think it's going to be great for the sport. Certainly, storylines to talk about, and suddenly a battle for 15th will matter."