Myrtle Beach Speedway will kick off its unconventional, but equally intriguing Daytona 1 Beach Madness Tournament on Saturday with a system that combines the “Dash for Cash” concept from the NASCAR XFINITY Series with a March Madness style playoff.
The grand prize, a $5,000 payout to the champion of the Beach Madness series in the season ending Myrtle Beach 400 on November.
Myrtle Beach Speedway media relations representative Mike Neff explained the qualifying criteria for the Daytona 1 Beach Madness Series in a track press release late last year.
There are three means of qualifying for the Beach Madness jackpot. First is the Daytona 1 Beach Madness Tournament. Drivers register between November 1st 2016 and March 1st 2017. A live drawing on March 4th will place drivers into one of four brackets. Through the first five races of the season drivers will count their best four races to accumulate points in a head-to-head matchup with one other driver in their bracket. The driver with the better point total in this Practice Round will advance, the driver with the lesser total will be eliminated.
The next five races of the season will comprise the Qualifying Round. Just like the Practice Round, drivers will accumulate their best points from four of the five races in their head-to-head matchup. The winners advance, the losers are eliminated. The final round, The Main Event Round, will proceed just like the previous two. The best point total between two matched drivers will receive a Gold invitation to the Daytona 1 Beach Madness Dash for Cash. A selection committee will seed drivers into brackets based on past results, strength of fields, and other criteria.
The second method of qualifying for the Daytona 1 Beach Madness Dash for Cash is the BattleBack Wild Card. The 50 lap sprint race will be held on a race date yet to be determined in October. Any driver who competed in and was eliminated from the Daytona 1 Beach Madness Tournament will be eligible for the BattleBack Wild Card. The top two finishers in the BattleBack Wild Card will receive Silver invitations to the Daytona 1 Beach Madness Dash for Cash. Drivers must compete in at least eight races during the 2017 season to be eligible for the BattleBack Wild Card.
The third way drivers can qualify for the Daytona 1 Beach Madness Dash for Cash is to win their way in. The victor in the IceBreaker February 11th and the Sun Fun July 2nd along with the Myrtle BeachSpeedway Track Champion will receive Silver invitations, assuming they have not qualified for a Gold invite through the Daytona 1 Beach Madness Tournament. The IceBreaker and Sun Fun winners must contest at least five races during the 2017 season to be eligible for their Silver invitations.
A Gold invitation entitles the driver to receive a FREE driver pit pass and a FREE set of tires for the Myrtle Beach 400 weekend. A Silver invitation affords a driver a FREE driver pit pass and 20 gallons of FREE fuel for the Myrtle Beach 400 weekend.
The Beach Madness tournament isn’t just for the drivers, however. Much like March Madness, fans can participate as well by filling out brackets anytime in between March 4th and March 18th and the fan who submits the best bracket is eligible to win $2,500.
The intriguing tournament makes Myrtle Beach Speedway the latest track to think outside the proverbial box to enhance competition at the track for the drivers and peak more fan participation. It also adds another element of excitement to the Myrtle Beach 400 in November with a championship battle taking place within one of the biggest races of the year for Late Model Stock Car competitors.
To date, over two dozen have signed up for the Beach Madness tournament.
Brian Vause, who works with the speedway, posted a list of drivers who had signed up as of February 20th, which consists of: Justin Milliken, Jackie Ward, Bryant Barnhill, Tyler English, Luke Sorrow, Edward Williams, Lucas Williams, David Roberts, Sam Yarbrough, Ben Stanton, Tommy Lemons, Jr., Ryan Glenski, Brian Vause, Terry Evans, TJ Barron, Thad Moffitt, Matt Cox, RA Brown, Justin Hicks, Chris Throckmorton, Stuart Ricks, Jeremy Mcdowell, Jamie Weatherford, Chad McCumbee, Samie Scarpelli, Jr and BJ Mackey.
The selection process will take place on March 4th, setting up the matchups for the March 18th season opening race at Myrtle Beach Speedway and opening round of the Beach Madness Series. The other Beach Madness eliminations will take place on April 15th, July 8th (which is also a lock-in race for the Myrtle Beach 400) and August 26th.
For more information about Myrtle Beach Speedway and their Beach Madness series, visit the track website at http://www.myrtlebeachspeedway.com/weekly-racing/.
