I'm not sure what you're referring to as beta teams but the Elite tier is the league that's streamed live on YouTube and the Pro tier are the reserve teams from which the leading team gets promoted if a team from the broadcast league has to quit racing.
Yeah, some very strong managers didn't make it. You had to win a race, 1 car, in a 32 car race. And typically 28 or 29 managers would turn up for the live race! :D