Two weeks into the inaugural in-season challenge, the brackets have taken on a wildly different look than what many expected. Cinderella stories have taken over while trying to race for $1 million.
Thirty-two drivers entered the in-season challenge at EchoPark Speedway. Eleven of the drivers had won a race this season while the rest continued to seek their first trips to victory lane. Two weeks later, None of the drivers with wins remain eligible for the $1 million.
This list of eliminated drivers includes Kyle Larson, William Byron, Chase Elliott, Joey Logano, Josh Berry, Ryan Blaney, Austin Cindric, Chase Briscoe, Christopher Bell, Denny Hamlin, and Ross Chastain.
The only drivers remaining on the bracket are Ty Dillon, Alex Bowman, Ryan Preece, Tyler Reddick, Ty Gibbs, Zane Smith, Erik Jones, and John Hunter Nemechek. These are the drivers who will face off at Sonoma Raceway this weekend for a chance to make the Final Four.
The Matchups:
- Ty Dillon vs. Alex Bowman
- John Hunter Nemechek vs. Erik Jones
- Ryan Preece vs. Tyler Reddick
- Ty Gibbs vs. Zane Smith
Dillon is possibly the biggest Cinderella story of this group. He made it past No. 1 seed Denny Hamlin at EchoPark Speedway after avoiding multiple wrecks. Hamlin was not so lucky. Dillon then eliminated Brad Keselowski, who was involved in a crash kicked off by Carson Hocevar in the opening laps.
Nemechek had some help as he worked through the opening round of the in-season challenge. His first opponent, Berry, was involved in a multi-car crash. However, Nemechek then beat Elliott in a head-to-head matchup on the streets of Chicago.
This set up his battle against teammate Jones, who made it past both Chastain and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Both of Jones's opponents were involved in crashes at EchoPark Speedway and Chicago, respectively.
Neither Smith nor Gibbs had an easy path to the third round of the challenge. They each had to outrace their opponents on the streets of Chicago. Smith had some help from Chris Buescher's engine, but he only beat his opponent by four spots.
Gibbs, for comparison, had to beat noted road course aficionado AJ Allmendinger. He achieved this by finishing second behind race-winner Shane van Gisbergen. Allmendinger finished sixth.
Reddick, a multi-time winner who doesn't fully fit the Cinderella mold, had relatively easy matchups in the first two-rounds of the in-season challenge for unexpected reasons.
His first opponent, Blaney, was caught up in crash at EchoPark Speedway. His second opponent, Hocevar, crashed early at Chicago. Reddick still finished third in the street course race, but he advanced by the fourth lap.
Similarly, Preece had two opponents exit races early due to incidents. His first was Byron, who was caught up in an incident at EchoPark Speedway. His second was Noah Gragson, who hit the wall and bent a toe link while racing Preece for position. Gragson ended the day seven laps behind the leader while Preece finished seventh.
What about Bowman, another driver with several Cup Series wins? His first opponent, Logano, was involved in one of the crashes at EchoPark Speedway. He then had a contentious battle with Bubba Wallace on the streets of Chicago, which led to Wallace spinning in the closing laps.