NASCAR added a unique twist to the Cup Series in 2025, featuring its In-Season Challenge. The challenge is a bracket featuring the top 32 drivers in the current NASCAR Cup Series Standings. That leaves out Connor Zilisch and Cody Ware, with Alex Bowman being the final driver in as the No. 32 seed. The No. 1 seed will be the current standings leader, Tyler Reddick.
The In-Season Challenge was first introduced in the 2025 season. The 32-driver bracket runs week by week in head-to-head matchups. Whoever finishes that race in a higher position advances to the next week. After five weeks, a champion is crowned and wins $1 million.
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The simple goal is to add more excitement for the fans to watch. Lower-tiered drivers have a chance to win the big bucks. Storylines are added to the dog days of summer racing.
Ty Gibbs Wins the 2025 NASCAR In-Season Challenge for $1 Million. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)(Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)
Ty Gibbs won the inaugural challenge, defeating Ty Dillon in the final race at the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Gibbs finished 21st in that race, whereas Dillon finished in 28th.
The 2026 edition will debut at Sonoma on July 28 and conclude at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 26. In between, they will race Round 2 at Chicagoland Speedway, Round 3 at EchoPark Speedway (Atlanta), and Round 4 at North Wilkesboro Speedway.
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2026 NASCAR In-Season Challenge Bracket Revealed
The bracket is a carbon copy of the current driver standings. Seedings go according to the standard seeding procedure, in which the No. 1 seed faces the No. 32 seed. The No. 2 gets the No. 31, so on and so forth, with balanced favor to the higher seeds.
Tyler Reddick has the No. 1 seed, facing off against Alex Bowman in Round 1. Denny Hamlin is the No. 2 seed, facing Ty Dillon. The volatility of any given Cup Series race, which can feature unexpected wrecks, will surely spice things up. While Reddick could be viewed as the challenge favorite, his chances of winning are much lower than you might expect.
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Best Draws to the Bracket
No. 4 Seed — Chase Elliott
Elliott draws the bottom left side of the bracket in which he will take on No. 29 seed, Noah Gragson, at Sonoma Raceway. Gragson is averaging a 28th-place start and 24th-place finish across all 2026 Cup Series races.
Once Elliott predictably advances to Round 2, he will face either Bubba Wallace or Michael McDowell at Chicagoland. Elliott is the 4th-best average finisher in the 2026 season (13.1) while McDowell and Wallace both average no better than a 17th-place finish. Elliott estimates a roughly 60% chance of reaching Round 3.
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No. 3 Seed — Ryan Blaney
On the bottom right side of the bracket, Blaney earns the best draw of any driver, better than both top seeds, Reddick and Hamlin. Blaney will work to defeat Josh Berry at Sonoma. Berry had recently been announced to be out at Wood Brothers Racing following the 2026 season. Berry’s worst career track type is a road course, in which he averages a 26th-place finish.
Once Blaney presumably advances to Round 2, he will likely get Shane van Gisbergen, who expects to route Ryan Preece on a road course in Round 1. Van Gisbergen has been improving at oval racing, but he is still far behind the skill that Blaney brings to the table: a 2-time NASCAR Cup Series Champion. Blaney has an estimated over-80 % chance of advancing to Round 3.
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Worst Draws to the Bracket
No. 12 Seed — Chase Briscoe
Briscoe falls short of a top-10 seed, but he is definitely a top-10 car in week-to-week speed, if not even higher. For that reason, Briscoe should be deemed a contender. Yet, he has an awful draw that starts with AJ Allmendinger at Sonoma. Allmendinger is a ‘road course ringer,’ with 3 career wins on such tracks and an average finish of 15th over his career.
If Briscoe runs strong for a second straight year at Sonoma (P2 in 2025), he may get Ty Gibbs at Chicagoland. Gibbs is 5th in the driver standings with ten top-10 finishes on the season. It would be a fierce battle between Joe Gibbs Racing teammates.
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No. 10 Seed — Christopher Bell
Bell is down a wrist, which he broke at Michigan International Speedway. He now has his hands full with that broken wrist, facing Ross Chastain in Round 1. While Trackhouse Racing has struggled on speed this season, Chastain is strong at road courses with an average career finish of 17.8, his best among off-track types.
Despite the matchup, Bell is still the favorite to win that Round 1 matchup. If he advances, Bell will face Chris Buescher or John Hunter Nemechek. Buescher is averaging a finish of 14.8 at 1-2 mile ovals in 2026.
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If Bell got Nemechek, he would face surging Toyota speed, which saw Nemechek lead a handful of laps at Pocono. Nemechek has a top-14 finish in back-to-back races, and his teammate, Erik Jones, who has the same pure speed as a car, has finished top-12 in 4 of his last 5 races. Jimmie Johnson’s team has speed, adding to the dominance of the Toyota team, which has 11 race wins in 2026.
This story was originally published by Athlon Sports on Jun 15, 2026, where it first appeared in the Racing section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
