'Underdog' Ty Dillon defends NASCAR's 'unique spin' from In-season challenge that flipped the script: "It's given a chance to show personality"

American racing driver Ty Dillon shared his thoughts on NASCAR's first-ever In-Season Challenge in 2025. The new elimination format was designed to shake up the summer schedule and offer fans a bracket-style thrill ride.

After eliminating top-seeded Denny Hamlin in the opening round at EchoPark Speedway and sneaking past Brad Keselowski at Chicago, Dillon now finds himself in the third round of a tournament. While critics argue the tournament's superspeedway start at Atlanta compromised competitive integrity and favored luck over performance, few are denying the entertainment value.

The Kaulig Racing driver called the In-Season Challenge a platform for underdogs to show their personality. Talking to motorsports reporter Claire B Lang, Dillon said (2:56 onwards):

"There's some underdog stories here that are getting a lot of attention, and it's made it a lot of fun for the drivers, the teams and the media and the fans. It's given us a chance at this point in the season to show personality where, usually at this point of the season, it gets real quiet for teams like us, and even though we're grinding hard and the stories are just as fascinating, we don't get talked about as much."

The In-Season Challenge, launched this year, is a single-elimination knockout competition modeled loosely on the NBA's format. Drivers were seeded based on their best finishes across three early events in Michigan, Mexico City, and Pocono. Ty Dillon, who posted finishes of 24th, 33rd, and 33rd respectively, barely squeaked into the 32-driver bracket.

The Round of 32 opener at EchoPark Speedway turned into a demolition derby, with Dillon avoiding the 22-car wreck that claimed Hamlin among others. The No. 10 Chevrolet then advanced from Chicago thanks to his 20th-place run, outlasting Keselowski, who was caught in a Lap 3 wreck.

With no current Cup Series winners left in the bracket, Round 3 is made up entirely of drivers still searching for headlines in 2025. Ty Gibbs, Zane Smith, Ryan Preece, Tyler Reddick, Erik Jones, John Hunter Nemechek, Alex Bowman, and Dillon remain in a hunt for $1,000,000 prize.

For Ty Dillon, this tournament has been more than just a curiosity. It's given exposure that simply doesn't exist for most of the teams. He added:

"A lot of people were questioning is that Atlanta being the first race. But Atlanta being the first race has given so many underdogs a chance to get talked about. And I think that's a unique spin to this whole thing. If it's the same guys that you're going to talk about already anyways who are competing for race wins and competing to be in that top 10 in points. What's the special interest of this in season tournament?" (2:24 onwards)

Ty Dillon currently sits in the 32nd position in the Cup Series standings with just one top 10 finish after 19 races this season.

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In-Season Challenge Round 3 promises tight battles as Ty Dillon faces Alex Bowman at Sonoma

Alex Bowman (48), Ty Dillon (10), and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (47) during the NASCAR Cup Series FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan. Source: Getty

As the In-Season Challenge heads west to Sonoma Raceway, the eight remaining drivers are split into four tense Round 3 matchups. On one side of the bracket, Ryan Preece (15) faces Tyler Reddick (23), while Ty Gibbs (6) takes on Zane Smith (14). On the other hand, Ty Dillon's David-vs-Goliath run continues against Alex Bowman (8), while Legacy Motor Club teammates John Hunter Nemechek (12) and Erik Jones (20) square off.

Bowman survived a bruising battle with Bubba Wallace at Chicago. Now he'll try to stop Dillon's momentum on a very different type of course. Dillon also acknowledged a strong challenge from Bowman ahead of the Sonoma race.

"Sonoma is a place obviously Bowman is really strong. He runs really good on road courses and I'd say of all the opponents that I've been up against, he's probably one of the most consistent guys in the field and even in the whole sport. So, we know he's going to be a tough challenge. All we can do is go in there to put pressure on him," Dillon added (1:34 onwards)

For Dillon, the odds remain steep. Sonoma is a technical, 1.99-mile road course where he's never finished in the top 20 at the Cup level. Moreover, he currently sits 32nd in points, 152 below the cutline in the 2025 standings.

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Edited by Sumeet Kavthale