NASCAR’s inaugural in-season challenge on TNT ended with sixth seed Ty Gibbs claiming $1 million after defeating Ty Dillon in a head-to-head matchup in Sunday’s (July 27) Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The challenge began with a three-race seeding period at the end of Amazon Prime Video’s schedule, and the first round at Atlanta Motor Speedway started off with a literal bang as more than 20 cars were collected in a lap 69 crash that eliminated the highest seeds and some of the favorites to win it all.
The big wreck allowed for the proliferation of smaller teams and Cinderella stories to dominate the final rounds, as Dillon went from the 32nd and final seed to the final round of competition before bowing out to Gibbs at the brickyard.
Heavily hyped and anticipated, the in-season challenge gave fans a race within a race to follow, but it largely became a background subplot instead of the main event by the very end.
Was the inaugural in-season challenge a big enough hit to warrant a return for 2026 and beyond, or would it be best to treat it as a one-and-done experiment?
Two regular contributors to Frontstretch offer their takes.
Bring It Back but Make Some Tweaks
There was a stark difference between what the in-season challenge could’ve been versus what it actually was, but not everything will be in perfect in year one.
This year suffered from a lack of straightforward seeding based on points. An unorthodox system that was based on best finish in the three prior races was used instead, and it led to wonky seeds and matchups that put John Hunter Nemechek 12th and William Byron 18th, for example.
This year suffered from the huge wreck at Atlanta, which eliminated all 10 Cup Series winners (up to that point) that had qualified for the challenge in round one.
Upsets are a pleasant surprise in a bracket, but too many at once reduces interest in later rounds. Fans want to see the brightest and most talented stars facing off for all the glory, and the high stakes matchups don’t feel the same if they’re absent.
Aside from coverage of the event itself, the two points above were the only major flaws in year one of the challenge.
If NASCAR seeds the field to where the matchups make sense and doesn’t host the first or second rounds at a superspeedway where the entire field can be wiped out in the blink of an eye, the product — in terms of both the in-race matchups and the drivers that advance — will immediately improve.
And if TNT is able to figure out the delicate balance in adequately covering the challenge in the middle of a live race broadcast, the product will be golden.
The tornament is still a great idea in theory, and it only needs a few fixes to shine. To abandon one of the most innovative additions to the NASCAR schedule in recent memory after one tough year would simply be a mistake. -Stephen Stumpf
It’s OK to Be One & Done
One of the definitions of insanity is to do the same thing repeatedly with the expectation of different results.
NASCAR can consider any changes that it wants as far as the future of the in-season tournament goes, but none of that changes the fact that it was ill-conceived and a needless layer of confusion that took away from the grappling for postseason spots in the heat of the summer.
There are times when you have to cut your losses and move on, and it’s time for NASCAR to do the same for its season within a season.
Did this format produce a high level of notoriety for Ty Dillon? Absolutely so, and you could tell that Kaulig Racing’s social media team jumped on the opportunity. For that, they should be commended.
But drivers in NASCAR are there to race, they are there to strive for excellence.
What part of striving for the top is winning a battle of attrition?
After an eighth-place finish to open the in-season tournament at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Dillon survived to reach this past week’s final round with a top finish of 17th.
Sure, he and Gibbs got lots of notoriety at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but when the top two drivers in this format are not likely to be in the postseason, is that really celebrating the best of the sport?
It doesn’t.
Instead, it feels like one of those mid-December college football bowl games in locales such as Shreveport, La., or Mobile, Ala., that only football junkies tune in to watch.
That’s rewarding mediocrity, not the best version of the NASCAR Cup Series.
That also includes the infusion of TNT’s other programming during this tournament.
When the pre-race grid and stage is littered at times by AEW wrestling personalities and legendary wrestling announcer Tony Schiavone is introducing drivers before a race in the metro Atlanta area, not to mention Gibbs hoisting a wrestling championship belt, the question needs to be raised: is this really about racing, or is it about cross-promotion? And this is said from someone who is a fan of professional wrestling. NASCAR should be able to stand on its own without an assist from pro wrestling.
NASCAR fans love simplicity. More than a generation of fans loved the sport, in part, due to most Sundays having the same air time and channel. The chase for a postseason spot and stage racing can be confusing enough for fans to follow, especially if they are new.
The tournament added more unneeded noise, and it’s time for NASCAR to cut its losses and chalk it up as a good idea that didn’t work out. -Brad Harrison
Stephen Stumpf is the NASCAR Content Director for Frontstretch and is a three-year veteran of the site. His weekly column is “Stat Sheet,” and he formerly wrote "4 Burning Questions" for three years. He also writes commentaries, contributes to podcasts, edits articles and is frequently at the track for on-site coverage.
Find Stephen on Twitter @stephen_stumpf
Brad joined Frontstretch.com in 2020 and contributes to the site's 5 Points To Ponder column and other roles as needed. A graduate of the University of Georgia's Henry W. Grady School of Journalism and Mass Communication, he has covered sports in some capacity for more than 20 years with coverage including local high school sports, college athletics and minor league hockey. Brad has received multiple awards for his work from the Georgia Press Association.