Examining NASCAR Cup first-round In-Season Challenge matchups

NBC Sports

7 hours ago

NASCAR's In-Season Challenge makes its debut this weekend at EchoPark Speedway, the track formerly known as Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Thirty-two drivers were seeded based on their best finish in the last three weeks (Michigan, Mexico and Pocono).
The drivers were paired based on those seedings. The driver who finishes the best in his matchup advances to the next round.
The second round (16 remaining drivers) is at the Chicago Street Race. The third round (eight remaining drivers) is at Sonoma. The fourth round (four remaining drivers) is at Dover. The final round (two remaining drivers) is at Indianapolis.
The winner will collect $1 million.
Here is a look, with the the help of Racing Insights, at the first-round pairings:
No. 1 Denny Hamlin vs. No. 32 Ty Dillon
Hot streak: Denny Hamlin has finished in the top three in each of his last three starts this season.
Long odds: The last time Ty Dillon finished ahead of Denny Hamlin at Atlanta was March 2017 when Dillon placed 15th and Hamlin was 38th — well before EchoPark Speedway ˜was reconfigured and became a drafting track.
Winner ... advances to meet winner of Kyle Busch - Brad Keselowski matchup.
No. 2 Chase Briscoe vs. No. 31 Noah Gragson
Fun fact: James Small, crew chief for Chase Briscoe, has 95 career top-10 finishes. Noah Gragson will be making his 93rd career Cup start this weekend.
Former teammates: This is the only first-round matchup involving former Cup teammates. Both raced at Stewart-Haas Racing in 2024.
Winner ... advances to meet winner of Ryan Preece - William Byron matchup.
No. 3 Chris Buescher vs. No. 30 Todd Gilliland
Third time a charm for Buescher? Todd Gilliland has finished better than Chris Buescher in the last two races at a drafting track. Gilliland was 16th at Talladega and Buescher was 34th due to an accident. At Atlanta in February, Gilliland placed 15th, while Buescher was 30th after his car was damaged in an incident.
Strong start: Chris Buescher has nine top-10 finishes this season in the first 17 races. That's his most top 10s through the first 17 races of a Cup season.
Winner ... advances to meet winner of Zane Smith - Austin Cindric matchup.
No. 4 Christopher Bell vs. No. 29 Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Familiar face: This is a matchup between spotter Tab Boyd's former driver (Ricky Stenhouse Jr.) and his new driver (Christopher Bell). This will be Boyd's first race with Bell.
See ya in Victory Lane: These two have combined to win two of the last four points races on a drafting track. Bell won at Atlanta in February. Stenhouse won at Talladega last fall.
Winner ... advances to meet winner of Ross Chastain - Erik Jones matchup.
No. 5 Chase Elliott vs. No. 28 Austin Dillon
Dominant: Chase Elliott has finished better than Austin Dillon in 13 of the 17 points races this season, including six in a row.
Consistent: Elliott has an average finish of 10.5 on the reconfigured Atlanta track, which ranks second among drivers who have made at least three starts on it. He has the best average finish in the series this season at 10.8.
Winner ... advances to meet winner of John Hunter Nemechek - Josh Berry matchup
No. 6 Ty Gibbs vs. No. 27 Justin Haley
Streaking: Ty Gibbs has finished better than Justin Haley in each of the last six races.
Five for five: All five of Haley's Cup (one win) and Xfinity (four) victories have come at drafting tracks.
Winner ... advances to meet winner of Michael McDowell - AJ Allmendinger matchup.
No. 7 Ryan Blaney vs. No. 26 Carson Hocevar
Familiar foes: Ryan Blaney was one of the drivers upset with Carson Hocevar at Atlanta in February after Hocevar's contact spun Blaney.
Close duel: Hocevar finished second at Atlanta in February. Blaney placed fourth in that race.
Winner ... advances to meet winner of Kyle Larson - Tyler Reddick matchup.
No. 8 Alex Bowman vs. No. 25 Joey Logano
Better days ahead? Since winning at Atlanta in last year's playoff race, Joey Logano has finished 33rd or worse in three of the last four races on drafting tracks. The exception was a 12th-place result at Atlanta in February.
Close duel: Alex Bowman has finished better than Joey Logano in nine of the 17 points races this season.
Winner ... advances to meet winner of Bubba Wallace - Daniel Suarez matchup.
No. 9 Bubba Wallace vs. No. 24 Daniel Suarez
Better run lately: Bubba Wallace has finished better than Daniel Suarez in five of the last six races.
Recent Atlanta winner: Suarez won at Atlanta last year in the closest 1-2-3 finish in Cup history.
Winner ... advances to meet winner of Alex Bowman - Joey Logano matchup.
No. 10 Kyle Larson vs. No. 23 Tyler Reddick
Good time for a win: Kyle Larson is winless in 50 Cup starts on a drafting track. Also, Larson's five-race winless streak entering this weekend is tied for his longest of the season.
In need of a turnaround: Tyler Reddick has one top-10 finish in the last nine points races.
Winner ... advances to meet winner of Ryan Blaney - Carson Hocevar matchup
No. 11 Michael McDowell vs. No. 22 AJ Allmendinger
Looking to improve: Michael McDowell has one top-10 finish in his last nine races on drafting tracks, dating back to last season.
Intriguing matchup: With two road courses after this weekend (Chicago Street Race and Sonoma), the winner of his matchup could be in a good position to advance deep in the tournament.
Winner ... advances to meet winner of Ty Gibbs - Justin Haley matchup.
No. 12 John Hunter Nemechek vs. No. 21 Josh Berry
Opposite directions: John Hunter Nemechek comes into the weekend off back-to-back sixth-place finishes. He has four top-10 finishes in the last seven races. Josh Berry has one top-10 finish in the last 12 races.
Drafting tracks: John Hunter Nemechek has two top 10s in three races on drafting tracks this season. Josh Berry won a stage at Atlanta in February but has yet to score a top-20 finish this year on a drafting track.
Winner ... advances to meet winner of Chase Elliott - Austin Dillon matchup.
No. 13 Ross Chastain vs. No. 20 Erik Jones
Friendly track: Ross Chastain has four top-10 finishes, including a pair of runner-up results, in the seven races since the Atlanta track was reconfigured.
Close duel? Chastain and Jones have finished within four positions of each other in four of the last eight races.
Winner ... advances to meet winner of Christopher Bell - Ricky Stenhouse Jr. matchup.
No. 14 Zane Smith vs. No. 19 Austin Cindric
Teammate tussle? If Zane Smith and Todd Gilliland can each win their first-round matchups, the Front Row Motorsports drivers would meet in the second round.
Tough draw: Smith won't have it easy with Austin Cindric, who won at Talladega in the most recent race at a drafting track, led the most laps in the Daytona 500 and ranked third in laps led at Atlanta in February.
Winner ... advances to meet winner of Chris Buescher - Todd Gilliland matchup.
No. 15 Ryan Preece vs. No. 18 William Byron
Up and down: While William Byron has two wins at Atlanta since the track was reconfigured, he's also placed 27th or worse three times.
Challenging draw: Ryan Preece has never finished better than 16th in nine career Cup starts at Atlanta.
Winner ... advances to meet winner of Chase Briscoe - Noah Gragson matchup.
No. 16 Kyle Busch vs. No. 17 Brad Keselowski
Heavy hitters: This is the only first-round matchup between two former Cup champions.
Streaking: Kyle Busch has scored five consecutive top-10 finishes at Atlanta. Brad Keselowski has finished 19th or worse in his last three starts there.
Winner ... advances to meet winner of Denny Hamlin - Ty Dillon match.