Latest news with #InSeasonChallenge
Yahoo
13 hours ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Ty Dillon will face Ty Gibbs in $1 million challenge final at Indianapolis
What many thought was impossible is now reality as Ty Dillon has advanced all the way into the finals for the $1 million in-season bracket challenge. In the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, he will face another 'Ty' for the big prize as Ty Gibbs also advanced. Dillon, who entered the five-week challenge as the bottom seed in the No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet, has since defeated Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski, Alex Bowman, and now John Hunter Nemechek. He ran around Nemechek all day at Dover, passing him on a late-race restart just before a caution that granted him the free pass. At that point, he was out of reach of Nemechek, clearing the path for him to make it all the way to the finals. "I was like, come on boys, just make it the white (flag)," Dillon told NASCAR on TNT. "It was quite the battle all day ... All respect to John Hunter, he and I ran within a spot of each other all day. It was a grind of a race for both of us, and we just had a good restart there on the #47 [Ricky Stenhouse Jr.], took it three-wide and and then chaos kind of ensued. We were able to get that wave-around, which kind of locked us into a good spot. "Just grateful to have this opportunity. The ride has been so fun. It's one of the biggest things I've done in my career. Just having fun with Kaulig Racing." Watch: Ty Dillon advances to In-Season Challenge finale: 'This run has been so fun' Gibbs, who pilots the the No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. He had to get through Justin Haley, A.J. Allmendinger, Zane Smith, and Tyler Reddick to get to this point. He was on the same strategy as Reddick at the end, as both drivers chose to pit for fresh right-side tires, but Gibbs was able to pass him on merit in the closing laps. Neither Dillon or Gibbs have ever won a Cup race before, but both now have a chance at winning $1 million Usd. next week. In last year's Brickyard 400, Dillon finished 19th, while Gibbs finished 23rd. Read Also: Denny Hamlin wins dramatic Dover NASCAR Cup race in double overtime To read more articles visit our website.
New York Times
2 days ago
- Automotive
- New York Times
NASCAR Cup Series at Dover odds, predictions for In-Season Challenge Round 4
NASCAR heads to the coastal plains of Dover, Delaware, for the AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 and the fourth (and final elimination) round of the inaugural In-Season Challenge. Our NASCAR experts, Jeff Gluck and Jordan Bianchi, answer our questions ahead of the race, including who on the bubble is in the most trouble and whether a long shot has a chance to win. Also, Bianchi went four-for-four last week with his challenge picks, and Gluck seems a little salty — he makes good points, though. Take it away, guys! Time to revisit and recalibrate your Challenge picks. Jordan, did you go four for four!?? What are we predicting for this final elimination into the championship? Jeff: Hey, it's easy for Jordan to go four-for-four when he gets a re-do every week after his bracket blew up in Round 1, though I'll give him credit for taking a flier on picking Ty Dillon (even though it was just for fun). But I'll stick with my pick from the start — Tyler Reddick — to advance to the finals over Ty Gibbs. And although Dillon has been a fun story, he's been helped massively by the poor performance of his competitors: 31st, 37th and 19th. That has allowed Dillon to advance to the semifinals with finishes of eighth, 20th and 17th — although he certainly deserves credit for knocking Alex Bowman out of the way on the last corner at Sonoma to advance. But even though John Hunter Nemechek's run has also been unspectacular (he advanced by finishing 28th at Sonoma), his team will likely bring more speed at Dover, so I'm picking him over Dillon this week. Advertisement Jordan: Sure, there's a minor detail about how and why I went four-for-four last week, but all that matters is what the scoreboard says. And don't be upset that I believed in the tournament Cinderella enough to hitch my wagon to the Ty Dillon Express, which, against all odds, just keeps chugging along every week. Yes, he will face a challenge at Dover, but that makes this run all the more inspiring. For Reddick vs. Gibbs, a case can be made for either, but Reddick gets the nod as he's shown greater speed overall this season than Gibbs. You ranked the upset potential of the remaining regular-season races, and for Dover, you said, 'No way. There hasn't been an upset at Dover in the last 20 years.' Oof. Should we be disappointed by that? Could anyone get their first win of the season here? Should those trying to 'point' their way in be relieved or worried at this lack of upsets? Jeff: There are plenty of opportunities throughout the season for upset winners; I just don't think this is one of them. If you look at the list of Dover winners since 2005, the entire list is current or future Hall of Famers except for Bowman, but Bowman won during a four-victory season, so it's not like it was any sort of fluke. You're not likely to see an out-of-nowhere driver win this race on strategy or even find themselves at the front during the race, so one of the usual suspects should win this week. And as you mentioned in your question, that is a big relief for the bubble drivers because it's unlikely that someone wins from outside the top 16 and jumps them to move the cut line. Jordan: Dover is just not a track with a history of producing upset winners. This is a place that favors the best drivers and the top teams, and rare is it that circumstances allow someone beyond the 'usual suspects' to break through. But that doesn't mean there is little chance of seeing a first-time winner Sunday. The two obvious names to watch are Gibbs and Carson Hocevar, who have come close this season to getting that first-career win. Mid-season panic meter: Who on the bubble is in the hottest water right now? What's the strategy going forward? Jeff: It's hard to argue that Bubba Wallace isn't in the toughest spot of the bubble drivers because his team has playoff expectations, and he is currently in jeopardy of not doing so after his great start to the season evaporated. Wallace is only three points to the good on the cutoff line right now, but that line could move anytime with a new winner. And then he's got work to do to catch Bowman and Chris Buescher. In that case, the pressure would shift to Bowman — a Hendrick Motorsports driver can't miss the playoffs. In the meantime, the answer is Wallace, who was seventh in the point standings after the first 10 races but has only scored the 23rd-most points in the last 10. Wallace had only three top-20 finishes during that time, underlining how miserable this stretch has been. Advertisement Jordan: Wallace cannot afford to miss the playoffs for a fourth time in five years, especially while his teammate Reddick has done so in three consecutive seasons. It would help Wallace's cause if he could shake some of the bad luck that's plagued him recently, often negating what otherwise would have likely been a solid result. But Wallace also must shoulder some of the blame; in Chicago, he allowed his frustration to get the better of him in the closing laps when racing Bowman, which cost him probably 20 points. The good news for Wallace is that the upcoming schedule includes a bevy of tracks — Dover, Indianapolis, Richmond, Watkins Glen and Daytona — where he should do well. If he performs like he's capable of, he should score enough points to move him off the bubble and guard against someone below him jumping ahead. Who do you pick to win at Dover? Jeff: I've got a bit of an unusual pick for you this week: Chase Briscoe, who has never finished in the top 10 at Dover. Here's my theory: Briscoe is driving Martin Truex Jr.'s old car and has his old team, and Truex has the best average finish at Dover in the Next Gen car (5.3). It's not like Briscoe doesn't know how to get around the place; he led 107 laps and won the 2020 Xfinity Series race there before he graduated to the Cup Series (and had four straight top-10s in Xfinity races at Dover). If the No. 19 team can bring similar speed to what we'd see with Truex, as it did for Briscoe's runner-up finish at Sonoma last week, the driver might surprise some people at +2000. Jordan: Chase Elliott and the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports team have seemed to up their performance in recent weeks — a stretch that includes a win at Atlanta that snapped Elliott's lengthy winless drought. And Dover represents a great chance for him to get his second win of the season. He is a two-time winner here, and his 10 top-five finishes are the most he has at any track. If Elliott can deliver Sunday, it will further solidify that the No. 9 team is every bit a title contender in the same class as William Byron, Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, Denny Hamlin and Ryan Blaney. Who is a long shot you like? Jeff: Last year, this race became a big talking point because of how well the drivers could defend with their rear-view cameras. They simply take away the line of the car behind them, and it makes it nearly impossible to pass when they get it right. There will be a new tire this year at Dover, so maybe that changes things, but all signs for now seem to point toward the favorites. That makes it hard to find a decent 'long shot' this week. But although he has the same odds as my winner pick and isn't an upset at all, Bowman at +2000 shouldn't be overlooked. Dover is a track he loves and where he brings confidence, as evidenced by five top-five finishes in his last seven starts there. It's actually the NASCAR track where he has the most top-five finishes in his career. So, this is bending the definition of a 'long shot' quite a bit, but I don't think any true upsets are realistic. Jordan: As noted above, finding a viable longshot is not easy at Dover. So let's go with Ty Gibbs (+2800), who has finished decently here in two-career starts (10th and 13th) and whose team, Joe Gibbs Racing, is a powerhouse that has won two of the three races here, in the Next Gen Era. In a week where it feels like only a select group of drivers can win, you can do a whole lot worse than picking Gibbs. Betting/odds links in this article are provided by partners of The Athletic. Restrictions may apply. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication. (Photo of Chase Briscoe: Jonathan Bachman / Getty Images)
NBC Sports
3 days ago
- Automotive
- NBC Sports
How to watch Sunday's Cup race at Dover: Start time, TV info and weather
After a two-week stretch of dominance by Shane van Gisbergen on road and street courses, it's back to the ovals for the NASCAR Cup Series. Dover Motor Speedway will begin three consecutive races with exclusively left turns — the tracks where van Gisbergen has struggled as a Cup rookie. The three-time Supercars champion has three victories in 2025 at Sonoma, Chicago and Mexico City but a best finish of 14th (in the Coca-Cola 600) on an oval. The balance of power at Dover will tip toward Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing, which have won 14 of the past 19 races on the 1-mile concrete oval. Denny Hamlin has the most recent victory at Dover and is the only repeat winner in the past seven Cup races in Delaware. Track position is important at the Monster Mile — the last eight Dover winners have led 68 laps apiece and only once in the past 24 stages has a race winner finished outside the top 10 — but it's been tougher for pole-sitters. It's been 24 races since a driver won from the pole at Dover. Some milestones in Sunday's race: —Joey Logano, 35, will become the youngest driver to make his 600th Cup start. —Daniel Suarez will make his 200th consecutive Cup start. —Chris Buescher will make his 350th Cup start and 200th for Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing. Dover will mark the semifinals of the In Season Challenge with four Cup drivers squaring off for the final two slots at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The matchups are: Ty Dillon (32nd seed), No. 10 Chevrolet vs. John Hunter Nemechek (12), No. 42 Toyota; Ty Gibbs (6), No. 54 Toyota vs. Tyler Reddick (23), No. 45 Toyota. Dustin Long, Details for Sunday's Cup race at Dover (All times Eastern) START: The command to start engines will be given at 2:08 p.m. ... The green flag is scheduled to wave at 2:17 p.m. PRERACE: The Cup garage will open at 11 a.m. ... Driver introductions are at 1:30 p.m. ... The national anthem will be performed at 2:01 p.m. DISTANCE: The race is 400 laps (400 miles) on the 1-mile, concrete oval in Dover, Delaware. STAGES: Stage 1 ends at Lap 120. Stage 2 ends at Lap 250. ENTRY LIST: Click here for the 37 cars entered at Dover Motor Speedway. TV/RADIO: TNT will broadcast the race starting at 1 p.m. ... Performance Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio will have radio coverage. FORECAST: WeatherUnderground — Partly cloudy with a high of 91 degrees and winds from the west at 10 to 15 mph. It's expected to be 89 degrees with a 9% chance of rain at the start of the Cup race. LAST TIME: Denny Hamlin fended off a late charge by Kyle Larson to win by 0.256 seconds after leading a race-high 136 of 400 laps on April 28, 2024.
Yahoo
13-07-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Ty Dillon continues In-Season Challenge run, advances to semifinal round
Ty Dillon bumped Alex Bowman out of the way on the final corner of the final lap Sunday at Sonoma Raceway to continue his run in the In-Season Challenge and advance to the final four. Dillon, the last seed in the 32-driver field, is now two races away from winning $1 million. Advertisement The other three drivers left in the In-Season Challenge are John Hunter Nemechek, Tyler Reddick and Ty Gibbs. Dillon finished 17th to beat Bowman, who was 19th, to advance. Dillon has eliminated No. 1 seed Denny Hamlin, No. 17 seed Brad Keselowski and Bowman, the No. 8 seed. Dillon will be paired against Nemechek next week at Dover Motor Speedway. Nemechek finished 28th to eliminate Legacy Motor Club teammate Erik Jones, who finished 29th. Nemechek, the No. 12 seed, has eliminated Josh Berry (No. 21 seed), Chase Elliott (No. 5 seed) and Jones (No. 20 seed). NASCAR Cup Series Toyota/Save Mart 350 History repeats: Shane van Gisbergen wins 3rd NASCAR Cup road course race in a row Advertisement Shane van Gisbergen ties mark set by Jeff Gordon for consecutive road course wins from the pole with Sonoma victory. Reddick finished sixth Sunday at Sonoma to eliminate Ryan Preece, who placed 12th. Reddick, the No. 23 seed, has eliminated Kyle Larson (No. 10 seed), Carson Hocevar (No. 26 seed) and Preece (No. 15 seed). Reddick will be matched against Ty Gibbs next week at Dover. Gibbs, the No. 6 seed, advanced by finishing seventh to Zane Smith's 27th-place result. Gibbs has eliminated Justin Haley (No. 27 seed), AJ Allmendinger (No. 22 seed) and Smith (No. 14 seed).
New York Times
12-07-2025
- Automotive
- New York Times
NASCAR Cup Series at Sonoma odds, predictions for Toyota/Save Mart 350, In-Season Challenge third round
NASCAR is in wine country this weekend, as Sonoma Raceway hosts the Toyota/Save Mart 350 and the third round of the inaugural In-Season Challenge. As we do every week, we're bringing our NASCAR questions to the experts: Jeff Gluck and Jordan Bianchi. We're getting the scoop on the latest charter drama involving Michael Jordan's 23XI Racing, predictions for the In-Season Challenge and whether anyone can beat Shane van Gisbergen on a road course these days. Take it away, guys! Round 2 of the Challenge at Chicago was Round 2 of the upset circus! Heading into the third round at Sonoma, who is in the best spot of the remaining drivers? Which matchups do you like the most? Let's get your updated picks! Jeff: Hey, my bracket challenge winner (Tyler Reddick) is still alive in this thing. And I correctly called John Hunter Nemechek in the Elite Eight. But aside from that, my bracket has been a disaster like most others. Anyway, the matchups are largely unexciting given most of the drivers have no history or rivalry together (Ryan Preece vs. Tyler Reddick? Ty Dillon and Alex Bowman?). But there is a fun one: Legacy Motor Club teammates Erik Jones and Nemechek. I've got Bowman over Dillon and Nemechek over Jones, then Reddick over Preece and Ty Gibbs over Zane Smith. Next week at Dover, it's Bowman over Nemechek and Reddick over Gibbs, setting up a Bowman/Reddick final at Indianapolis (where Reddick wins, as I had all along. Ha!). Advertisement Jordan: Of the eight matchups last week, I correctly picked six winners (Bowman, Nemechek, Jones, Preece, Reddick and Gibbs). So, considering how tumultuous this tournament has been, I'm going to go ahead and pat myself on the back. But this week is going to be a challenging one as several of the drivers left don't have a strong record at Sonoma. Here are my picks: Dillon continues his Cinderella, Florida Gulf Coast-esque run by knocking out the heavily favored Bowman; Nemechek over Jones; Reddick over Preece and Gibbs over Smith. Let's talk about the Chicago race winner, Shane van Gisbergen (SVG). I asked a few weeks ago about the seeming proliferation of road or street courses on the NASCAR schedule (which you can tell me if that's actually an outlier historically). If this seeming trend continues, what do teams and/or drivers need to do to get more people dominant on this style of course? Surely they're not just going to let SVG keep running roughshod over the field! Jeff: Just like it's tough for SVG to catch up with the rest of the field on ovals, it's also tough for the other drivers to catch up to him on road courses. He's a three-time champion in Australia's Supercars series and won 80 races there — all on non-ovals (they only race road and street courses) and while driving a car that is a distant cousin of the Cup Series' Next Gen car. Even if they're different enough, they're still more similar to NASCAR than open-wheel cars, which is why I think we've seen SVG have so much success right away. He simply has done this longer and better than anyone else he's competing against, and it shows. I don't know how you easily overcome that — but the fastest car doesn't always win these races, either. Jordan: SVG is on an incredible run right now, and while he certainly could continue to run roughshod over the field on the road courses, it's also just as likely that the field catches up to him. Let's remember that not too long ago, Chase Elliott was winning with great frequency on road courses, and NASCAR switched to a new car; the field caught up, and Elliott hasn't won on a road course since July 2021. And let's also keep in mind that van Gisbergen's two wins this year, Mexico City and Chicago, are on two tracks where his competition has little experience, which gives him a further advantage. But on road courses like Circuit of the Americas and Watkins Glen, where the field has plenty of laps, van Gisbergen was anything but infallible. This is a long way of saying that, yes, van Gisbergen is the driver to beat anytime NASCAR visits a road course, but it is by no means any sort of guarantee he wins. Jeff wrote a really helpful explainer on the situation with 23XI and Front Row facing potential loss of their charters — the biggest immediate impact is that Tyler Reddick could become a free agent?! In your article, you said, 'Whether you think it sounds unrealistic or not…' But do YOU think this sounds realistic or not? Who would be most likely to snap him up in that hypothetical? Jeff: While a lot of things would have to happen, you certainly can't outright dismiss it, and I would bet a couple of teams are sniffing around already. Aside from angering Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan, what's the risk in trying to lure Reddick away? You might not get this good of a shot at a top free agent for years. But teams would have to clear room for him, which is also a risk — if you try to get Reddick but fail, and word gets around to your driver that you were trying to hire someone else for his ride? Awkward. Maybe it's worth it, though, if a team is underperforming. As I mentioned in that piece linked above, I could see Spire Motorsports taking a swing with Justin Haley on a very hot seat. Advertisement Jordan: Over the past several weeks, I've spoken to a multitude of team decision-makers about this exact scenario, and every single one of them noted how they were keeping a close eye on Reddick's status, with several even saying they would pursue signing him should the opportunity present itself. Well, that opportunity may soon be on the horizon and if so, expect teams to go all-in on signing the talented driver who nearly won the championship a year ago. Back to racing: Who do you like to win at Sonoma? Who's getting that wine? Jeff: I said Ty Gibbs would win Chicago after his strong Mexico City performance, but he came up one spot short. Gibbs has now hung with SVG in the last two road course races and looks terrific on those types of tracks. I'll stick with him to get his first career victory this weekend and pull the upset on SVG (although it's not THAT much of an upset since he has the fifth-best odds). Jordan: Kyle Larson is due for one of those races where he leads the most laps, sweeps the stage and wins going away. And Sonoma is a good place for this to occur. He's won two of the past four races, and his average starting position in 10 Sonoma starts is 3.8 — read that again, 3.8. Larson wins on Sunday, scoring what would be a series-best fourth win of 2025. Do you have a long shot you like? Jeff: Wow, I think the oddsmakers are really putting themselves at risk for a big payout with Chase Briscoe at +4000. Briscoe has been the third-fastest car on road courses this season, according to Auto Racing Analytics, and he also had the third-fastest car at Chicago behind SVG and Michael McDowell. I don't think it's far-fetched at all to think Briscoe could win at a place where his crew chief, James Small, and the No. 19 won just two years ago. Jordan: Ross Chastain has the second-best average (12.4), trailing only Chase Elliott (11.1), and has four top-10 finishes in five career Sonoma starts. And with Chastain listed at +3000 on some boards, he definitely qualifies as a great sleeper pick this weekend. Betting/odds links in this article are provided by partners of The Athletic. Restrictions may apply. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication. (Photo of Shane van Gisbergen: Chris Graythen / Getty Images)
