Week One Matchups for NASCAR's $1 Million In-Season Challenge

Week One Matchups for NASCAR’s $1 Million In-Season Challenge

Kauy Ostlien

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What’s Happening?

This week is the first race of NASCAR’s five-race in-season tournament, dubbed the “In-Season Challenge.” NASCAR has already set the field for week one, so here’s what you need to know.

The field is set at 32 drivers, then sixteen, then 8, then four. The final race will be a one-on-one race battle between the final two drivers at the 2025 Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
NASCAR seeded the bracket based on finishes from drivers over the past three NASCAR Cup Series races.
This bracket will pit drivers against one another over the next five races on TNT Sports. A driver advances by simply finishing higher than their opponent on that given race weekend.

Breaking Down NASCAR’s 2025 $1 Million In-Season Tournament: How it Works, Weekly Matchups, and Where to Watch

What’s Happening? This summer, NASCAR debuts its new in-season tournament, the In-Season Challenge. This tournament will pit drivers head-to-head for $1…

No. 1 Denny Hamlin v. No. 32 Ty Dillon

Denny Hamlin

2025 Avg Finish: 12.8
Avg Finish at EchoPark: 18.1

Ty Dillon

2025 Avg Finish: 23.7
Avg Finish at EchoPark: 27.0

No. 2 Chase Briscoe v. No. 31 Noah Gragson

Chase Briscoe

2025 Avg Finish: 13.7
Avg Finish at EchoPark: 23.9

Noah Gragson

2025 Avg Finish: 23.2
Avg Finish at EchoPark: 31.4

No. 3 Chris Buescher v. No. 30 Todd Gilliland

Chris Buescher

2025 Avg Finish: 14.0
Avg Finish at EchoPark: 23.6

Todd Gilliland

2025 Avg Finish: 20.5
Avg Finish at EchoPark: 20.4

No. 4 Christopher Bell v. No. 29 Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Christopher Bell

2025 Avg Finish: 11.0
Avg Finish at EchoPark: 15.3

Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

2025 Avg Finish: 19.7
Avg Finish at EchoPark: 16.3

No. 5 Chase Elliott v. No. 28 Austin Dillon

Chase Elliott

2025 Avg Finish: 10.8
Avg Finish at EchoPark: 10.5

Austin Dillon

2025 Avg Finish: 20.1
Avg Finish at EchoPark: 24.1

No. 6 Ty Gibbs v. No. 27 Justin Haley

Ty Gibbs

2025 Avg Finish: 19.4
Avg Finish at EchoPark: 20.4

Justin Haley

2025 Avg Finish: 22.3
Avg Finish at EchoPark: 14.9

No. 7 Ryan Blaney v. No. 26 Carson Hocevar

Ryan Blaney

2025 Avg Finish: 16.5
Avg Finish at EchoPark: 6.7

Carson Hocevar

2025 Avg Finish: 22.5
Avg Finish at EchoPark: 12.3

No. 8 Alex Bowman v. No. 25 Joey Logano

Alex Bowman

2025 Avg Finish: 18.8
Avg Finish at EchoPark: 20.0

Joey Logano

2025 Avg Finish: 16.9
Avg Finish at EchoPark: 13.4

No. 9 Bubba Wallace v. No. 24 Daniel Suarez

Bubba Wallace

2025 Avg Finish: 19.3
Avg Finish at EchoPark: 17.4

Daniel Suarez

2025 Avg Finish: 20.6
Avg Finish at EchoPark: 11.0

No. 10 Kyle Larson v. No. 23 Tyler Reddick

Kyle Larson

2025 Avg Finish: 12.4
Avg Finish at EchoPark: 19.0

Tyler Reddick

2025 Avg Finish: 15.5
Avg Finish at EchoPark: 26.0

No. 11 Michael McDowell v. No. 22 A.J. Allmendinger

Michael McDowell

2025 Avg Finish: 19.2
Avg Finish at EchoPark: 15.3

A.J. Allmendinger

2025 Avg Finish: 20.3
Avg Finish at EchoPark: 11.0

No. 12 John Hunter Nemechek v. No. 21 Josh Berry

John Hunter Nemechek

2025 Avg Finish: 18.7
Avg Finish at EchoPark: 27.3

Josh Berry

2025 Avg Finish: 20.4
Avg Finish at EchoPark: 25.0

No. 13 Ross Chastain v. No. 20 Erik Jones

Ross Chastain

2025 Avg Finish: 13.4
Avg Finish at EchoPark: 11.4

Erik Jones

2025 Avg Finish: 19.2
Avg Finish at EchoPark: 17.0

No. 14 Zane Smith v. No. 19 Austin Cindric

Zane Smith

2025 Avg Finish: 20.3
Avg Finish at EchoPark: 22.3

Austin Cindric

2025 Avg Finish: 18.5
Avg Finish at EchoPark: 14.3

No. 15 Ryan Preece v. No. 18 William Byron

Ryan Preece

2025 Avg Finish: 18.0
Avg Finish at EchoPark: 20.8

William Byron

2025 Avg Finish: 11.4
Avg Finish at EchoPark: 16.7

No. 16 Kyle Busch v. No. 17 Brad Keselowski

Kyle Busch

2025 Avg Finish: 18.2
Avg Finish at EchoPark: 12.1

Brad Keselowski

Avg Finish at EchoPark: 18.4
2025 Avg Finish: 23.4

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