Just four drivers remain in the 2026 In-Season Challenge, and while the biggest wild card — EchoPark Speedway — is in the rearview mirror, an unknown still lies ahead. The Cup Series heads to North Wilkesboro Speedway on Sunday (7 p.m. ET, TNT Sports, truTV, HBO Max, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) for the first points-paying race in the North Carolina foothills since 1996. Though these drivers have dueled it out for $1 million in the All-Star Race there in years past, it’s difficult to set expectations for a marathon 450-lap event.
Round 3 at EchoPark provided plenty of excitement and tightly contested battles, including No. 25 seed Todd Gilliland advancing over No. 32 seed Alex Bowman by just two positions. No. 4 Chase Elliott advanced by 23 positions over No. 12 Chase Briscoe, but that doesn’t tell the story, as both drivers contended for the win until Briscoe crashed late. No. 10 seed Christopher Bell knocked off Joe Gibbs Racing teammate and No. 2 seed Denny Hamlin, and of course, No. 3 seed Ryan Blaney dominated the night to win the race and eliminate No. 11 seed William Byron.
If you’re a fan of college basketball, this semifinal round couldn’t line up any better. Three drivers represent three blue-blood organizations, while a Cinderella story looks to continue wreaking havoc throughout the bracket.
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ROUND 4 MATCHUPS:
- (No. 3) Ryan Blaney vs. (No. 10) Christopher Bell
- (No. 4) Chase Elliott vs. (No. 25) Todd Gilliland
TRACK BREAKDOWN
Because the Cup Series hasn’t contested a points-paying race at the 0.625-mile short track in this era, it’s tough to pin down the exact list of contenders. The All-Star Race gives at least some sample size, but a much shorter race combined with a much smaller field doesn’t fully paint the picture. All four remaining drivers, however, have stout short-track resumes.
This season, Blaney has the second-best average finish at 4.0 in this style of racing — only to Ty Gibbs — and is third best in both total points (94) and laps led (192). His seven consecutive short-track top 10s are tops in Cup, and he won earlier in the season at Phoenix. Speaking of winners, his opponent, Bell, banked the 2025 All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro. Previous victories at Bristol, Martinsville, Phoenix and New Hampshire show he’s plenty capable — even though a win hasn’t been in the cards … yet … this season.
Meanwhile, Elliott has a victory in the two true short-track races this season, winning this spring at Martinsville. He’s generally a factor at every type of track, and North Wilkesboro could provide an opportunity for Chevrolet to catch up to red-hot Toyota. Don’t forget about Gilliland, though. While he hasn’t contended at short tracks, he owns four top 10s in 25 starts and finished sixth this spring at Bristol.
Bigger picture, according to Racing Insights, the driver who led the most laps won just once in the last five short-track races. At both Martinsville and Bristol earlier this year, a driver swept the stages but didn’t win the race, and two of the last four short-track winners didn’t score any stage points. What does this mean? One strategy call could easily shake up how Round 4 plays out.
MATCHUP OF THE WEEK: (No. 3) Ryan Blaney vs. (No. 10) Christopher Bell
With a spot in the Champions Round on the line, two of the best at flat tracks will go head-to-head in the Cup Series’ first points-paying race at North Wilkesboro Speedway since 1996.
Through three In-Season Challenge races, these two drivers have been flawless. Blaney won a thriller on Sunday at EchoPark Speedway – leading a race-best 171 laps – and hasn’t finished worse than seventh all tournament. Bell doesn’t have a win yet this season, but his stretch of three consecutive top fives nearly one-ups his rival.
But with both riding significant momentum — and both carrying impressive short-track resumes — this matchup is a complete toss-up. Six of Bell’s 13 Cup victories are at shorter, flatter tracks, and he also boasts a North Wilkesboro victory in last year’s exhibition All-Star Race. Blaney has similar numbers with six short-track wins – and Ford always seems to thrive at those types of circuits. In three All-Star events at North Wilkesboro, Blaney has two top 10s.
Heading into the semifinal round, both of these drivers have found their stride at the right time – and this head-to-head in the North Carolina mountains will surely come down to the wire.
MORE: Recap Round 3 action
KEY MATCHUP: (No. 4) Chase Elliott vs. (No. 25) Todd Gilliland
Gilliland’s certainly facing an uphill battle both on the track and in popularity contests by facing 2020 Cup champion and perennial most popular driver Elliott. In three All-Star Races at North Wilkesboro, Elliott’s been one of the best, never finishing worse than eighth. Meanwhile, Gilliland never qualified for an All-Star Race at the track and has never finished better than 12th in the All-Star Open.
The odds are certainly in Elliott’s favor here. Even though the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports driver is quietly on a slide with just one top 10 in his last nine races, he still finds a way to maximize days and finish races. That said, both he and Gilliland have had lady luck on their side over the last three weeks. The Front Row Motorsports driver hasn’t finished better than 16th during the In-Season Challenge, but benefited from uncharacteristically bad days from opposing Spire Motorsports drivers Daniel Suárez and Carson Hocevar in the first two rounds, before last week’s opponent, Bowman, suffered damage in a late wreck. The same goes for Elliott’s opponent last week, Briscoe, who contended for a chunk of the night before exiting in the same crash.
Is it likely for Gilliland to pull another upset? No. But with some unknowns heading to North Wilkesboro and an opportunity for some potentially wild strategy, a window at least exists.