Bracket guide: Key info about all 32 drivers in 2026 In-Season Challenge

The In-Season Challenge is back for more in 2026!

Following the June 14 race at Pocono, the top 32 drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series standings have qualified for Year 2 of NASCAR's head-to-head bracket challenge spanning the next five weeks.

As you try and build the perfect bracket, use this page for key information about each driver racing for $1 million! New this year, you can create your own group and compete against friends and family for bragging rights. 

The action starts on Sunday at Sonoma Raceway (3:30 p.m. ET, TNT Sports, HBO Max, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) and includes Chicagoland Speedway, EchoPark Speedway, North Wilkesboro Speedway and concludes at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Picks lock at 3:25 p.m. ET on Sunday!

(NOTE: The Cup Series has not competed at North Wilkesboro in a points-paying race since 1996 and has not competed at Chicagoland since 2019.)

RELATED: Make your bracket | Info about 2026 In-Season Challenge | Additional advice when filling out bracket

No. 1 seed: Tyler Reddick
Team: No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota
Crew chief: Billy Scott
2026 stats: See full numbers here.

Best track: Indianapolis; Reddick has a top five and two top 10s in three starts, including 40 laps led and a runner-up in 2024.

Outlook: The strongest driver in 2026, Reddick doesn't have many flaws. 23XI Racing's short-track program may be a bit off compared to Joe Gibbs Racing -- a potential problem spot for North Wilkesboro -- but his five victories in nine races prove he can win just about anywhere and make a deep run.

No. 2 seed: Denny Hamlin
Team: No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Crew chief: Chris Gayle
2026 stats: See full numbers here.

Best track: Indianapolis; Hamlin has six top fives in 17 starts and is one of the most accomplished drivers at the 2.5-mile oval to have not won the Brickyard 400.

Outlook: If it's a track that turns left, Hamlin's a contender to win. That said, Sonoma opens this year's challenge, so if he can score a solid result on the road course and avoid the chaos of EchoPark in Round 3, there's no reason why the 45-year-old can't fight for the title come Indianapolis. He'll face Ty Dillon in Round 1, who knocked Hamlin out in Round 1 last year.

No. 3 seed: Ryan Blaney
Team: No. 12 Team Penske Ford
Crew chief: Jonathan Hassler
2026 stats: See full numbers here.

Best track: North Wilkesboro; Blaney finished sixth or better in two of the three All-Star races at the short track.

Outlook: Glancing at the standings, Blaney's in the midst of another strong year, but something isn't quite right with Team Penske and Ford. His Round 1 draw is favorable against Josh Berry at Sonoma, and he would likely face Shane van Gisbergen in the second round at Chicagoland. But beyond that, things could get dicey for the 2023 Cup champion.

No. 4 seed: Chase Elliott
Team: No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Crew chief: Alan Gustafson
2026 stats: See full numbers here.

Best track: EchoPark; Elliott's won twice since the Atlanta area facility converted into a drafting track, including last summer.

Outlook: The Dawsonville, Georgia, native doesn't really have any significant flaws, but as of late, the No. 9 team has struggled to finish races. The speed is everywhere, though, and the In-Season Challenge schedule generally shapes up well for Elliott. He has a favorable first-round draw against Noah Gragson, but might need some upsets for a clear path toward a deep run.

No. 5 seed: Ty Gibbs
Team: No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Crew chief: Tyler Allen
2026 stats: See full numbers here.

Best track: Sonoma; Gibbs has one top 10 in three races, but has quietly become one of the strongest road-course racers in the Cup Series.

Outlook: Gibbs' strongest runs of 2025 came during the In-Season Challenge as he won the inaugural event last summer. He carries much more momentum this time around, but could be destined to face JGR teammate Chase Briscoe at Chicagoland. That could make or break his title defense, but the No. 54 team is firing on all cylinders overall.

No. 6 seed: Kyle Larson
Team: No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Crew chief: Cliff Daniels
2026 stats: See full numbers here.

Best track: Chicagoland; Larson has five top-10 finishes in six starts with Chip Ganassi Racing.

Outlook: It's still been over a year since Larson last won a race, but he heads into the In-Season Challenge dangerous. Road courses have been a problem spot for the No. 5 team as of late, and his drafting-track skills are improving. If nothing catastrophic happens at Sonoma and EchoPark, emerging with the trophy come Indianapolis is very much in play.

No. 7 seed: Chris Buescher
Team: No. 17 RFK Racing Ford
Crew chief: Scott Graves
2026 stats: See full numbers here.

Best track: Sonoma; Buescher has three top fives in four Next Gen races there.

Outlook: Prosper, Texas' finest could quietly be the pick to win it all. Buescher doesn't have any glaring weaknesses right now and has continued to run well, even while the other two RFK cars have struggled lately. He might not be a contender to win every week, but Buescher is almost always in the mix for a top 10.

No. 8 seed: Daniel Suárez
Team: No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
Crew chief: Ryan Sparks
2026 stats: See full numbers here.

Best track: EchoPark; Suárez has four top-five finishes in the last six races at the drafting track, including a 2024 win.

Outlook: Suárez is in the midst of a career-shaping season in his first campaign with Spire. He's risen as high as he ever has in points and won his first crown jewel last month at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Sonoma and EchoPark have been strong tracks for him historically, so a trip to the semifinals is certainly not out of the question.

No. 9 seed: Carson Hocevar
Team: No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
Crew chief: Luke Lambert
2026 stats: See full numbers here.

Best track: EchoPark; Hocevar has three top 10s in five races, including a runner-up in 2025.

Outlook: The young Michigander is in the midst of a breakout year both on and off the track, but road courses have been an Achilles' heel. That said, defeating Zane Smith in Round 1 could be a Herculean task, but Hocevar should be solid at the next four tracks should he survive Sonoma.

No. 10 seed: Christopher Bell
Team: No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Crew chief: Adam Stevens
2026 stats: See full numbers here.

Best track: Indianapolis; Bell has top fives in two of his three races there, including a fourth-place effort in 2024.

Outlook: The No. 20 JGR driver is admittedly tough to gauge in a year where he's struggled to get the finishes he probably deserves. Add in the fact he's still nursing the effects of a broken wrist suffered at Michigan, and Bell is a true wild card. A head-to-head against Ross Chastain at Sonoma will be difficult, but he should have an opportunity at a run should he advance to Chicagoland.

No. 11 seed: William Byron
Team: No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Crew chief: Rudy Fugle
2026 stats: See full numbers here.

Best track: EchoPark; Byron's won twice in nine Next Gen races since the reconfiguration.

Outlook: It's been a bit of an uncharacteristic start to the 2026 season for Byron and the No. 24 team, but their third-place showing at Pocono could be a sign of what's to come. Byron has a reasonably favorable first-round draw against Ricky Stenhouse Jr., but is on a crash course for teammate Kyle Larson -- who's quite solid at Chicagoland -- in the second round. But maybe a deep In-Season Challenge run could fully get the No. 24 train back on the right track.

No. 12 seed: Chase Briscoe
Team: No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Crew chief: James Small
2026 stats: See full numbers here.

Best track: North Wilkesboro; Briscoe has a pair of top 10s in two All-Star Races at the short track.

Outlook: Speed hasn't been a problem for Briscoe in 2026, but putting full races together has. He's slowly trending in the right direction, but is on upset watch early with a first-round match-up against road-course ace AJ Allmendinger. But if he can survive Sonoma, the rest of the challenge schedule is reasonably favorable for the No. 19 team.

No. 13 seed: Bubba Wallace
Team: No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota
Crew chief: Charles Denike
2026 stats: See full numbers here.

Best track: Indianapolis; Wallace has four top 10s in five starts and is the defending Brickyard 400 winner.

Outlook: The Mobile, Alabama, native is gradually improving at road courses, as his second-place finish at Naval Base Coronado showed, but facing Michael McDowell at Sonoma is a tough draw. The No. 23 team has generally struggled over the last few months, so unless McDowell has a catastrophic Round 1 race, it's hard to envision Wallace advancing beyond the opener.

No. 14 seed: Shane van Gisbergen
Team: No. 97 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
Crew chief: Stephen Doran
2026 stats: See full numbers here.

Best track: Sonoma; Van Gisbergen led 97 of 110 laps and won there last year in his lone start at the California road course.

Outlook: Is SVG the sleeping giant ready to be awoken? He's nearly a shoo-in to advance in Round 1 at Sonoma, and his oval skills are much improved from last year. SVG finished sixth at EchoPark in the spring, so if he can beat either Ryan Blaney or Josh Berry at Chicagoland, a path to the semifinals is well within reach.

No. 15 seed: Erik Jones
Team: No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota
Crew chief: Justin Alexander
2026 stats: See full numbers here.

Best track: Chicagoland; Jones has two top 10s in three starts there.

Outlook: Legacy Motor Club continues to make gains, and Jones is currently bearing that fruit. He nearly won at Michigan a few weeks back, and his recent surge has made him a Chase contender. Jones has a favorable Round 1 matchup with Joey Logano, and although he'd likely face Denny Hamlin at Chicagoland, his spring stretch could make him this year's Cinderella story.

No. 16 seed: Austin Cindric
Team: No. 2 Team Penske Ford
Crew chief: Brian Wilson
2026 stats: See full numbers here.

Best track: EchoPark; Cindric has two top-five finishes in nine Next Gen races at the Atlanta area facility.

Outlook: The Team Penske driver has been inconsistent for much of 2026 thus far, but barely nabbed the final top-half seed for the bracket. His first-round draw is favorable against Brad Keselowski, but he's in line to face Tyler Reddick at Chicagoland. It's hard to see the fifth-year driver advancing beyond that.

No. 17 seed: Brad Keselowski
Team: No. 6 RFK Racing Ford
Crew chief: Jeremy Bullins
2026 stats: See full numbers here.

Best track: Chicagoland; Keselowski has two wins and nine top-10 finishes at the track last raced at in 2019.

Outlook: It's been a tough stretch as of late for Keselowski, who fell below the Chase cutline for the first time this season after Pocono after a third straight DNF. Keselowski faces his successor in the No. 2 Team Penske Ford, Austin Cindric, in the opening round at Sonoma. Cindric is a much stronger road-course racer, and that combined with Keselowski's struggles doesn't bode well for a deep In-Season Challenge run.

No. 18 seed: Joey Logano
Team: No. 22 Team Penske Ford
Crew chief: Paul Wolfe
2026 stats: See full numbers here.

Best track: EchoPark; Logano has a pair of wins and one additional top-10 finish in nine Next Gen races there.

Outlook: There's no sugarcoating it -- Logano's in the midst of a career-worst season. The No. 22 team showed signs of life at Charlotte and Michigan as of late, but Logano hasn't posted more than two top 10s in a row this year. He's slated to face Erik Jones in the first round, who's only been surging, making it tough to see Logano advance deep into the bracket.

No. 19 seed: Ryan Preece
Team: No. 60 RFK Racing Ford
Crew chief: Derrick Finley
2026 stats: See full numbers here.

Best track: Sonoma; Preece has an average finish of 14.3 over his last three races there.

Outlook: Unfortunately, Preece's In-Season Challenge run might be over before it starts. He's pinned against Shane van Gisbergen at Sonoma, so unless something unusual happens to NASCAR's king of the road, it's likely an early exit for the RFK Racing driver. Preece's 11th-place finish at Naval Base Coronado provides some hope, but overall, it's been a rough stretch for Preece, who finished 28th or worse in all four races between Charlotte and Pocono.

No. 20 seed: Michael McDowell
Team: No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
Crew chief: Travis Peterson
2026 stats: See full numbers here.

Best track: Sonoma; McDowell hasn't finished worse than seventh in the last four races there.

Outlook: Facing Bubba Wallace at Sonoma, McDowell is quite likely to advance to Round 2, which could shape a head-to-head against Chase Elliott at Chicagoland. That's likely where McDowell's run will end, but with Spire's 2026 surge, a deep run through the bracket isn't completely out of the question.

No. 21 seed: AJ Allmendinger
Team: No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
Crew chief: Trent Owens
2026 stats: See full numbers here.

Best track: Sonoma; Allmendinger has four top-10 finishes in 14 races there, including two of the last three.

Outlook: With a road course kicking off this year's In-Season Challenge, Allmendinger is an easy Round 1 upset pick -- and that's not a disservice to Chase Bricoe. But with limited support from Chevrolet this season, it's hard to envision a run deeper than that with Ty Gibbs likely waiting in the wings at Chicagoland.

No. 22 seed: Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Team: No. 47 Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet
Crew chief: Mike Kelley
2026 stats: See full numbers here.

Best track: EchoPark; Stenhouse has four top-10 finishes in nine Next Gen races there.

Outlook: Besides the drafting track at EchoPark, the five-race In-Season Challenge stretch does not line up well for Stenhouse, who has one top 10 combined at the other four tracks. He's lined up against William Byron and Sonoma, and would likely face Kyle Larson a week later at Chicagoland. It'll certainly be difficult for Stenhouse to make some noise in the bracket.

No. 23 seed: Ross Chastain
Team: No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
Crew chief: Brandon McSwain
2026 stats: See full numbers here.

Best track: Sonoma; Chastain has four top 10s in six starts there.

Outlook: It's been a forgettable season so far for Chastain and company, but the In-Season Challenge provides some hope. He's a solid road-course racer, and facing the injured Christopher Bell at Sonoma, he should have the upper hand. But beyond that are question marks for Chastain, as he's struggled at tracks he's usually strong at for most of the campaign.

No. 24 seed: Zane Smith
Team: No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford
Crew chief: Ryan Bergenty
2026 stats: See full numbers here.

Best track: EchoPark; Smith has two top 10s in five starts at the track.

Outlook: As of late, Smith's arguably been the fastest Ford car in the series. He led laps at Charlotte and Nashville, and then crashed inside the top 10 at both Michigan and Pocono, before leading laps again at Naval Base Coronado. Smith has a very favorable path to at least the quarterfinals, starting with Carson Hocevar at Sonoma and likely Daniel Suárez at Chicagoland, so this very well could be the guy to make a deep, unexpected run.

No. 25 seed: Todd Gilliland
Team: No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford
Crew chief: Chris Lawson
2026 stats: See full numbers here.

Best track: Indianapolis; Gilliland has finished sixth in both of his Brickyard 400 starts.

Outlook: For most of the season, Gilliland and the No. 34 FRM group have consistently been midpack -- which could go either way in a knockout-style bracket format. Daniel Suárez in the first round at Sonoma isn't favorable, so unless Gilliland steps it up a notch, it could be a brief tournament run for the fifth-year driver.

No. 26 seed: John Hunter Nemechek
Team: No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Toyota
Crew chief: Travis Mack
2026 stats: See full numbers here.

Best track: EchoPark; Nemechek has a top 10 in five Next Gen races there.

Outlook: Don't look now, but Nemechek and the No. 42 Legacy squad are beginning to surge. He put together arguably his best career race at Pocono earlier in the month, and his performance continues trending in the right direction. Facing Chris Buescher at Sonoma will make it difficult to advance beyond Round 1, though.

No. 27 seed: Riley Herbst
Team: No. 35 23XI Racing Toyota
Crew chief: Davin Restivo
2026 stats: See full numbers here.

Best track: Indianapolis; Herbst owns a win there in the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series, but has visited the Brickyard just once in Cup.

Outlook: The sophomore driver has made significant gains in 2026, but on paper, has a tough draw against multi-time Sonoma winner Kyle Larson. That said, road courses have been a problem spot for the Hendrick driver, so there's a window of opportunity for Herbst. It's possible he could ride Toyota's blistering pace for a Cinderella run, but a tall task stands in his way Round 1.

No. 28 seed: Austin Dillon
Team: No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
Crew chief: Richard Boswell
2026 stats: See full numbers here.

Best track: Indianapolis; Dillon has two top-10 finishes in 10 starts at the Brickyard.

Outlook: It's been tough sledding across the board this year for Dillon, who's finished no better than 12th on an oval in 2026. He's facing Ty Gibbs in Round 1, and Gibbs is arguably a top-five road-course racer in the series. Dillon did, however, score a top 10 at Watkins Glen in May, but Round 2 is likely the absolute ceiling.

No. 29 seed: Noah Gragson
Team: No. 4 Front Row Motorsports Ford
Crew chief: Grant Hutchens
2026 stats: See full numbers here.

Best track: Indianapolis; Gragson finished ninth and led three laps at the Brickyard in 2024.

Outlook: The Las Vegas native certainly has his work cut out for him facing Chase Elliott in Round 1, and will likely need some luck on his side. A possible Round 2 matchup against either Bubba Wallace or Michael McDowell is much more favorable, but if you want excitement, Gragson could be an upset pick.

No. 30 seed: Josh Berry
Team: No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford
Crew chief: Miles Stanley
2026 stats: See full numbers here.

Best track: Sonoma; Berry's average finish of 22.5 in two starts is his best among In-Season Challenge tracks.

Outlook: The No. 21 WBR Ford has missed the mark most of 2026 thus far, and Berry's not returning to the organization next season. He'll face quasi-teammate Ryan Blaney in Round 1, so an upset at Sonoma isn't completely out of the question, and the winner there would likely face Shane van Gisbergen. There's a path to Round 3 for Berry, but he'll need to step it up.

No. 31 seed: Ty Dillon
Team: No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
Crew chief: Andrew Dickeson
2026 stats: See full numbers here.

Best track: EchoPark; Dillon has finished in the top 20 in three of the last four races there, including eighth last summer.

Outlook: Will the glass slipper still fit for last year's Cinderella? Dillon is pitted against Denny Hamlin again in Round 1, whom he stunned last year at EchoPark. Hamlin is admittedly not a strong road-course racer, and the winner of that matchup would face either Erik Jones or Joey Logano. Another deep run isn't impossible, but Dillon will need some luck on his side.

No. 32 seed: Alex Bowman
Team: No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Crew chief: Blake Harris
2026 stats: See full numbers here.

Best track: Chicagoland; Bowman has three top 10s in five starts there, and is the defending winner (2019).

Outlook: Between on-track struggles and a bout with vertigo, Bowman hasn't found a rhythm this season. He pieced together back-to-back third-place runs earlier in the year at Talladega and Texas, and it certainly seems like when the No. 48 team is dialed in, strong results come in bunches. That said, it's an incredibly dangerous Round 1 matchup against top-seeded Tyler Reddick, and Bowman would instantly be in the driver's seat should he pull the upset.