Meet the seeds, in order, for inaugural In-Season Challenge

The inaugural In-Season Challenge kicks off Saturday night (7 ET, TNT Sports, HBO Max, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at EchoPark Speedway, formerly known as Atlanta Motor Speedway, in Hampton, Georgia. Meet the 32 Cup Series drivers competing for the $1 million grand prize, with each driver seeded 1-32.

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No. 1 Denny Hamlin
No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

2025 stats: 3 wins, 8 top fives, 9 top 10s, 487 laps led, 12.8 average finish

Best track: Dover Motor Speedway; Hamlin is the defending winner and has just one finish outside the top five in three Next Gen starts.

Outlook: Hamlin thrives the most at traditional ovals, and with a drafting track and two road courses to start the In-Season Challenge, it'll take a perfect storm for the 44-year-old to make the semifinal round. But should he get there, Dover and Indianapolis Motor Speedway are a pair of sweet spots for the future Hall of Famer to pounce.

No. 2 Chase Briscoe
No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

2025 stats: 1 win, 6 top fives, 8 top 10s, 164 laps led, 13.7 average finish

Best track: Sonoma Raceway; Briscoe has an average finish of 23.3 and recorded a career-best 13th in 2022.

Outlook: Briscoe has yet to score a top 10 finish at any of the five In-Season Challenge tracks, but besides the spring race at EchoPark Speedway this year, all of those races were with now-defunct Stewart-Haas Racing. He's on pace for the best year of his career with JGR, and after his win at Pocono, it feels like he's knocking on the door of a hot streak.

No. 3 Chris Buescher
No. 17 RFK Racing Ford

2025 stats: 0 wins, 3 top fives, 9 top 10s, 18 laps led, 13.7 average finish

Best track: Sonoma Raceway; Buescher has finished fourth or better there in each of the last three races.

Outlook: Buescher proved he's one of the best road-course racers in the series by beating Shane van Gisbergen at Watkins Glen International last year and backed it up with top 10s at Circuit of The Americas and Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez this season. If he can survive EchoPark Speedway, Buescher feels like a sure-fire pick to make at least the semifinal round at Dover Motor Speedway.

No. 4 Christopher Bell
No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

2025 stats: 3 wins, 7 top fives, 11 top 10s, 153 laps led, 11.0 average finish

Best track: EchoPark Speedway; three top fives in seven Next Gen races -- including a springtime win this year -- make Bell an instant favorite to kick off the $1 million challenge.

Outlook: Compared to many of his competitors, Bell doesn't have as many reps at the In-Season Challenge tracks besides EchoPark. But with just three finishes outside the top 20 this season, Bell has been finding ways to maximize finishes on days when he doesn't have the best car -- a valuable trait for the bracket-style challenge.

No. 5 Chase Elliott
No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

2025 stats: 0 wins, 5 top fives, 9 top 10s, 95 laps led, 10.8 average finish

Best track: Dover Motor Speedway; Elliott's finished outside the top five just four times in 14 starts and has wins in 2018 and 2022 at the Hendrick stronghold.

Outlook: There isn't really a weakness in Elliott's game, and while he hasn't won a road course race in the Next Gen car, he has seven career victories turning right and left. He might not be the flashiest pick, but Elliott's incredible consistency to start the 2025 season makes him a favorite for the inaugural In-Season Challenge.

No. 6 Ty Gibbs
No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

2025 stats: 0 wins, 2 top fives, 3 top 10s, 65 laps led, 19.4 average finish

Best track: Chicago Street Course; Not many drivers have top 10s in both Chicago races so far, but Gibbs is one of them -- finishing third last year.

Outlook: The 2025 campaign certainly hasn't played out like Gibbs would have hoped, but all things considered, he has a pretty solid seed. The No. 54 team is building momentum, and with two road courses in the first three races, a more than reasonable path exists for Gibbs to make a deep run in the In-Season Challenge -- and just as importantly -- turn his season around.

No. 7 Ryan Blaney
No. 12 Team Penske Ford

2025 stats: 1 win, 7 top fives, 8 top 10s, 349 laps led, 16.5 average finish

Best track: EchoPark Speedway; Blaney has recorded top 10s in each of the last six races at the drafting track, a remarkable accomplishment with the unpredictability that EchoPark brings.

Outlook: Blaney has been haunted by bad luck with five DNFs already, but generally speaking, it feels like the No. 12 is trending in the right direction after a dominating victory at Nashville Superspeedway a few weeks ago. His numbers are solid at every track type, but the team needs to continue building consistency to have a shot at a deep run.

No. 8 Alex Bowman
No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

2025 stats: 0 wins, 3 top fives, 8 top 10s, 125 laps led, 18.8 average finish

Best track: Dover Motor Speedway; Bowman has top 10s in both Next Gen races he started in addition to a 2021 win.

Outlook: Asserting himself as an underrated road-course ace, the In-Season Challenge seems to stack up well for Bowman -- if the No. 48 team can stop the bleeding from the spring months. The defending winner at the Chicago Street Course and a previous winner at Dover, Bowman could go on a serious tear over the next month, and he feels like a dark horse pick to win it all.

No. 9 Bubba Wallace
No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota

2025 stats: 0 wins, 3 top fives, 6 tops 10s, 103 laps led, 19.3 average finish

Best track: Indianapolis Motor Speedway; Wallace finished fifth last year in the first visit to IMS with the Next Gen, but he also has a pair of top 10s in 2019 and 2020 with Richard Petty Motorsports.

Outlook: The five In-Season Challenge tracks don't set up particularly well for Wallace, as he isn't a self-proclaimed road-course ace and the results haven't shown at either EchoPark Speedway or Dover Motor Speedway.

No. 10 Kyle Larson
No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

2025 stats: 3 wins, 9 top fives, 12 top 10s, 851 laps led, 12.4 average finish

Best track: Dover Motor Speedway; Larson has one win and eight top fives in 16 races, including a runner-up last year.

Outlook: Drafting tracks haven't always treated the Elk Grove, California, native kindly, but if he can survive EchoPark Speedway, the rest of the In-Season Challenge sets up well for Larson. Wins at Sonoma Raceway and Indianapolis Motor Speedway last year are eye-catching, meaning a deep run could be in the cards if Larson navigates the chaos EchoPark can bring.

No. 11 Michael McDowell
No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

2025 stats: 0 wins, 1 top five, 2 top 10s, 43 laps led, 19.2 average finish

Best tracks: Chicago Street Course and Sonoma Raceway; McDowell hasn't finished worse than seventh in five combined Next Gen starts at the two road courses.

Outlook: McDowell's two specialties are drafting tracks and road courses, and they just happen to line the first three rounds of the In-Season Challenge. His race speed in 2025 hasn't been quite as potent as last year with Front Row Motorsports, but McDowell's competitors will have to run perfect races to knock him out before the semifinals.

No. 12 John Hunter Nemechek
No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Toyota

2025 stats: 0 wins, 1 top five, 6 top 10s, 2 laps led, 18.7 average finish

Best track: EchoPark Speedway; Nemechek finished in the top 10 in the spring and scored a 2023 Xfinity Series win.

Outlook: Nemechek is trending in the right direction during his second season with Legacy and has a solid seed with back-to-back sixth-place finishes. But besides EchoPark, Nemechek's results are underwhelming at the other four In-Season Challenge tracks, so it's hard to tell which of the two trends will end up prevailing.

No. 13 Ross Chastain
No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

2025 stats: 1 win, 3 top fives, 8 top 10s, 58 laps led, 13.4 average finish

Best track: Dover Motor Speedway; Chastain has a pair of top-three finishes in two Next Gen starts.

Outlook: Chastain was vocal about Trackhouse Racing's lack of speed earlier in the year, but that ship has seemingly been righted with a win in the Coca-Cola 600 in May. The No. 1 team is trending in the right direction, and with victories at road courses and drafting tracks in the past, he'll be a tough out in the In-Season Challenge.

No. 14 Zane Smith
No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford

2025 stats: 0 wins, 0 top 5s, 2 top 10s, 10 laps led, 20.3 average finish

Best track: Chicago Street Course; Smith finished 17th there last year.

Outlook: Whether it be Cup or the Craftsman Truck Series, Smith doesn't have a ton of experience at the five In-Season Challenge tracks -- a possible detriment toward a Cinderella run. He's slowly improving throughout his second full-time season, and depending on what chaos EchoPark Speedway brings, Smith could make it into at least the second round.

No. 15 Ryan Preece
No. 60 RFK Racing Ford

2025 stats: 0 wins, 1 top five, 7 top 10s, 53 laps led, 18.0 average finish.

Best track: Sonoma Raceway; Preece has an average finish of 20.3 in four starts, including a 13th-place finish in 2023.

Outlook: Preece hasn't thrived at any of the five In-Season Challenge tracks in the past, but he's arguably in the best equipment of his Cup Series career this year. He's knocking on the doorstep of his first win, and the momentum in 2025 could give Preece a chance to advance.

No. 16 Kyle Busch
No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

2025 stats: 0 wins, 1 top five, 5 top 10s, 62 laps led, 18.2 average finish

Best track: Chicago Street Course; Busch might not be known as a road-course ace at this point of his career, but Busch has top 10s in both street races so far.

Outlook: Busch's trials and tribulations from the 2024 season have seemed to continue in his third year with Richard Childress Racing, making him a giant wild card for the In-Season Challenge. He's shown that he still has the talent to contend for race wins, but his inconsistencies in 2025 don't bode well for this five-week stretch.

No. 17 Brad Keselowski
No. 6 RFK Racing Ford

2025 stats: 0 wins, 1 top five, 3 top 10s, 35 laps led, 24.2 average finish

Best track: Indianapolis Motor Speedway; Keselowski finished 21st there last year but picked up a win and three top fives in the last four starts in the previous generation car.

Outlook: The light finally might be at the end of the tunnel for Keselowski, who got off to a much tougher start in 2025 compared to teammates Chris Buescher and Ryan Preece. Road-course racing isn't his best, but he's always a threat to win at drafting tracks and could easily get hot with $1 million on the line.

No. 18 William Byron
No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

2025 stats: 1 win, 7 top fives, 10 top 10s, 769 laps led, 11.4 average finish

Best track: EchoPark Speedway; Byron's won at the drafting-style track twice since its reconfiguration before the 2022 season.

Outlook: Byron is undoubtedly one of the most well-rounded drivers in the Cup Series, and you can't really count him out anywhere. Entering the In-Season Challenge as the points leader, he's arguably the driver to beat -- even though his results in the three seeding races aren't fully indicative of the season he's had.

No. 19 Austin Cindric
No. 2 Team Penske Ford

2025 stats: 1 win, 1 top five, 4 top 10s, 239 laps led, 18.5 average finish

Best track: EchoPark Speedway; Cindric has finished 12th or better in five of seven Next Gen races and led 30 or more laps in each of his last three starts.

Outlook: Cindric has been solid in all three drafting track races this year (including a win at Talladega Superspeedway), but otherwise, the No. 2 team has generally struggled. His road-course racing background is an obvious plus for the In-Season Challenge, but 25th at Circuit of The Americas and 18th in Mexico City make Cindric a high-risk, high-reward pick to make a deep run.

No. 20 Erik Jones
No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota

2025 stats: 0 wins, 1 top five, 2 top 10s, 1 lap led, 19.2 average finish

Best track: Dover Motor Speedway; Jones has finishes of 10th (2022) and 16th (2023) in two Next Gen starts.

Outlook: Jones hasn't found much success at any of the In-Season Challenge tracks in the Next Gen era but had some decent runs at Sonoma Raceway and a runner-up at Indianapolis Motor Speedway during his time with Joe Gibbs Racing. He's on track for his best season in three years, so perhaps that could translate to success in the battle for $1 million.

No. 21 Josh Berry
No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford

2025 stats: 1 win, 2 top fives, 3 top 10s, 169 laps led, 20.4 average finish

Best track: Dover Motor Speedway; Berry has top-15 finishes in each of the last two Dover races -- both coming with different organizations.

Outlook: The most recent first-time Cup Series winner, Berry could be another sleeper to make a deep run. He always seems to find himself in the mix at drafting tracks, but the question is how well he'll navigate road courses in the second and third rounds.

No. 22 AJ Allmendinger
No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet

2025 stats: 0 wins, 1 top five, 4 top 10s, 2 laps led, 20.3 average finish

Best track: Sonoma Raceway; Allmendinger has sixth-place finishes in each of the last two races.

Outlook: The five In-Season Challenge tracks line up incredibly strong for Allmendinger, as he's improved at drafting tracks with the Next Gen car and is always a threat at road courses. If he can make it out of the first round at EchoPark, then a spot in the semifinals could be his to lose.

No. 23 Tyler Reddick
No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota

2025 stats: 0 wins, 3 top fives, 5 top 10s, 94 laps led, 15.5 average finish

Best track: Indianapolis Motor Speedway; Reddick has top 10s in a pair of starts on the oval and led 40 laps as he finished second there last year.

Outlook: A year removed from his regular-season title, the eye test shows a bit of a down year for Reddick so far in 2025. He has three Next Gen road course wins, so that history bodes well for Rounds 2 and 3 of the challenge; the question is if his consistency from a year ago will return with $1 million on the line.

No. 24 Daniel Suárez
No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

2025 stats: 0 wins, 1 top five, 3 top 10s, 14 laps led, 20.6 average finish

Best track: EchoPark Speedway; Suárez has a win and two second-place finishes in the last four races.

Outlook: It's been a disappointing season for Suárez thus far, but both of his Cup wins came at tracks inside the In-Season Challenge. He's always in the mix at EchoPark, and if he can run clean races at the two road courses, then a window for a surprise run firmly exists for Suárez.

No. 25 Joey Logano
No. 22 Team Penske Ford

2025 stats: 1 win, 2 top fives, 4 top 10s, 307 laps led, 16.9 average finish

Best track: EchoPark Speedway; Logano has two wins over his last five starts, including the playoff opener last fall.

Outlook: As evidenced by his three championships, Logano is known for rising to the occasion -- and what better time than with $1 million on the line? His finishes in 2025 aren't indicative of the speed that he's had, but the pressure of a payday might be enough to jolt the No. 22 team back into place.

No. 26 Carson Hocevar
No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

2025 stats: 0 wins, 2 top fives, 3 top 10s, 72 laps led, 22.5 average finish

Best track: EchoPark Speedway; Hocevar nearly won in spring and hasn't finished worse than 19th in three starts.

Outlook: Hocevar's finishes this season aren't indicative of the speed he's shown in his sophomore campaign, but he won't have a chance to advance in the In-Season Challenge unless the team can piece together complete races. But if his No. 77 machine can do that, then he should have a chance to make some noise early in the inaugural event.

No. 27 Justin Haley
No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

2025 stats: 0 wins, 0 top fives, 1 top 10, 0 laps led, 22.3 average finish

Best track: EchoPark Speedway; Haley has four finishes of 12th or better in seven Next Gen races.

Outlook: The last several weeks have trended in the wrong direction for Haley, but he's had some strong finishes at the five In-Season Challenge tracks in past years. The 26-year-old nearly stole Chicago from Shane van Gisbergen two years ago with some killer strategy, so expect the Spire group to possibly go out of the box to give Haley a chance to advance.

No. 28 Austin Dillon
No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

2025 stats: 0 wins, 0 top fives, 3 top 10s, 8 laps led, 20.1 average finish

Best track: Indianapolis Motor Speedway; Dillon finished 13th there last year and has two top 10s in nine starts.

Outlook: It's often hard to tell when and where Dillon and Co. are going to show up with race-winning speed, but the last several races haven't played out well for them. Road courses have been a struggle for the 35-year-old throughout his career, but his two career victories at Daytona mean he could be a factor to advance in the opener at EchoPark Speedway.

No. 29 Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
No. 47 Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet

2025 stats: 0 wins, 1 top five, 2 top 10s, 0 laps led, 19.7 average finish

Best track: EchoPark Speedway; A former Daytona 500 winner, Stenhouse's superspeedway prowess is a good for EchoPark as he's finished inside the top 10 in three of the last four races there.

Outlook: Stenhouse continues to finish races better than where he started, but a few recent run-ins with Carson Hocevar have derailed the team's momentum heading into the In-Season Challenge. He feels like an easy upset pick for the first round, but after that, the final four tracks are a giant unknown.

No. 30 Todd Gilliland
No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford

2025 stats: 0 wins, 0 top fives, 2 top 10s, 11 laps led, 20.5 average finish

Best track: Indianapolis Motor Speedway; Gilliland finished sixth and led a lap there last year.

Outlook: Outside of his lone start in Indy, Gilliland certainly hasn't dominated any of the tracks on the In-Season Challenge schedule but could be considered an overlooked road-course racer. An average finish of 20.4 at EchoPark Speedway is an early obstacle to climb, but it feels like a strong run at the drafting track could finally be in the cards for the 25-year-old.

No. 31 Noah Gragson
No. 4 Front Row Motorsports Ford

2025 stats: 0 wins, 1 top five, 3 top 10s, 2 laps led, 23.2 average finish

Best track: Indianapolis Motor Speedway; Gragson finished ninth there last year.

Outlook: It's been a season filled with highs and lows for Gragson and four DNFs thus far are a concern heading into the In-Season Challenge. He's finished just two of the seven Next Gen races at EchoPark Speedway, so it might be best for the No. 4 team to just take things one week at a time as he has a less-than-favorable seed.

No. 32 Ty Dillon
No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet

2025 stats: 0 wins, 0 top fives, 0 top 10s, 8 laps led, 23.7 average finish

Best track: Indianapolis Motor Speedway; Dillon has an average finish of 17.2 in five career starts.

Outlook: The 2025 season hasn't been much to write home about for Dillon, but he's brought the No. 10 car some solid finishes after Kaulig struggled across the board last year. Anything can happen at EchoPark Speedway, so a trip to the second round would be a major win.