Known for its chaos, EchoPark Speedway didn’t completely destroy brackets like it did last year in the In-Season Challenge, but it did take down No. 2 seed Denny Hamlin, whom many (myself included) had picked to go all the way and win the $1 million. That’s because No. 10 seed Christopher Bell put up another podium finish, good enough to oust his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate who came home 12th in the Quaker State 400.
Here’s where things stand in the In-Season Challenge as the NASCAR Cup Series gets ready for its first points-paying race at North Wilkesboro Speedway since 1996 in Sunday’s Window World 450 (7 p.m. ET, TNT Sports, truTV, HBO Max, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
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EchoPark race winner: Ryan Blaney may have just delivered his best performance to date as he swept his way to a dramatic overtime win near Atlanta, scoring 75 points and leading 171 laps in the type of superspeedway dominance not seen since 1964 with Richard Petty. But it wasn’t just the sheer numbers that were impressive; it was the way Blaney handled the pressure of multiple drivers trying to hunt him down — who sometimes overtook him — while he patiently waited for his opportunity to pounce. He said it was that patience, learned from Dale Earnhardt Jr. and other great drafting-track drivers, that was foremost in his mind when the chips were down last night/this morning at EchoPark.
Blaney’s first-place finish was, of course, enough to knock off William Byron, a two-time winner at EchoPark Speedway, who finished 16th with an ill-handling No. 24 Chevrolet that he expressed frustration with to crew chief Rudy Fugle over the team radio.
Who advances to Round 4?
Advancing alongside the No. 3 seed Blaney and the No. 10 seed Bell were the No. 4 seed Chase Elliott and the No. 25 seed Todd Gilliland. Elliott’s 13th-place finish was a bit of a disappointment for the two-time EchoPark Speedway winner and hometown Georgia favorite who had moments of dominance throughout the race, but it was enough to knock off No. 12 seed Chase Briscoe, who got caught up in a multicar melee that sent him to the garage for good.
Meanwhile, Gilliland finished 19th and edged out No. 32 seed Alex Bowman in 22nd place to take over the role as Cinderella in this tournament. Gilliland’s best performance in the In-Season Challenge was a 16th-place finish at Chicagoland Speedway, but he’s done just enough to get by in all his matchups to date.
Matchup of the week
(No. 3) Ryan Blaney vs. (No. 10) Driver: Christopher Bell: This could be an old-school donnybrook, as each driver has a strong history on tracks less than one mile long. In the last 10 races on such tracks, Blaney leads all drivers in points, while Bell isn’t too far behind in sixth place. But those stats don’t include Bell’s victory in last year’s All-Star Race held at North Wilkesboro. Plus, Bell is riding a streak of three straight top-five finishes and is still hungry for a win in 2026.
Who’s up
Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford. It might sound like a broken record, but it has to be Blaney owning this category. He’s coming off his best win and is taking a streak of eight straight top-10 finishes into the foothills of the Appalachians.
Who’s down
Todd Gilliland, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford. In all fairness, nobody who has advanced this far in the In-Season Challenge is really “down,” but Gilliland will likely have the toughest road to advance from here. He has four top-10 finishes in 25 career short-track races, while his opponent, Elliott, has two wins and an average finish of 11.9 in 60 short-track starts.