After two rounds of the NASCAR In-Season Challenge, eight drivers remain in the hunt for the $1 million prize. Round three is set to take place this Sunday night at EchoPark Speedway, where the field will be cut to four.
When the checkered flag flew last Sunday at Chicagoland, some of the top contenders advanced after winning their round two matchup. Meanwhile, a few drivers pulled off an upset in round two to stay alive.
Here, we will take a look at who advanced in the In-Season Challenge and the round three matchups.
NASCAR In-Season Challenge round three, round two eliminations
Following a third-place finish at Chicagoland, Cup Series points leader Denny Hamlin advanced to round three of the In-Season Challenge. Hamlin, the No. 2 seed, bested 15th-seeded Erik Jones in round two.
The driver of the No. 11 will take on Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Christopher Bell in round three. Bell, the No. 10 seed, defeated seventh-seeded Chris Buescher with a runner-up finish at Chicagoland.
No. 11 William Byron defeated No. 6 Kyle Larson in round two at Chicagoland to advance. In round three, Byron will take on No. 3 Ryan Blaney, who won his matchup over No. 14 Shane van Gisbergen.
On the other side of the bracket is No. 32 Alex Bowman. The driver of the No. 48 won his round two matchup over No. 16 Austin Cindric to advance to round three. Facing Bowman in the third round is No. 25 Todd Gilliland, who pulled off the upset over No. 9 Carson Hocevar in round two.
With his victory at Chicagoland, No. 12 Chase Briscoe won his second round battle over No. 5 Ty Gibbs, his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate. It will be a Chase versus Chase matchup at EchoPark Speedway as Briscoe faces No. 4 Chase Elliott, who won his Chicagoland matchup over No. 20 Michael McDowell.
The winners of the Hamlin/Bell and Byron/Blaney matchups will advance and face each other in round four, which takes place at North Wilkesboro Speedway. Meanwhile, the victors of the Bowman/Gilliland and Briscoe/Elliott battles will advance to round four.
Four drivers will remain after Sunday’s race at EchoPark Speedway. At North Wilkesboro, the winners of the round four matchups will face each other in the final round at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The last driver standing will be the winner of the In-Season Challenge and be rewarded $1 million.
EchoPark Speedway makes for wild card race of In-Season Challenge
The NASCAR Cup Series circuit heads to the EchoPark Speedway this Sunday night for the Quaker State 400. Because it is a drafting track, it makes for an interesting third round of the In-Season Challenge.
Since EchoPark Speedway was revamped as a drafting track in 2022, Chase Elliott and Chrstopher Bell are the only drivers left in the In-Season Challenge with victories at the track. Elliott is a two-time winner (2022, 2025), while Bell has one win (2025).
Bowman, who entered the In-Season Challenge as the last seed, finished runner-up at EchoPark one year ago. Hamlin, the highest seed remaining in the bracket, has only one top 10 in the last six EchoPark races.
With the unpredictably of a drafting track, it is sure to make for an interesting third round of the In-Season Challenge.
Eight Drivers Remain in NASCAR In-Season Challenge After Chicagoland