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NBC Sports
3 days ago
- Automotive
- NBC Sports
Examining the NASCAR Cup In-Season Challenge semifinal matchups at Dover
NASCAR's In-Season Challenge is down to four drivers heading into Sunday's semifinals at Dover Motor Speedway. Tyler Reddick goes against Ty Gibbs. John Hunter Nemechek is paired against Ty Dillon. They seek to advance to next weekend's finals at Indianapolis. The winner will receive $1 million. Here is a look, with the help of Racing Insights, at the second-round pairings for Sunday's race: No. 6 Ty Gibbs vs. No. 23 Tyler Reddick How they got here Ty Gibbs eliminated Justin Haley (seeded 27th) at Atlanta, AJ Allmendinger (22) at Chicago and Zane Smith (14) at Sonoma Tyler Reddick eliminated Kyle Larson (10) at Atlanta, Carson Hocevar (26) at Chicago and Ryan Preece (15) at Sonoma. On a roll: Tyler Reddick has finished sixth or better in each of the last three races. Close matchup: Gibbs and Reddick have finished within one position of each other in the past two races and finished within three spots of each other in five of the last 11 races. Dover stats: Reddick's best finish at Dover is seventh in 2023. He has finished 11th or better in three of the last four races. Gibbs' best finish at Dover came last year when he placed 10th. He has finished 10th and 13th in his two Cup starts at Dover. Winner ... advances to meet winner of John Hunter Nemechek - Ty Dillon matchup in finals at Indianapolis for the $1 million prize. No. 12 John Hunter Nemechek vs. No. 32 Ty Dillon John Hunter Nemechek eliminated Josh Berry (21) at Atlanta, Chase Elliott (5) at Chicago and Erik Jones (20) at Sonoma. Ty Dillon eliminated Denny Hamlin (1) at Atlanta, Brad Keselowski (17) at Chicago and Alex Bowman (8) at Sonoma. Cinderella story: Dillon, the last seed in the 32-driver event, has posted three consecutive top-20 finishes. That's the first time he's done that since August 2022. Dillon trailed Bowman on the final corner of the final lap before he bumped him out of the way to finish ahead of him at Sonoma and advance. Close calls: Nemechek finished one spot ahead of Chase Elliott to eliminate him at Chicago. Nemechek passed Legacy Motor Club teammate Erik Jones for position with two laps left at Sonoma to advance to the semifinals. Dover stats: Nemechek's best Dover finish is 20th, which he did last year and in 2020. Nemechek has finished no worse than 24th in three Cup starts at Dover. Dillon last ran a Cup race at Dover in 2023, finishing 36th. Dillon's best Dover finish is 14th in June 2017. Winner ... advances to meet winner of Tyler Reddick - Ty Gibbs matchup in finals at Indianapolis for the $1 million prize.
NBC Sports
10-07-2025
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Third-round matchups in NASCAR Cup In-Season Challenge at Sonoma
The upsets continued in the second round of NASCAR's In-Season Challenge, leaving eight drivers in contention for the $1 million prize. Ty Dillon, the No. 32 seed in the 32-driver event continued his run. After eliminating top seed Denny Hamlin at Atlanta, Dillon beat No. 17 seed Brad Keselowski last weekend at Chicago to move on to the third round. Sunday's race at Sonoma Raceway will cut the field In-Season Challenge field to four drivers. Here is a look, with the help of Racing Insights, at the second-round pairings for Sunday's race: No. 6 Ty Gibbs vs. No. 14 Zane Smith How they got here Gibbs eliminated Justin Haley (seeded 27th) at Atlanta and AJ Allmendinger (22) at Chicago. Smith eliminated Austin Cindric (19) at Atlanta and Chris Buescher (3) at Chicago. Follow the road: Gibbs has an average finish of 15.7 in three road course races this season, while Smith's average finish is 26.0. Rolling: Gibbs has five consecutive top-15 finishes, including two top-five results. Winner ... advances to meet winner of Ryan Preece - Tyler Reddick matchup. No. 8 Alex Bowman vs. No. 32 Ty Dillon Bowman eliminated Joey Logano (25) at Atlanta and Bubba Wallace (9) at Chicago. Dillon eliminated Denny Hamlin (1) at Atlanta and Brad Keselowski (17) at Chicago. Matchup of opposites: Bowman is one of two drivers to finish in the top 10 in all three road course races this season (Shane van Gisbergen is the other). Dillon has not finished better than 20th in the three road course races this year. Bowman has seven top-10 finishes, including a win in his last 11 races on road courses. Dillon has never finished better than 15th in 28 Cup road course starts. Upset Special: The driver with the worse seed has won 11 of the 24 matchups so far, including Dillon's two wins. Winner ... advances to meet winner of John Hunter Nemechek - Erik Jones matchup. No. 12 John Hunter Nemechek vs. No. 20 Erik Jones Nemechek eliminated Josh Berry (21) at Atlanta and Chase Elliott (5) at Chicago. Jones eliminated Ross Chastain (13) at Atlanta and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (29) at Chicago. Familiar faces: This matchup pits Legacy Motor Club teammates against each other. At least the organization knows it will have one driver among the final four in the race for $1 million. Close duel: In the last eight races, Nemechek and Jones have each finished better than the other four times. Winner ... advances to meet winner of Ty Dillon - Alex Bowman matchup. No. 15 Ryan Preece vs. No. 23 Tyler Reddick Preece eliminated William Byron (18) at Atlanta and Noah Gragson (31) at Chicago. Reddick eliminated Kyle Larson (10) at Atlanta and Carson Hocevar (26) at Chicago. Road course ringer: In the Next Gen era, Reddick is tied for the most road course wins (three) and poles (three) and ranks second in top-five finishes (nine) and top-10 finishes (14). On a roll: Preece has five top-10 finishes in the last eight races. That is tied for the most top 10s in that span. Winner ... advances to meet winner of Ty Gibbs - Zane Smith matchup.
NBC Sports
05-07-2025
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Examining NASCAR Cup 2nd-round In-Season Challenge matchups at Chicago
After a wild opening round that saw the top two seeds eliminated, along with a few other favorites, the In-Season Challenge heads to Chicago for the second round. The 32-team field has been cut to 16 for Sunday's street race. The third round (eight remaining drivers) is at Sonoma. The fourth round (four remaining drivers) is at Dover. The final round (two remaining drivers) is at Indianapolis. The winner will collect $1 million. Here is a look, with the help of Racing Insights, at the second-round pairings for Sunday's race: No. 3 Chris Buescher vs. No. 14 Zane Smith At the front: Chris Buescher has the best average finish on road courses in the Next Gen car at 8.8. On a roll: Buescher has scored four consecutive top-10 finishes. Zane Smith has finished seventh twice in the last four races. Winner ... advances to meet winner of AJ Allmendinger - Ty Gibbs matchup. No. 5 Chase Elliott vs. No. 12 John Hunter Nemechek Streaking: Atlanta winner Chase Elliott has scored three consecutive top-five finishes entering this weekend. Road trip: Elliott has finished in the top five in both road course events this year, finishing third in Mexico and fourth at Circuit of the Americas. Nemechek finished sixth at Mexico for his best road course finish in Cup. Winner ... advances to meet winner of Erik Jones - Ricky Stenhouse Jr. matchup. No. 6 Ty Gibbs vs. No. 22 AJ Allmendinger Top dog: Ty Gibbs has the best average finish on the streets of the Chicago at 6.0 in two races, placing third last year and ninth in the inaugural event. Three of a kind: All three of AJ Allmendinger's Cup victories have come on road courses: Watkins Glen, Indianapolis Road Course and Charlotte Roval. Winner ... advances to meet winner of Zane Smith - Chris Buescher matchup. No. 8 Alex Bowman vs. No. 9 Bubba Wallace Spicy history: NASCAR fined Bubba Wallace $50,000 for his retaliatory actions after Alex Bowman won last year's Chicago Street Race. Wallace was upset with Bowman for contact during the race that turned him. Wallace door-slammed Bowman's car on the cool-down lap and sent it into the wall. Two-for-two: Alex Bowman has top-10 finishes in both road course events this season, placing fourth in Mexico and ninth at COTA. Winner ... advances to meet winner of Brad Keselowski - Ty Dillon matchup. No. 15 Ryan Preece vs. No. 31 Noah Gragson I know you: Matchup of former Stewart-Haas Racing teammates. Opposite directions: Noah Gragson has five consecutive finishes outside the top 20. Ryan Preece has four top-20 finishes in the last five races. Winner ... advances to meet winner of Carson Hocevar - Tyler Reddick matchup. No. 17 Brad Keselowski vs. No. 32 Ty Dillon By the numbers: Brad Keselowski's average finish on road courses in the Next Gen car is 20.6 with one top-10 finish. Ty Dillon's average finish on road courses in the Next Gen car is 27.7 with no finish better than 16th. Back-to-back: Keselowski has finished in the top 10 in each of the past two races this season. Winner ... advances to meet winner of Alex Bowman - Bubba Wallace matchup. No. 20 Erik Jones vs. No. 29 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Mirror image: Erik Jones' average finish this season is 18.4. Stenhouse's average finish this season is 18.9. Both drivers have three top-10 finishes this year. Turning the corner: Jones has finished in the top 15 in five of the last six races. Winner ... advances to meet winner of Chase Elliott - John Hunter Nemechek matchup. No. 23 Tyler Reddick vs. No. 26 Carson Hocevar Familiar ground: Tyler Reddick finished second in last year's race on the streets of Chicago. Tough matchup: Carson Hocevar has finished ahead of Reddick on a road course just once in seven Cup races. Winner ... advances to meet winner of Noah Gragson - Ryan Preece matchup.
NBC Sports
27-06-2025
- Automotive
- NBC Sports
Examining NASCAR Cup first-round In-Season Challenge matchups
NASCAR's In-Season Challenge makes its debut this weekend at EchoPark Speedway, the track formerly known as Atlanta Motor Speedway. Thirty-two drivers were seeded based on their best finish in the last three weeks (Michigan, Mexico and Pocono). The drivers were paired based on those seedings. The driver who finishes the best in his matchup advances to the next round. The second round (16 remaining drivers) is at the Chicago Street Race. The third round (eight remaining drivers) is at Sonoma. The fourth round (four remaining drivers) is at Dover. The final round (two remaining drivers) is at Indianapolis. The winner will collect $1 million. Here is a look, with the the help of Racing Insights, at the first-round pairings: No. 1 Denny Hamlin vs. No. 32 Ty Dillon Hot streak: Denny Hamlin has finished in the top three in each of his last three starts this season. Long odds: The last time Ty Dillon finished ahead of Denny Hamlin at Atlanta was March 2017 when Dillon placed 15th and Hamlin was 38th — well before EchoPark Speedway ˜was reconfigured and became a drafting track. Winner ... advances to meet winner of Kyle Busch - Brad Keselowski matchup. No. 2 Chase Briscoe vs. No. 31 Noah Gragson Fun fact: James Small, crew chief for Chase Briscoe, has 95 career top-10 finishes. Noah Gragson will be making his 93rd career Cup start this weekend. Former teammates: This is the only first-round matchup involving former Cup teammates. Both raced at Stewart-Haas Racing in 2024. Winner ... advances to meet winner of Ryan Preece - William Byron matchup. No. 3 Chris Buescher vs. No. 30 Todd Gilliland Third time a charm for Buescher? Todd Gilliland has finished better than Chris Buescher in the last two races at a drafting track. Gilliland was 16th at Talladega and Buescher was 34th due to an accident. At Atlanta in February, Gilliland placed 15th, while Buescher was 30th after his car was damaged in an incident. Strong start: Chris Buescher has nine top-10 finishes this season in the first 17 races. That's his most top 10s through the first 17 races of a Cup season. Winner ... advances to meet winner of Zane Smith - Austin Cindric matchup. No. 4 Christopher Bell vs. No. 29 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Familiar face: This is a matchup between spotter Tab Boyd's former driver (Ricky Stenhouse Jr.) and his new driver (Christopher Bell). This will be Boyd's first race with Bell. See ya in Victory Lane: These two have combined to win two of the last four points races on a drafting track. Bell won at Atlanta in February. Stenhouse won at Talladega last fall. Winner ... advances to meet winner of Ross Chastain - Erik Jones matchup. No. 5 Chase Elliott vs. No. 28 Austin Dillon Dominant: Chase Elliott has finished better than Austin Dillon in 13 of the 17 points races this season, including six in a row. Consistent: Elliott has an average finish of 10.5 on the reconfigured Atlanta track, which ranks second among drivers who have made at least three starts on it. He has the best average finish in the series this season at 10.8. Winner ... advances to meet winner of John Hunter Nemechek - Josh Berry matchup No. 6 Ty Gibbs vs. No. 27 Justin Haley Streaking: Ty Gibbs has finished better than Justin Haley in each of the last six races. Five for five: All five of Haley's Cup (one win) and Xfinity (four) victories have come at drafting tracks. Winner ... advances to meet winner of Michael McDowell - AJ Allmendinger matchup. No. 7 Ryan Blaney vs. No. 26 Carson Hocevar Familiar foes: Ryan Blaney was one of the drivers upset with Carson Hocevar at Atlanta in February after Hocevar's contact spun Blaney. Close duel: Hocevar finished second at Atlanta in February. Blaney placed fourth in that race. Winner ... advances to meet winner of Kyle Larson - Tyler Reddick matchup. No. 8 Alex Bowman vs. No. 25 Joey Logano Better days ahead? Since winning at Atlanta in last year's playoff race, Joey Logano has finished 33rd or worse in three of the last four races on drafting tracks. The exception was a 12th-place result at Atlanta in February. Close duel: Alex Bowman has finished better than Joey Logano in nine of the 17 points races this season. Winner ... advances to meet winner of Bubba Wallace - Daniel Suarez matchup. No. 9 Bubba Wallace vs. No. 24 Daniel Suarez Better run lately: Bubba Wallace has finished better than Daniel Suarez in five of the last six races. Recent Atlanta winner: Suarez won at Atlanta last year in the closest 1-2-3 finish in Cup history. Winner ... advances to meet winner of Alex Bowman - Joey Logano matchup. No. 10 Kyle Larson vs. No. 23 Tyler Reddick Good time for a win: Kyle Larson is winless in 50 Cup starts on a drafting track. Also, Larson's five-race winless streak entering this weekend is tied for his longest of the season. In need of a turnaround: Tyler Reddick has one top-10 finish in the last nine points races. Winner ... advances to meet winner of Ryan Blaney - Carson Hocevar matchup No. 11 Michael McDowell vs. No. 22 AJ Allmendinger Looking to improve: Michael McDowell has one top-10 finish in his last nine races on drafting tracks, dating back to last season. Intriguing matchup: With two road courses after this weekend (Chicago Street Race and Sonoma), the winner of his matchup could be in a good position to advance deep in the tournament. Winner ... advances to meet winner of Ty Gibbs - Justin Haley matchup. No. 12 John Hunter Nemechek vs. No. 21 Josh Berry Opposite directions: John Hunter Nemechek comes into the weekend off back-to-back sixth-place finishes. He has four top-10 finishes in the last seven races. Josh Berry has one top-10 finish in the last 12 races. Drafting tracks: John Hunter Nemechek has two top 10s in three races on drafting tracks this season. Josh Berry won a stage at Atlanta in February but has yet to score a top-20 finish this year on a drafting track. Winner ... advances to meet winner of Chase Elliott - Austin Dillon matchup. No. 13 Ross Chastain vs. No. 20 Erik Jones Friendly track: Ross Chastain has four top-10 finishes, including a pair of runner-up results, in the seven races since the Atlanta track was reconfigured. Close duel? Chastain and Jones have finished within four positions of each other in four of the last eight races. Winner ... advances to meet winner of Christopher Bell - Ricky Stenhouse Jr. matchup. No. 14 Zane Smith vs. No. 19 Austin Cindric Teammate tussle? If Zane Smith and Todd Gilliland can each win their first-round matchups, the Front Row Motorsports drivers would meet in the second round. Tough draw: Smith won't have it easy with Austin Cindric, who won at Talladega in the most recent race at a drafting track, led the most laps in the Daytona 500 and ranked third in laps led at Atlanta in February. Winner ... advances to meet winner of Chris Buescher - Todd Gilliland matchup. No. 15 Ryan Preece vs. No. 18 William Byron Up and down: While William Byron has two wins at Atlanta since the track was reconfigured, he's also placed 27th or worse three times. Challenging draw: Ryan Preece has never finished better than 16th in nine career Cup starts at Atlanta. Winner ... advances to meet winner of Chase Briscoe - Noah Gragson matchup. No. 16 Kyle Busch vs. No. 17 Brad Keselowski Heavy hitters: This is the only first-round matchup between two former Cup champions. Streaking: Kyle Busch has scored five consecutive top-10 finishes at Atlanta. Brad Keselowski has finished 19th or worse in his last three starts there. Winner ... advances to meet winner of Denny Hamlin - Ty Dillon match.
NBC Sports
10-06-2025
- Automotive
- NBC Sports
Good news, bad news for NASCAR Cup teams ahead of Mexico City weekend
The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Mexico City this weekend for its first points race outside the U.S. since 1958. The series will race at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez. Drivers will compete on a 15-turn, 2.42-mile course. The frontstretch is 3,937 feet, making it the longest in the series (Pocono's frontstretch is 3,740 feet). Chase Elliott (three wins), Ryan Blaney (two) and Joey Logano (two) have combined to win seven of the last 11 races at a new track for the Cup Series. Here is a look at the good news and bad news for Cup teams heading into Sunday's race at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez. 23XI Racing — Good news: Bubba Wallace has scored back-to-back top-10 finishes for the second time this season. … Wallace continues to have the No. 1 pit crew in the series as ranked by Racing Insights. … Tyler Reddick is tied with Kyle Larson for most wins on a road course in the Next Gen car at three. … Reddick's 13 top 10s on road courses in the Next Gen car ranks second to Chris Buescher. Bad news: Reddick has one top-10 finish in the last seven races. … Wallace has three top-10 finishes in 33 road course starts. … Riley Herbst enters the weekend 34th in points. Dustin Long, Front Row Motorsports — Good news: Zane Smith finished a season-best seventh last weekend at Michigan. … Smith has five top-20 results in the last six races. … Noah Gragson finished eighth at COTA earlier this year for his best result on a road course in Cup. … Todd Gilliland finished 10th at COTA, tying his season best. Bad news: Gilliland has qualified 30th or worse in five of the last seven races. … Gragson has finished 27th or worse in each of the last two races. Haas Factory Team — Good news: All three of Cole Custer's top-20 finishes this season have come in the last six races. Bad News: Custer's 35th-place finish at Michigan snapped a streak of seven consecutive top-30 finishes. Hendrick Motorsports — Good news: The organization has won four of the last six races on a road or street course. … Kyle Larson's six road course wins puts him tied for fourth on the all-time list. … Chase Elliott has completed all but one of the 4,231 laps run this season. … Elliott ranks third all-time with seven road course victories. … William Byron has won four of the last seven stages and is averaging 9.3 points per stage in that period. … Byron ranks first for the season in speed and restart rankings, according to Racing Insights. … Alex Bowman has five top 10s, including a win, in his last nine road course starts. Bad news: Bowman has finished 27th or worse in seven of the last nine races, dropping him from third in the points to 13th. … Byron has led 83 or more laps in four races this season but won none of those events. … Larson has two top 10s in his last eight road course starts. … Elliott has two top 10s in the last seven races. Hyak Motorsports — Good news: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. has five top-20 finishes in the last six races. Bad news: Stenhouse has fallen from 15th to 20th in the playoff standings in the past two races. … Stenhouse has two top-10 finishes in 43 career Cup road course/street course races. Joe Gibbs Racing — Good news: Denny Hamlin has won three of the last nine races this season. … Hamlin has scored points in nine consecutive stages. … Hamlin said Tuesday on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio that if fiancee Jordan Fish has not delivered their baby boy by the time he has to leave for Mexico later this week, he will skip the race. NASCAR has stated in the past that missing a race for the birth of a child is acceptable and they would grant a playoff waiver in such a case. … Should Denny Hamlin miss Mexico, JGR's reserve driver, Ryan Truex, would drive the No. 11 car. … Christopher Bell won at Circuit of the Americas in the only road course race run so far this season. … Chase Briscoe finished first in passing, according to Racing Insights, earlier this year at COTA. … Briscoe has won the pole for the last three races (Charlotte, Nashville and Michigan). … Christopher Bell has seven top 10s in the last nine races. … Ty Gibbs tied his season-best finish by placing third at Michigan. Bad news: Bell has led 10 laps in the last eight races, a stretch of 2,423 laps. … Gibbs has placed 22nd or worse in four of the last five Cup road course races. Kaulig Racing — Good news: All three of AJ Allmendinger's Cup victories have come on road courses. … Allmendinger has five top 10s in his last eight starts on a road course. … Allmendinger finished second in Mexico City in a Champ Car race in 2005. Bad news: Ty Dillon has not finished better than 15th in 26 road course starts in Cup. Legacy Motor Club — Good news: Erik Jones' 11th-place finish at Michigan gives him four top-15 results in the last five races. Bad news: Jones has no top 10s in his last 13 road course starts. … John Hunter Nemechek's best finish in eight career Cup road course starts is 21st. … Jones has no top 10s in his last 13 road course starts. Richard Childress Racing — Good news: Kyle Busch ranked first in speed, according to Racing Insights, earlier this season at COTA, the only road course race run so far. … Busch's best finish this year is a fifth-place result at COTA. … Busch won the most recent Xfinity race at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in 2008, although that course was a little different from what teams will race this weekend. Bad news: Austin Dillon has never finished better than 10th at a road course race in 40 starts. … Dillon has finished 19th or worse in the last four races. … Kyle Busch fell out of a playoff spot after last weekend's race at Michigan. Rick Ware Racing — Good news: Cody Ware has finished 26th or better in two of the last three races, the first time he's done that this season. Bad news: Ware's best finish in 16 career road course starts in Cup is 24th. RFK Racing — Good news: Placed three cars in the top 10 at Michigan, marking the first time the team has done that in a Cup race since July 2016 at Daytona. … Ryan Preece moved into the final playoff spot with his ninth-place finish at Michigan. … Preece has three top 10s in the last four races. … Brad Keselowski has scored top-10 finishes in two of the last three races. … Chris Buescher has the best average finish (8.7) on road courses in the Next Gen era. … Buescher won at Watkins Glen last September, his only road course win. … Buescher is coming off a season-best second-place finish at Michigan. Bad news: Keselowski is winless in 49 career Cup road course starts. Spire Motorsports — Good news: Michael McDowell has finished 15th or better in each of the last five road course races. … McDowell won a Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series race in Mexico City in November 2005. … Justin Haley finished second in Chicago in 2023 for his best road/street course result. … Carson Hocevar has scored points in 10 of the last 15 stages. … Hocevar's best finish on a road course is third at Watkins Glen last September. Bad news: McDowell has finished 21st or worse in six of the last eight races this season. Team Penske — Good news: Ryan Blaney has five top-five finishes in the last eight races. … Blaney has four top 10s in his last eight starts on a road course. … Austin Cindric has nine top 10s in 21 career road course starts. Bad news: Blaney has three finishes outside the top 30 in the last eight races. … Joey Logano has five finishes outside the top 10 in the last eight races. … Cindric's Talladega win is his only top-10 finish in the last 10 races. Trackhouse Racing — Good news: Ross Chastain has scored six top-10 finishes in the last nine races. … Chastain has scored all eight of his top-10 finishes this season after starting the race outside the top 15. … Shane van Gisbergen has been the best finishing rookie in three of the last four races. … In the last three road course races, van Gisbergen has finished no worse than seventh. … Daniel Suarez has scored back-to-back top-20 finishes heading into Mexico. Bad news: Suarez has only one top-10 finish in the last 13 road course races. Wood Brothers Racing — Good news: The 169 laps that Josh Berry has led this year is a career high. Bad news: Berry has one top-10 finish since his Las Vegas victory. … Berry has not finished better than 22nd in six Cup road course starts.
