Every NASCAR in-season tournament bracket is busted after first round
HAMPTON, Ga. — Every bracket was busted after the first round of the NASCAR in-season tournament, NASCAR confirmed Monday.
The first round of the inaugural NASCAR in-season tournament saw several notable upsets. Many expected that from a drafting-style track like EchoPark but two important wrecks in the first two stages set it in motion.
NASCAR in-season tournament at EchoPark Atlanta
No. 32 seed Ty Dillon defeated No. 1 Denny Hamlin. Dillon will face Brad Keselowski, a No. 17 seed who defeated No. 16 seed Kyle Busch. Alex Bowman won as a No. 8 seed facing No. 25 seed Joey Logano. Bowman will face No. 9 seed Bubba Wallace — who defeated No. 24 seed Daniel Suarez.
John Hunter Nemechek, a No. 12 seed, will go up against No. 5 seed Chase Elliott. Nemechek defeated No. 21 seed Josh Berry while Elliott handily defeated No. 28 Austin Dillon.
No. 20 seed Erik Jones will face No. 29 seed Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Jones defeated No. 12 seed Ross Chastain and Stenhouse faced No. 4 seed Christopher Bell.
Hamlin, Busch, Logano, Suarez, Berry and Chastain all saw their chances go away in the big wreck on lap 70.
As a No. 31 seed, Noah Gragson took down No. 2 seed Chase Briscoe. Gragson will now face No. 15 seed Ryan Preece. Preece took down No. 18 seed William Byron.
No. 26 seed Carson Hocevar defeated No. 7 seed Ryan Blaney. No. 23 seed Tyler Reddick defeated No. 10 seed Kyle Larson. Hocevar and Reddick will face in the next round.
No. 22 seed A.J. Allmendinger defeated No. 11 seed Michael McDowell. Allmendinger will now face No. 6 seed Ty Gibbs. Gibbs took down No. 27 seed Justin Haley.
Lastly, No. 14 seed Zane Smith defeated No. 19 seed Austin Cindric. Smith will face No. 3 seed Chris Buescher who defeated Todd Gilliland, a No. 30 seed.
Briscoe, Byron, Larson and Cindric also saw their chances go away in the big wreck on lap 70.
MORE: Inaugural NASCAR in-season tournament: Bracket and more info
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Jonathan Fjeld View All
Jonathan Fjeld is the co-owner of the The Racing Experts, LLC. He has been with TRE since 2010.
A Twin Valley, MN, native, Fjeld became a motorsports fan at just three years old (first race was the 2002 Pennsylvania 500). He worked as a contributor and writer for TRE from 2010-18. Since then, he has stepped up and covered 24 NASCAR race weekends and taken on a larger role with TRE. He became the co-owner and managing editor in 2023 and has guided the site to massive growth in that time.
Fjeld has covered a wide array of stories and moments over the years, including Kevin Harvick's final Cup Series season, the first NASCAR national series disqualification in over 50 years, Shane van Gisbergen's stunning win in Chicago and the first Cup Series race at Road America in 66 years – as well as up-and-coming drivers' stories and stories from inside the sport, like the tech it takes for Hendrick Motorsports to remain a top-tier team.
Currently, he resides in Albuquerque, N.M., where he works for KOB 4, an NBC station. He works as a digital producer and does on-air reports. He loves spending time with friends and family, playing and listening to music, exploring new places, being outdoors, reading books and writing among other activities. You can email him at fjeldjonathan@gmail.com