Ty Gibbs wins inaugural NASCAR In-Season Challenge tournament
SPEEDWAY, Ind. — Ty Gibbs defeated Ty Dillon in the final round of the NASCAR In-Season Challenge to win the inaugural tournament Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Gibbs claimed the $1 million prize with a 21st-place finish in Sunday’s Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Dillon finished 28th, three laps down after getting damage early on in the race.
Ty Gibbs in the NASCAR In-Season Challenge tournament
Ty Gibbs stepped up his performance throughout the in-season tournament . While the No. 6 tournament seed started with a 14th-place finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway, he defeated No. 27 seed Justin Haley to advance in the tournament after a crash relegated Haley to 23rd.
In Chicago, Gibbs got the better of A.J. Allmendinger. They ran with each other throughout the day but Gibbs prevailed in second, ahead of Allmendinger in sixth.
At Sonoma Raceway, Gibbs finished seventh and handily defeated No. 14 seed Zane Smith. Smith finished 27th and fell out of the tournament while Gibbs moved on to face No. 23 seed Tyler Reddick at Dover Motor Speedway.
At Dover, Gibbs finished fifth while Reddick finished 12th after a close battle all day.
“Dover was my hardest bracket [challenge],” Gibbs said.
Ty Gibbs in the NASCAR In-Season Challenge final at Indianapolis
The close battle prepped Gibbs for whatever curveballs No. 32 seed Ty Dillon was going to throw at him as the underdog.
Unfortunately for Dillon, but fortunately for Gibbs, Dillon couldn’t compete with Gibbs after a wreck on the restart to begin the second stage. Gibbs finished 21st while Dillon finished 28th, three laps down.
Gibbs and his team are $1 million richer. However, $10,000 will be donated to a charity of Gibbs’ choice — and Dillon will match that.
Like Dillon, Gibbs’ next task is to make the playoffs. He is 95 points below the cutline after Bubba Wallace’s win.
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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