Overview
- Ryan Blaney and Todd Gilliland are the final two in NASCAR’s 32-driver In-Season Challenge and will race head-to-head for the $1 million prize in the Brickyard 400.
- Gilliland completed a Cinderella run from the No. 25 seed by upsetting Chase Elliott in the semifinal when a caution left Elliott a lap down, and he finished eighth to punch his ticket to the final.
- Blaney reached the championship by defeating Christopher Bell in the other semifinal and called Gilliland a strong driver while noting strategy will be crucial at Indianapolis.
- The In-Season Challenge is a five-race knockout bracket that crowns the winner by which of the two finalists finishes ahead in the Brickyard 400, guaranteeing Ford the tournament title.
- Gilliland’s run highlights how one-race strategy and clean execution can overcome resource gaps for a small team like Front Row Motorsports, and his two prior sixth-place finishes at Indianapolis give him measurable track form to use in the final.