Charlotte’s own Ty Gibbs was named the inaugural NASCAR In-Season Bracket Challenge champion on July 27 after the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS). He had to beat tournament underdog Ty Dillon to come out on top. 

Gibbs entered the tournament with the No. 6 seed while Dillon was No. 32.

During Gibbs’s post-race press conference, he revealed that both drivers’ sponsors agreed to add to the $1 million prize.

“I told the broadcast on the other show (TV broadcast), but our sponsor [Saia] challenged Ty Dillon’s sponsor, whoever loses gets $10,000 for Toys for Tots. I want to put another 10 (thousand) on top of that,” said Gibbs during his post-race press conference. “Wherever Ty wants it to go will be his choice. Super cool to be in this position and very blessed.”

Gibbs’s journey to victory

Gibbs defied all odds and finished better than his matchups for five consecutive weeks. Consistency was the key to his success.

His journey began in Atlanta on June 28, where he beat Justin Haley. They both got through the 25-car crash on lap 69, but Dillon made contact with Haley on the backstretch during lap 227.

Haley fell to Gibbs by a finishing position margin of nine.

The next week at the Chicago Street Race, Gibbs beat road course ace AJ Allmendinger to advance. The position margin was much closer at four. 

Gibbs placed No. 2 to Shane Van Gisbergen. 

Sonoma marked the halfway point of the In-Season Bracket Challenge, where Gibbs secured another top-10. His matchup, Zane Smith, was sent home after finishing at No. 27.

At Dover Motor Speedway, Toyota teammates were put head-to-head. Tyler Reddick and Gibbs ran in the top-10 all day, but double overtime separated them.

Gibbs capitalized on the opportunities by moving forward from the No. 7 spot to No. 5. Reddick was shuffled back in the order from No. 8 to No. 12. The tournament’s finale at IMS marked the end of the tournament. 

After getting nose damage, Dillon did not run on the lead lap. Gibbs remained consistent and brought his car home clean in position No. 21, seven spots above Dillon.

Impact of the In-Season Bracket Challenge

For five weeks, NASCAR and its new TV partner TNT presented mid-pack battles that would otherwise not be televised on national TV.

The broadcast time allowed Dillon and his team, Kaulig Racing, to showcase their ability to do more with less. 

“I really haven’t changed who I’ve been as a person because of this In-Season Challenge,” said Dillon during his pre-race press conference. “I haven’t changed who I am as a driver. It’s just given me and our team a spotlight that wouldn’t have been here if this didn’t exist.”

There has not been confirmation if the In-Season Bracket Challenge will return, but that does not remove the confidence it gave to the underdog, Dillon, and his No. 10 team.

Fans were given an alternative broadcast on TruTV hosted by Larry McReynolds and Jeff Burton, which focused exclusively on the In-Season Bracket Challenge matchups.

The success Gibbs had in the previous five weeks has shown the field that he can come up top in the Cup Series. He has four more weeks to secure a playoff berth by winning his first race in NASCAR’s top division. 

Gibbs is currently No. 19 in the playoff points, 95 points below the playoff cutline.

Up next

With the conclusion of the In-Season Bracket Challenge and Bubba Wallace’s historic victory at IMS, NASCAR heads to Iowa Speedway. 

The NASCAR Xfinity Series will kick off the weekend on Aug. 2 at 4:30 p.m. on the CW network. 

NBC and USA Network will take over Cup Series TV responsibilities for the remainder of the season. The Cup Series event will take place on Aug. 3 at 3:30 p.m. on the USA network.