While countless NASCAR fans have likely already lost interest in the inaugural In-Season Challenge because their favorite driver has already been eliminated, fans of dark horses couldn\u2019t have picked a better choice to cheer on than Ty Dillon.<\/p>\n
Dillon was the final seed picked for the 32-driver tournament and the Kaulig Racing driver has proven to be the biggest story thus far of the five-round Challenge.<\/p>\n
The grandson of Richard Childress and younger brother of Austin Dillon is being referred to as the In-Season Challenge\u2019s \u201cgiant killer\u201d<\/a> after he knocked off top seed Denny Hamlin in the first round at Atlanta, and then kept the momentum going by topping No. 17 seed Brad Keselowski in Round 2 at Chicago.<\/p>\n With the Challenge field now cut from 32 to 8, Dillon will face No. 8 seed Alex Bowman this Sunday on the twisting road course at Sonoma. In his first two rounds of the Challenge, Bowman has gotten past Joey Logano and Bubba Wallace.<\/p>\n In head-to-head competition in the first 19 Cup races this year, Bowman has finished ahead of Dillon 12 times, including a 4-1 mark versus Dillon in the last five races.<\/p>\n But here\u2019s the biggest statistic that is in Bowman\u2019s favor heading into Sonoma: on road courses head-to-head since 2022, Bowman has finished ahead of Dillon in 13 of 14 events.<\/p>\n Given he\u2019s struggled through much of his Cup career, Dillon is enjoying his new-found success in the Challenge. After beating Hamlin in Round 1, he borrowed one of Hamlin\u2019s favorite lines when it comes to opposing fans.<\/p>\n \u201cAll you Denny fans out there, I just knocked out your favorite driver,\u201d Dillon said with a big smile<\/a> after finishing eighth at Atlanta, compared to 31st by Hamlin.<\/p>\n Then at Chicago, Dillon finished 20th to 37th for Keselowski, prompting him to say on social media<\/a>, \u201cI knew in a basketball city going up against Brad (Keselowski) in a game of knockout, I was going to have a good chance.\u201d<\/p>\n Dillon would have to bring his road-course A-game if he is to beat Bowman, especially since the No. 48 HMS driver is three-for-three in top-20 finishes at Sonoma in the Next Gen era while Dillon has a best finish of only P23 in the same period.<\/p>\n