In the end, it came down to a pair of Tys—one in a Joe Gibbs rocketship and the other with a Kaulig underdog story that was pure motorsport folklore.
Ty Gibbs didn’t win the Brickyard 400, not by a long shot. In fact, he rolled across the line in 21st, which is about as glamorous as lukewarm gas station coffee. But it was good enough to defeat Ty Dillon—who finished 28th after his Cinderella carriage turned back into a pumpkin somewhere near Turn 1 on a Stage 2 restart—and win the inaugural NASCAR In-Season Challenge.
Gibbs is now $1 million richer, and Dillon is left to wonder what might’ve been if Lady Luck hadn’t wandered off for a hot dog at the worst possible moment.
This wasn’t exactly a photo finish—unless the photo was blurry, slightly tilted, and featured two exhausted drivers just happy the madness was over. Gibbs came into the Brickyard finale riding a wave of consistency. He never finished worse than seventh through Rounds 2 to 4, taking down Justin Haley, AJ Allmendinger, Zane Smith, and Tyler Reddick to punch his ticket to Indy. The kid’s been sharp, calculated, and unshakable—like someone playing chess with a jackhammer in the background.
But Sunday? Sunday was scrappy. He bailed from 19th to pit for fresh tires and fuel after a weather delay brought out the red flag with four laps left in regulation. Then he dodged a wreck involving Zane Smith and Reddick during overtime like a guy weaving through airport luggage carts on a Red Bull drip. No damage, no drama, and no need to push. Just coast to the finish. It was ugly. It was smart. It worked.
Ty Dillon, meanwhile, had his dream run detonated on the first restart of Stage 2. A stack-up shoved his nose into something hard and unfriendly, and suddenly his Kaulig Chevy had all the aerodynamic efficiency of a barn door. From there, it was survival mode.
“Disappointing, obviously,” Dillon said. “You can’t predict everything. That’s what’s been cool about this whole thing—you never knew what was going to happen. But I hate that we didn’t get to really give them a run for it there. If we don’t knock the nose off on that restart, we probably put some pressure on him. But we lost airflow, the motor wouldn’t run on the straights, and then… well, you’re just kind of riding the rest of the day.”
And ride he did—all the way to 28th and the end of a bracket run that stunned the garage. This is the guy who started as the No. 32 seed and bounced Denny Hamlin in the opener. He edged out Bowman at Sonoma with a buzzer-beater move and clawed his way past John Hunter Nemechek at Dover thanks to a late lucky dog. The No. 10 Chevrolet wasn’t supposed to get this far. But like every great Cinderella story, it ran out of midnight.
Gibbs, meanwhile, was humble(ish) in victory.
“It’s great! All glory to God,” he said. “And $1 million is a lot of money, so I’m going to donate $10,000 to whichever charity Ty Dillon wants. It’s his choice.”
Classy move. Then he reeled off a laundry list of sponsors, executives, and Monster Energy reps like someone reading off a racehorse pedigree. But to his credit, he gets it. This wasn’t just about the money.
“We had a fast SAIA Toyota Camry,” he added. “Didn’t end up where we wanted, but we lost track position. Had to play it a little safe. Still—awesome to win it. Thanks to NASCAR and TNT for the opportunity.”
With four races left in the regular season, Gibbs still hasn’t notched his first career Cup win. But this million-dollar monkey off his back could be the start of something. For Dillon, it’s a frustrating finish—but one hell of a ride.
Both Tys defied expectations. One broke the bracket. The other broke the bank.
And just like that, NASCAR’s first-ever In-Season Challenge ends not with a trophy, but with a very large check—and a reminder that even in a sport built on speed, the bracket can still break hearts.
Greg was a writer for DriveTribe supporting Amazon's The Grand Tour and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, and a Masters degree in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek and a regular contributor to Forbes.
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