There was more coincidence than drama when Denny Hamlin and Ty Dillon arrived at the dais in the Sonoma Raceway media center.
A year ago, in the inaugural NASCAR Cup Series In-Season Challenge, Dillon knocked top-seeded Hamlin out of the bracket in the first race, which was held at EchoPark Speedway near Atlanta.
In this year’s Challenge, which runs concurrently with TNT’s five-race portion of the broadcast schedule, Hamlin is seeded second behind series leader Tyler Reddick. Dillon is the 31st seed and will have a chance to eliminate Hamlin again when the Challenge starts with Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway (3:30 p.m. ET on TNT, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
“They refuse to put us on a standard oval,” quipped Hamlin, who was eliminated last year on a drafting track.
Defying the odds, Dillon advanced to the final round last year, only to lose the $1-million, winner-take-all prize to Ty Gibbs at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
“I’m just glad to be a part of this In-Season Challenge again,” Dillon said. “It’s ironic that we’re going up against each other in the first round again, so it’ll be fun.”
Another upset is not out of the question. In the era of the Gen 7 race car (2022 to present), Sonoma Raceway is Hamlin’s worst track statistically. In the four Gen 7 races, his average finish at the 1.99-mile road course is a dismal 31.25.
