By David Morgan, Associate Editor
SPEEDWAY, Ind. – Two drivers enter; one leaves $1 million richer.
The second running of the NASCAR In-Season Challenge comes down to Sunday’s running of the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway with a pair of Ford drivers in Ryan Blaney and Todd Gilliland facing off to see which of them will be taking home the million-dollar prize.
Blaney, the 2023 Cup Series champion and 19-time Cup Series race winner methodically worked his way through with victories over Josh Berry, Shane van Gisbergen, William Byron, and Christopher Bell to punch his ticket to Indianapolis for a shot at the big prize, winning at Atlanta Motor Speedway along the way.
After getting eliminated in the opening round last season, Blaney explained his excitement for getting through to the championship round in this year’s iteration of the tournament.
“I got knocked out of it the first round last year in Atlanta, so it was nice to be part of it and see who you’re facing every single week and go through the gauntlet,” said Blaney. “It’s nice to end it here at Indy. I think this is a great place to end it – at a really amazing racetrack, so it should be an exciting one on Sunday.”
As for Gilliland, he certainly comes into this race as the underdog in his No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford, but has found a way to stay alive in the tournament, following the path carved out by Ty Dillon a year ago to be the unlikely driver to make it to the finals.
Gilliland defeated Daniel Suarez, Carson Hocevar, Alex Bowman, and Chase Elliott to join Blaney in the tournament finale, noting that they may have had to use some luck to get to Indianapolis, but it’s anyone’s race now that we’re here.
“I definitely think we’ve had luck on our side, but if you get past four or five drivers at this point, it’s always gonna take a little bit of luck,” said Gilliland. “I felt our speed was much better at North Wilkesboro, so I feel like we earned that one more.
“I’m excited about it. It’s been something fun for my team to focus on. They’re pushing super hard for Indianapolis, so it’s been cool to see those guys rise up to the occasion and we’re hoping for one more really good week.”
Both drivers and teams are having fun with the matchup, with Team Penske putting out a video on social media earlier in the week alluding to Gilliland’s sponsor Grillo’s Pickles with Blaney smashing a pickle following a mashup video showcasing Blaney’s success this season.
Alive and well. pic.twitter.com/hmXdDGaqPV
— Team Penske (@Team_Penske) July 23, 2026
And while it might seem like the face off of Blaney vs Gilliland might be a slam dunk for Blaney, he was quick to shut that down, noting that Gilliland and FRM will be a worthy opponent on Sunday, especially at a track like Indianapolis.
Since returning to the IMS oval for the Brickyard 400, both Blaney and Gilliland have been evenly matched with Blaney scoring finishes of third and seventh, to Gilliland’s pair of sixth place finishes.
“If they’re making it a David vs. Goliath story, that’s not good news for me. I recall that David won that battle, but, no, I’ve heard that,” Blaney said.
“Indianapolis, a lot of things can happen. That group runs really well. Front Row, they do a really good job. They have good drivers. Todd is a great driver and they have a really good team over there, so it’s gonna be tough. I don’t think people should write anything off. I’m not going into this weekend thinking that it’s going to be a layup because it’s not. It’s gonna be incredibly difficult and we have to be on top of our game to try to not only compete for the win, but also race that 34 car too.
“I don’t think that’s accurate what people are saying. I think it’s gonna be just as tough as ever no matter who you’re facing because you’re not gonna be able to have any mistakes. You better be fast on the racetrack. You better be good on pit road and your strategy better be where it should be.
“I think it’s gonna be a heck of a battle, for sure.”
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