Throughout the inaugural NASCAR Cup Series in-season tournament, Ty Dillon has been perfectly typecast as the ‘Cinderella’ story, starting as the 32nd and final seed in the bracket-style tournament.
At EchoPark Speedway (formerly Atlanta), Dillon put together a season-high result of eighth and knocked Denny Hamlin, the No. 1 seed in the tournament, out of the running following a massive wreck on the backstretch.
The following weekend at the Chicago Street Course, it only took a 20th-place finish for Dillon to defeat Brad Keselowski, who got his car destroyed in a multi-car accident that blocked the racetrack on the third lap of the race.
Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway was destined to be his most difficult challenge of the tournament, going up against Alex Bowman, who has been one of the top points scorers on road courses in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2025.
The closing laps of Sunday’s event featured several different strategies, and when it came down to a late-race restart, Dillon and Bowman found themselves in the heat of the battle, looking to decide who would advance to the semifinals of the in-season tournament.
As the field approached the Turn 11 hairpin on the final lap of the race, Dillon found himself directly on the rear bumper of Bowman, and delivered what could end up being a million-dollar shove, knocking the No. 48 up the racetrack.
When $1,000,000 is on the line, you’re going to use the bumper. ?@tydillon | @Alex_Bowman pic.twitter.com/m5XA8wMkUB
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) July 14, 2025
Dillon was successful in grabbing the 17th position from Bowman, thus ensuring his spot in the semi-final round of the in-season tournament.
“It was a rough couple of laps there. Alex [Bowman] and I race really clean,” Dillon said after the race. “I told him — man, if it wasn’t for the million dollars, I probably wouldn’t have done that, but I had to. It’s been an incredible run for this No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet team.”
All smiles from all involved.
Good battle, @Alex_Bowman!! ? pic.twitter.com/RBztdZSXjg
— Kaulig Racing (@KauligRacing) July 13, 2025
The Lewisville, North Carolina-native will now be facing off against John Hunter Nemechek in the semifinal round this weekend at Dover Motor Speedway, after Nemechek defeated his LEGACY MOTOR CLUB teammate Erik Jones at Sonoma.
Now, Dover is the site of one of Dillon’s strongest-ever runs in the NASCAR Cup Series, when he led 27 laps and finished 14th at the one-mile concrete racetrack in 2017 for Germain Racing.
“We’re going to give it all we’ve got at Dover; put pressure on the guys. I think you’ve seen through this that our team doesn’t quit,” Dillon added. “I saw the No. 48 there at the end, and I knew it was our opportunity to race hard and go get him. Just proud of this team’s effort.”
Also joining Dillon in the semi-final round of the in-season tournament will be John Hunter Nemechek (defeating Erik Jones), Ty Gibbs (defeating Zane Smith), and Tyler Reddick (defeating Ryan Preece).
The AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 at Dover Motor Speedway will take place next Sunday, July 20, at 2:00 pm ET. Coverage of the event, the second-to-last in the in-season tournament, will be broadcast on TNT Sports, Performance Racing Network, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90, and HBO Max.
