A 21st-place result in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Brickyard 400 wouldn’t usually be something for Ty Gibbs and the No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing team to celebrate, but on Sunday afternoon at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, it was enough for the 22-year-old driver to secure the $1 million payday for taking home the championship in NASCAR’s inaugural In-Season Challenge.
Race Results: NASCAR Cup Series Brickyard 400
Gibbs, who entered the bracket as the No. 6 seed, topped Ty Dillon, the Cinderella No. 32 seed who found magic on his path to the final round of the Challenge. Dillon suffered front-end damage on a restart at Lap 55, which hampered his No. 10 Kaulig Racing machine for the remainder of the event.
Dillon would see his Cinderella story come to an end with a 28th-place finish in the Brickyard 400.
While he didn’t collect the $1 million bonus, Ty Dillon was still a winner on Sunday as Gibbs made an extremely classy move following the race. The driver of the No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota vowed to send $10,000 to a charity of Dillon’s choosing.
A generous gesture by @TyGibbs. ?? pic.twitter.com/NlCbGvE4mY
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) July 27, 2025
“It’s great. First of all, I want to say, all glory to God. The other thing I want to say is [that] a million dollars is a lot of money. I’m going to give $10,000 to wherever Ty Dillon wants to choose to give to [whatever] charity. It’s his choice,” Gibbs said.
How’s that for good sportsmanship?
In addition to the $1 million check, Gibbs received an In-Season Challenge trophy, a championship ring, and a special AEW Wrestling championship belt for taking home the championship in the first-ever NASCAR In-Season Tournament.
How Did Ty Gibbs Work His Way to the $1 Million In-Season Challenge Win?
Gibbs worked his way past Justin Haley in the opening round of the Challenge, which took place at EchoPark Speedway in Atlanta. Gibbs finished 14th in that race, while Haley finished 23rd.
In the Chicago Street Race, which marked the second round of the tournament, Gibbs was able to work his way past AJ Allmendinger with a runner-up finish. Allmendinger was eliminated with a sixth-place finish.
In the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway, Gibbs was able to knock off Zane Smith with a seventh-place finish. Smith ended the day in 27th.
The following week at Dover Motor Speedway, Gibbs scored a fifth-place finish, which allowed him to move past Tyler Reddick, who ended the day with a 12th-place result. That top-five at Dover set Gibbs up to compete for the $1 million prize this weekend in the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis.
