After Denny Hamlin and Brad Keselowski, Can Giant-Killer Ty Dillon Take Down Alex Bowman?

While countless NASCAR fans have likely already lost interest in the inaugural In-Season Challenge because their favorite driver has already been eliminated, fans of dark horses couldn’t have made a better pick than Ty Dillon.

Dillon was the final seed picked for the 32-driver tournament, and the Kaulig Racing driver has proven to be the biggest story thus far of the five-round Challenge.

The grandson of Richard Childress and younger brother of Austin Dillon is being referred to as the In-Season Challenge’s “giant killer” after he knocked off top seed Denny Hamlin in the first round at Atlanta, and then kept the momentum going by topping No. 17 seed Brad Keselowski in Round 2 at Chicago.

With the Challenge field now cut from 32 to 8, Dillon will face No. 8 seed Alex Bowman this Sunday on the twisting road course at Sonoma. In his first two rounds of the Challenge, Bowman has gotten past Joey Logano and Bubba Wallace.

In head-to-head competition in the first 19 Cup races this year, Bowman has finished ahead of Dillon 12 times, including a 4-1 mark versus Dillon in the last five races.

But here’s the biggest statistic that is in Bowman’s favor heading into Sonoma: on road courses head-to-head since 2022, Bowman has finished ahead of Dillon in 13 of 14 events.

Given he’s struggled through much of his Cup career, Dillon is enjoying his newfound success in the Challenge. After beating Hamlin in Round 1, he borrowed one of Hamlin’s favorite lines when it comes to opposing fans.

“All you Denny fans out there, I just knocked out your favorite driver,” Dillon said with a big smile after finishing eighth at Atlanta, compared to 31^st by Hamlin.

Then at Chicago, Dillon finished 20^th, compared to Keselowski’s 37^th, prompting him to say on social media, “I knew in a basketball city going up against Brad (Keselowski) in a game of knockout, I was going to have a good chance.”

Dillon would have to bring his road-course A-game if he wants to beat Bowman, especially since the No. 48 HMS driver is three-for-three in top-20 finishes at Sonoma in the Next Gen era while Dillon has a best finish of only P23 in the same period.