How $1 Million in Cash & a Playoff Berth for Ty Dillon Could Supercharge NASCAR’s In-Season Challenge

When he starts Sunday’s Brickyard 400 at the legendary Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Ty Dillon will become one of the biggest underdogs in NASCAR history.

Dillon was the 32^nd and final seed in the inaugural NASCAR In-Season Challenge, a series of five races across four different track types: superspeedway (Atlanta Motor Speedway), street course (Chicago Street Race), road course (Sonoma Raceway) and a unique one-mile all-concrete oval (Dover Motor Speedway).

The finale of the five round, single-elimination tournament at Indianapolis will pit the No. 6 seed, Ty Gibbs, against Dillon.

While no one said anything on the record, it’s likely there were a fair number of critics who laughed at and derided Dillon’s chances in the Challenge, going as far as to say he was simply a throw-in. Why, it wouldn’t be surprising if some critics felt Dillon was a mercy pick by NASCAR, thinking he’d be eliminated in the first round, and that would be that.

But the younger grandson of NASCAR icon Richard Childress has not only proven he has staying power, he’s done enough. In some cases like Sunday, just enough to keep his Challenge hopes alive. He finished 20^th and was only one spot ahead of his semifinal challenger, John Hunter Nemechek.

Just like he did by finishing ahead of Nemechek at Dover, that’s all Dillon has to do at Indy: finish one spot ahead of Gibbs, and he takes home a sweet $1 million prize.

Heck, if I was Dillon’s PR person, I’d have a costume made up of the comic book character Underdog and have Dillon do a quick-change before he is presented with the $1-mill check.

And if he wins, I can hear Dillon going into full impersonation mode of Underdog, barking his trademark motto: “There’s no need to fear, Underdog is here!” Or he could utter Mighty Mouse’s calling card: “Here I come to save the day!”

It’s not surprising that many of the sport’s top drivers have lost interest in the In-Season Challenge because they made early exits. None bigger than No. 1 seed Denny Hamlin, who fell victim at Atlanta to, take a guess? Yep, Ty Dillon himself.

Dillon has never made the Cup playoffs, but Sunday’s race at Indy will have that kind of atmosphere. He and his Kaulig Racing team have worked incredibly hard to do just enough to roll through the first four rounds on top of their challengers.

The In-Season Challenge has grown on me and I’m really enjoying the storyline of Dillon taking on Gibbs, grandson of NASCAR and NFL icon Joe Gibbs.

But I want to add a well-deserved twist to the potential of Dillon winning the Challenge. Or even Gibbs for that matter, if he finishes higher than Dillon at Indy.

NASCAR can change the rules real easy

NASCAR makes the rules and can change rules in-season if it has to or feels the need to. It’s done it plenty of times over the years. That’s why I believe to not only highlight the concept of the In-Season Challenge and allow it to continue for next season and beyond, but also that the Challenge winner should receive an automatic berth into the Cup playoffs.

Hear me out about this. Dillon and Gibbs are both outside of playoff contention right now. Unless one or both of them win one of the five remaining regular season races, neither will make the playoffs.

Dillon has never reached the playoffs, while Gibbs made the playoffs last year in his sophomore season in Cup, but finished as quiet as a church mouse: in 15^th place.

So let’s say Dillon or Gibbs wins the Challenge and receive a playoff berth. Odds are they won’t advance past the first round, but that’s okay. They will still have received an honor they otherwise would not have been able to earn via either winning at least one race or having enough points in the standings to make it into the 16-driver playoff field.

The goodwill and storyline will make NASCAR look like heroes

Think of the storyline and the goodwill NASCAR will have earned with fans, especially new fans, which is what the sport needs more of.

I don’t care if Dillon finishes 39^th and Gibbs 40^th at Indy. If Dillon finishes ahead of Gibbs, he still gets the $1 million bonus but should also get something else for the effort he and his team put into their five Challenge episodes. That’s where the playoff berth comes in and it makes perfect sense.

Dillon will come into Indy in 30^th place, too far to still make the playoffs on points. Gibbs is on the bubble, sitting 16^th in the standings. But that’s a misnomer. Because three drivers below Gibbs in the standings have earned wins, they have automatic berths, dropping Gibbs to 19^th and 52 points out of the playoffs.

Here’s another thing NASCAR officials should consider: Heading to Indy, 12 drivers have punched their ticket into the playoffs by earning at least one win. Four other drivers will qualify based upon points.

But if NASCAR really wants to shake things up, and believes the In-Season Challenge will only get better over time, it can give either Dillon or Gibbs an automatic playoff berth for winning the Challenge.

Correction: NASCAR ‘should’ do so. It may just be me, but I’m willing to bet that if given the choice, Dillon or Gibbs would gladly trade the $1 million for an automatic playoff berth. What do you think?