NASCAR’S In-Season Challenge Could Be Giving Drivers Low in the Points Motivation in 2026

We are heading into the third round of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series In-Season Challenge. Eight drivers still have a shot at a one-million-dollar prize. These drivers are Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney, Todd Gilliland, Chase Briscoe, Chase Elliott, Christopher Bell, Alex Bowman, and William Byron. While drivers like Hamlin and Elliott are toward the front of the standings, Gilliland and Bowman are 25th and 29th, respectively. Before the challenge began, they were seeded 25th and 32nd. With two competitors who were in the bottom-10 in points in the final eight, that raises a question. Can NASCAR’s In-Season Tournament give underdogs a lot of motivation to improve their performance?

The In-Season Challenge began last year, and multiple drivers below the top-20 in points made it to round three. 32nd-ranked Ty Dillon highlighted the tournament by making it all the way to the final round, and 29th-ranked John Hunter Nemechek also made the final four of the tournament. The driver of the 48 in Bowman is still alive as the 32nd seed. The 32nd seed involves taking on the points leader after race 16, the first seed, in the first round, which makes both Dillon's and Bowman’s runs even more impressive. Well, at least it would look that good on paper. 

An argument could be made that drivers could be relying on issues from their opponent instead of their own performance. While the younger Dillon brother and the Arizona-born driver have each advanced, both of the top seeds had issues in the first-round races. Hamlin, last year's first seed, crashed out of the 2025 Quaker State 400 at Atlanta while Dillon finished in eighth. Tyler Reddick had a power steering failure in the first round at Sonoma, and he finished several laps down in 36th. Gilliland also relied on his first-round opponent, Daniel Suarez, spinning late and finishing 31st. 

Last season, the Kaulig Racing driver did not improve after his long tournament run, finishing 33rd in the final points standings. That provides a good reason to believe that this tournament won’t help determine who makes the 2026 Cup Series Chase. The major difference in 2026 is that the driver of the 48 missed four races this season due to vertigo, which made him fall to 32nd in the standings. The Hendrick Motorsports Chevy has much better resources to compete than Kaulig Racing, and Bowman is a proven race winner. 

Whether the In-Season Tournament gives low-point drivers motivation will depend on Bowman and Gilliland’s performance after the tournament ends. Will both of these competitors keep up their hot streak after the August 9th race at Iowa? If they can, then the tournament could be a huge benefit for low-point drivers. If not, the tournament may just be a set of five races in July and August rather than a key contributor to the 2026 Cup Series field.