NASCAR's in-season tournament rolls into Sonoma Raceway for the third of five rounds on the hunt for $1 million.
And somehow, Ty Dillon is still here.
The Chicago Street Race trimmed the field down, with four matchups this weekend at the California road course set to determine the "final four" drivers fighting for the inaugural in-season bracket title.
What are the rules of the NASCAR In-Season Tournament?
Think March Madness, but cars, and those who are eliminated will get to keep driving.
32 drivers qualified for the in-season tournament by being in the top 32 of the NASCAR Cup standings. There are five races in the challenge; Atlanta was the opening round and dropped the field from 32 to 16. Then Chicago brought us down to eight.
This week in Sonoma, that bracket will go from eight to four.
Who is left in the NASCAR tournament bracket?
32 has quickly become eight. pic.twitter.com/bnp2nETEDs
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) July 6, 2025
Lowest overall seed Ty Dillon has continued his unprecedented run after Brad Keselowski was involved in a wreck not of his own doing. He'll go against Alex Bowman.
Then it'll be both Legacy Motor Club cars going head-to-head, Ryan Preece vs. Tyler Reddick and Ty Gibbs against another unexpected name in Zane Smith.
What races are left in the tournament?
Including this weekend in California, three races are left. All races will be on TNT. Chase Elliott won the opening round in Atlanta, while Shane van Gisbergen (who didn't qualify for the tournament) won in Chicago.
Round | Track | Date/Time |
|---|---|---|
Round of 8 | Sonoma Raceway (Road course) | Sunday, July 13 @ 3:30 p.m. |
Round of 4 | Dover (1-mile oval) | Sunday, July 20 @ 2 p.m. |
Championship Round | Indianapolis (2.5-mile oval) | Sunday, July 27 @ 2 p.m. |
Predictions for the third round of the NASCAR In-Season Tournament
No. 8 Alex Bowman vs. No. 32 Ty Dillon
Two weeks, two times completely writing off Ty Dillon ... and two "wins" for the No. 10 car. That's the beauty of racing (and narrow, unpredictable tracks like Atlanta and Sonoma): Anyone can advance! But I think this is where it ends for sure, right? Bowman is decent, but not great, at Sonoma. He's finished between 9th and 16th in all six of his Sonoma appearances with Hendrick. Dillon has also never notched a top-20 here. Surely this pick will come crashing down when two lap-down cars crash in front of Bowman in the closing laps and the No. 48 can't miss it or something. And then Dillon is in the final four.
WINNER: Bowman
No. 12 John Hunter Nemechek vs. No. 13 Erik Jones
This is definitely a moral victory for Jimmie Johnson's team, which is still not competing as much as they hoped but has improved quite a bit in 2025. Jones and Nemechek are still on the outside looking in for the playoffs, but are 20th and 22nd in the 2025 standings (they finished 28th and 34th last season). When it comes to road courses, neither are stars, but Jones has struggled to earn top 20s over the past three seasons, while Nemechek has back-to-back road-racing top 15s and seems to have made solid improvements overall in 2025.
WINNER: Nemechek
No. 15 Ryan Preece vs. No. 23 Tyler Reddick
This matchup presents an interesting conundrum because at any road course, you think of road expert Tyler Reddick, right? But Sonoma has not been kind to him: His P8 last year was his first finish better than 19th in four tries. Neither driver comes into this weekend locked into the playoffs, but Reddick has a massive cushion, while Preece sits just two points outside of punching a ticket in his first season with RFK. I think Preece could very well get his way into the postseason with safe, solid results, but I don't think he has the edge here.
WINNER: Reddick
No. 6 Ty Gibbs vs. No. 14 Zane Smith
Zane Smith could be another unsung hero in this tournament if he can continue a deep run. Smith sits 25th in points and faces Gibbs, who usually performs well at road courses and has finally started stringing some decent performances together after a horrible early portion of the year. But I'm scoping out an upset: Smith has been serviceable as of late (four top 15s over the last six races), finished 16th last year at Sonoma (his highest finish of the season to that point after the Daytona 500) and pulled a P2 here in Trucks in 2022, only losing out to Kyle Busch by a second. So why not!
WINNER: Smith