How early is too early to start declaring curses?
Because NASCAR is in the middle of its second-ever In-Season Challenge. Small sample size. But No. 1 seeds are 0-for-2 in the first round.
In 2025, No. 32 Ty Dillon upset top-seeded Denny Hamlin by finishing better at Atlanta. And on June 28, bottom-seeded Alex Bowman kicked off the 2026 event by edging Tyler Reddick at Sonoma.
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It’s probably too soon to tell. Last year’s tournament began at a superspeedway. This year’s bracket started at a road course.
We’ll check back in 2027 or after a couple of normal oval tracks before making a final call.
As for the rest of the field, not too many shockers took place Sunday. Only two other results could be considered upsets based on seeding — No. 25 Todd Gilliland beating No. 8 Daniel Suarez and No. 20 Michael McDowell eliminating No. 13 Bubba Wallace.
The rest went chalk.
Round 2 is scheduled for July 5 at Chicagoland. The challenge runs until July 26 at Indianapolis.
Here’s a look at the full results and the updated matchups.
NASCAR in-season tournament results at Sonoma
NASCAR in-season tournament second-round matchups
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: NASCAR In-Season Challenge top seed is jinxed? Results, bracket update
Reporting by Chris Vinel, Daytona Beach News-Journal / The Daytona Beach News-Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Chris Vinel, Daytona Beach News-Journal | USA TODAY Network
