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Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Ty Dillon Smack Talks Keselowski As He Advances In In-Season Tourney

Originally posted on Racing America on SI
By Toby Christie | Last updated Jul 6, 2025 7:56 PM ET

When the field for the inaugural NASCAR In-Season Challenge was revealed, I don't think many had No. 32 seed Ty Dillon moving very far in the bracket. Nothing against Ty Dillon or his No. 10 Kaulig Racing team, but they had a stiff opening round matchup in Atlanta against No. 1 seed Denny Hamlin.

Incredibly, a massive 24-car melee on Lap 69 at EchoPark Speedway ensnarled Hamlin, who would go on to finish 31st, while Dillon would notch his first top-10 finish of the season, an eighth-place run, just at the right time.

"Hey Denny [Hamlin] fans, I knocked out your favorite driver," Dillon boasted in his post-race interview at EchoPark Speedway.

It was a boast that seemed so bold that Dillon felt compelled to apologize to Hamlin. Hamlin took the smack talk like a champ and told Dillon not to apologize. A week later, Dillon, the last-place seed in the tournament, continued his tournament magic and found a way to advance to the third round of the bracket.

Race Results: NASCAR Cup Series Grant Park 165

Like last week in Atlanta, Dillon secured his advancement in the early portion of the race as Brad Keselowski, the No. 17 seed, was swept up in a crash on Lap 4, which was sparked by Carson Hocevar. Hocevar clipped the inside wall in Turn 9, slammed into the wall on the straightaway leading to Turn 10, and spun back across the field in front of Dillon's older brother Austin Dillon.

Keselowski attempted to slow for the crash, but he was forced into the carnage as Daniel Suarez couldn't get slowed up in time, and he collided with Keselowski and sent him into Hocevar's motionless No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet.

Dillon suffered a flat tire late in Sunday's race, but was still able to grind out a 20th-place finish in the Grant Park 165. With Keselowski credited with a 37th-place result, Dillon is onto the next round. And like last week, he had another round of trash talk, this time for Keselowski.

"I knew in a basketball city, going up against Brad in a game of knockout, I was going to have a good chance," Dillon quipped.

For those not familiar with the reference, Dillon was poking fun at Keselowski's ability, or lack-there-of, at playing basketball in a charity event during the halftime of a Charlotte Bobcats (now Hornets) game, which was captured on a video that has lived in YouTube infamy for 15 years.

Damn, Dillon, that's cold. As ice-cold as Keselowski's jump shot.

Now Dillon will be paired up with Alex Bowman, the second-best seed remaining in the tournament, next weekend at Sonoma Raceway. While Bowman is very solid at road course racing, don't count out Dillon, who seems to have the magic horsehoe working in his favor in this tournament, and he couldn't have picked a better week to be facing off against Bowman, who saw his feud with Bubba Wallace reignited in the closing laps of Sunday's race at the Chicago Street Course.

After several laps of bumping and banging, Bowman sent Wallace spinning from a top-10 position, which resulted in Wallace finishing a disappointing 28th. Will retaliation be on Wallace's mind next week? If so, Dillon could continue this improbable run through the NASCAR In-Season Tournament.

In-Season Tournament Update:

The eight drivers that have advanced to the third round of the NASCAR In-Season Challenge are No. 32 seed Ty Dillon, No. 8 seed Alex Bowman, No. 12 seed John Hunter Nemechek, No. 20 seed Erik Jones, No. 15 seed Ryan Preece, No. 23 seed Tyler Reddick, No. 6 seed Ty Gibbs, and No. 14 seed Zane Smith.

Eliminated from the $1 million winner-take-all bracket Challenge were No. 17 seed Brad Keselowski, No. 9 seed Bubba Wallace, No. 5 seed Chase Elliott, No. 29 seed Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 31 seed Noah Gragson, No. 26 seed Carson Hocevar, No. 22 seed AJ Allmendinger, and No. 3 seed Chris Buescher.