Zane Smith has splashy purchase in mind if he wins NASCAR's In-Season Challenge's $1M prize

In Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series race at Sonoma Raceway, Zane Smith and Ty Gibbs will be racing for more than just a season-defining win that could put them in the Cup Series playoffs. 

Smith and Gibbs are matched up the third round of NASCAR's inaugural In-Season Challenge — the Elite 8, if you will — and will battle head-to-head in Sunday's race for the chance to move on to the penultimate round at Dover Motor Speedway on July 20. 

"It's cool to still be alive in the bracket challenge," Smith said during a media call on Wednesday. "I hope to advance this week as well, but I'm focused on beating everyone and hopefully advancing into the playoffs." 

Since the advent of stage racing in 2017, road courses tend to split drivers into two strategies — pitting just before the end of a stage in order to stay out under yellow, or staying out before the stage end in order to gather crucial stage points. 

With Gibbs and Smith racing to advance in the tournament, Smith says he and the No. 38 team might be playing closer attention than usual to Gibbs' strategy on Sunday. 

"It depends where we're at on speed (and) what our day is shaping up to be," Smith said when asked about his strategy in comparison to Gibbs. "Just going to be focused on ourselves and seeing where we shape out to be. Obviously, we want to leave (Sonoma) with a trophy or a top-five or top-10. But if not, we're going to do everything we can to finish in front of the 54 and advance." 

Should Smith win the In-Season Challenge on July 27 at the Brickyard 400, he and the No. 38 team would win a $1 million prize. So, what would Smith spend that extra cash on? 

"I don't know how much I would get. Hopefully I would get a decent chunk and be able to split it across the whole No. 38 team," Smith said. "If I got any left over, maybe put something towards a pool."

All quotations obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.