For the second year in a row, the NASCAR In-Season Challenge comes down to something best described as a ‘David vs. Goliath’ scenario.
Last year, it was Ty Dillon driving for Kaulig Racing against Ty Gibbs and Joe Gibbs Racing. Dillon upset Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski and Alex Bowman before losing in the finals but it created a lot of excitement for his smaller team against several juggernauts.
This year, it’s Todd Gilliland of Front Row Motorsports versus Ryan Blaney of Team Penske. To get to this point, Gilliland advanced over Chase Elliott, Bowman, Carson Hocevar and Daniel Suarez.
“Put the house on us, that’s what I would say,” Gilliland said. “We made it this far, why not us? We’ll see. I would probably agree with all of those people who say we’re fighting an uphill battle, but, honestly, we’ve been the underdogs in however many matchups there’s been, but it’s doable.
“It’s crazy. It’s only one person standing between us and winning this thing, so I’m excited about it. It’s going to be an uphill battle. Davis vs. Goliath is probably fair, but we’re going to go out and do our best and see where everything ends up.”
Blaney, the 2023 Cup Series champion is certainly the favorite, but hopes that analogy doesn’t come true in the matchup for a million dollars.
“If they’re making it a David vs. Goliath story, that’s not good news for me,” Blaney said. “I recall that David won that battle, but, no, I’ve heard that. Indianapolis, a lot of things can happen. That group runs really well. Front Row, they do a really good job. They have good drivers. Todd is a great driver and they have a really good team over there, so it’s going to be tough.
“I don’t think people should write anything off. I’m not going into this weekend thinking that it’s going to be a layup because it’s not. It’s going to be incredibly difficult and we have to be on top of our game to try to not only compete for the win, but also race that 34 car too.
“I don’t think that’s accurate what people are saying. I think it’s going to be just as tough as ever no matter who you’re facing because you’re not going to be able to have any mistakes. You better be fast on the racetrack. You better be good on pit road and your strategy better be where it should be. I think it’s going to be a heck of a battle, for sure.”
To Blaney’s point, Gilliland is no slouch in the Brickyard 400, with a pair of sixth place finishes over the past two years since the race was added back to the schedule.
“I think my confidence level is honestly pretty high,” Gilliland said. “I was able to do one of the first tests there, a tire test when we were going back to the oval at Indy, so I think that really helped me a lot of just getting off on a good foot of getting laps, understanding the racetrack, going through a lot of changes, and then once we got racing I feel like that’s been probably one of our best intermediate racetracks.
“So, I’m excited about it. I obviously know it’s going to take everything we’ve got and more probably to beat the 12 straight up, but I think just for us and the 34 team it’s going to be an interesting weekend. Chicagoland even was a step in the right direction for us, so I’m hopeful that we can continue that momentum.”
To wit, Gilliland has finishes of 16th, 19th and 8th over the past three weeks at Chicago, Atlanta and North Wilkesboro in advancing to the finals. This team is starting to gain confidence and have also climbed from 26th to 23rd in the championship standings.
Gilliland also signed a contract extension last week.
“It was a really good week for us,” Gilliland said. “I was talking after the race about how the Cup Series will beat you down. There are some weeks that are just straight-up not good, not fun, but last week was up there. That was one of our best ones for sure.
“I feel like my whole team and my crew chief was super confident going into the weekend. We tried a completely different setup and our execution was there all day, pit stops were good. A new contract is always very fun to announce and just get that out there. Everything is going our way right now, that’s for sure. I feel very lucky in the moment and we’ll just keep enjoying it.”
To get to this point, Blaney defeated Josh Berry, Shane Van Gisbergen, Josh Berry and William Byron. That includes a win earlier in the month at Atlanta.
“Yeah, if you win the race, you beat the other driver,” Blaney said. “That’s how I’ve looked at it, but I’ve enjoyed it. Last year, when they started it, I got knocked out in the first round, so I really wasn’t a part of it for more than one week, so going through the rounds this year, I’d see who I line up against that week on Sunday night or Monday – see who you’re against if you advanced in the bracket and I’m like, ‘OK, that’s awesome.’
“And then that’s really the last I think about it through the week and really, truly, through the race. Like at North Wilkesboro, I didn’t really pay attention to where (Bell) was. I asked after the race if we beat them, because I didn’t really know where he finished and they told me we did and I was like, ‘Oh, that’s awesome. We’re moving on and have a shot at a million bucks.’
“I look at it through the week and then I wouldn’t say through the race I’m focusing on that guy. Now maybe if it comes down to the end of the race and you’re both running next to each other, then you’re gonna have that on top of your mind for sure.”
What would Gilliland do for a million bucks?
“I’m trying to keep those thoughts out of my mind because, like you said, we’re not there yet. It’s gonna really suck if we get to this point and don’t win it, so we’re gonna give it our best effort and then from there I’m sure we’ll figure out something fun to do, for sure. We’ll have a good time with it.”
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