In-Season Tournament Wide Open After Several Top Seeds Eliminated

One chaotic race at EchoPark Speedway in Atlanta is all it took to turn the inaugural NASCAR In-Season Tournament on its head.

In the opening race of the five-race head-to-head elimination bracket-style tournament, several of the favorites to take home the $1 million prize for winning the overall tournament fell.

No. 7 seed Ryan Blaney was the first big-name driver to see his tournament bid come to an end as he was swept up in a crash on Lap 57 of the Quaker State 400. As Christopher Bell, the No. 4 seed, spun out in front of Blaney, and the majority of the field, Blaney cut his car down to the apron of the track in an effort to skirt past the crash.

Unfortunately, Blaney would get clipped on his way by, and would go hard into the outside wall as a result. With Blaney done for the day, that meant No. 26 seed Carson Hocevar had advanced to the next round of the tournament.

Things would get even crazier in Stage 2 of last Saturday's race as a massive 24-car pileup ensued on Lap 69. This race would spell disaster for No. 1 seed Denny Hamlin, No. 2 seed Chase Briscoe, No. 4 seed Christopher Bell, No. 13 seed Ross Chastain.

William Byron, who was the 18th seed, and Joey Logano, the 25th seed, would also be eliminated from the tournament by way of this crash. And while their seeds didn't suggest it, both drivers were expected to compete as some of the favorites to win the tournament.

While Blaney, Hamlin, Bell, Briscoe, Byron, Logano, and Kyle Larson failed to advance to Round 2 of the NASCAR In-Season Challenge, several underdogs such as Ty Dillon (32 seed), Noah Gragson (31 seed), Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (29 seed), AJ Allmendinger (22 seed), Erik Jones (20 seed), John Hunter Nemechek (12 seed), and Zane Smith (14 seed) all were able to move on and will attempt to keep their unlikely stories in the In-Season Tournament rolling through this weekend's Grant Park 165 at the Chicago Street Course.

With the field of drivers set, so too are the head-to-head matchups for Sunday's race. Unlike some bracket-style tournaments, where the top seed remaining is matched against the bottom seed remaining in each round, the NASCAR In-Season Tournament, matches drivers up within four quadrants of the bracket, which has led to some real opportunities for some underdog drivers to advance to the third round of the tournament.

Here are the eight head-to-head matchups for the Grant Park 165:

Ty Dillon (No. 32) vs Brad Keselowski (No. 17)
Alex Bowman (No. 8) vs Bubba Wallace (No. 9)
John Hunter Nemechek (No. 12) vs Chase Elliott (No. 5)
Erik Jones (No. 20) vs Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (No. 29)
Noah Gragson (No. 31) vs Ryan Preece (No. 15)
Carson Hocevar (No. 26) vs Tyler Reddick (No. 23)
AJ Allmendinger (No. 22) vs Ty Gibbs (No. 6)
Zane Smith (No. 14) vs Chris Buescher (No. 3)

Chris Buescher (No. 3 seed), Chase Elliott (No. 5), Ty Gibbs (No. 6), Alex Bowman (No. 8), and Bubba Wallace (No. 9) are the lone surviving top-10 seeds following the opening race last weekend at EchoPark Speedway.

And as you see, there are some very interesting matchups again this week. Alex Bowman vs Bubba Wallace will be one of the head-to-head battles to really keep an eye on, as that matchup will eliminate another top-10 seed regardless of how it plays out.

There are also several paths where lower seeds could move onto the next round.

While Ty Dillon, who entered the tournament as the final seed in the entire contest, isn't known as a phenomenal road racer, neither is Brad Keselowski, who he is matched up against this weekend. In fact, Keselowski has an average finish of 21st in his two starts at the Chicago Street Course, so, knowing that, there is a true path for Dillon to continue his upset run through the tournament, but like he did in Atlanta, Dillon will have to take care of business to make it happen.

Another intriguing matchup is Erik Jones vs Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Jones has been one of the hottest drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series over the last seven races as he has climbed from 29th in the championship standings to 16th in that span. Stenhouse has done just the opposite as he has dropped from 14th in the point standings to 21st over the last seven races.

However, Stenhouse finished one spot behind Jones this past weekend in Atlanta as Jones crossed the finish line in fifth and Stenhouse was sixth.

Stenhouse is not known as a super strong road racer, but the HYAK Motorsports driver has finished on the lead lap in 15 of the 18 races this season, the second-best of any driver in the NASCAR Cup Series. Jones has 13 lead lap finishes. What this means is that if Jones finds trouble, Stenhouse will likely be in a position to capitalize on those troubles on Sunday.

Which eight drivers will advance to the third round of the NASCAR In-Season Challenge? We'll all find out together in the Grant Park 165 at the Chicago Street Course on Sunday, July 6 (click here for the full weekend television schedule). All of the In-Season Tournament races will be televised on TNT, and television coverage of this weekend's race in Chicago will kick off at 2:00 PM ET.

Here are the eight head-to-head matchups for the Grant Park 165:

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