When the NASCAR Cup Series travels to wine country and Sonoma Raceway, it will also be the first race of the In Season Challenge.
Using the point standings, the seeding was set at the end of the race at Pocono Raceway with Tyler Reddick as the number one seed.
Alex Bowman and Cole Custer were tired for the 32nd spot but a tie-breaker – the highest finish in 2026 – Bowman earned the final spot.
The five tracks participating in the 2026 In Season Challenge are Sonoma Raceway, Chicagoland Speedway, EchoPark Speedway, North Wilkesboro Speedway, and Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Each week drivers will face off against each other with the winner moving on to the next round. At the end of the five week challenge one driver will survive and be crowned the winner of the $1 million dollar prize.
The drivers participating in the In Season Challenge:
1. Tyler Reddick
2. Denny Hamlin
3. Ryan Blaney
4. Chase Elliott
5. Ty Gibbs
6. Kyle Larson
7. Chris Buescher
8. Daniel Suárez
9. Carson Hocevar
10. Christopher Bell
11. William Byron
12. Chase Briscoe
13. Bubba Wallace
14. Shane van Gisbergen
15. Erik Jones
16. Austin Cindric
17. Brad Keselowski
18. Joey Logano
19. Ryan Preece
20. Michael McDowell
21. AJ Allmendinger
22. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
23. Ross Chastain
24. Zane Smith
25. Todd Gilliland
26. John Hunter Nemechek
27. Riley Herbst
28. Austin Dillon
29. Noah Gragson
30. Josh Berry
31. Ty Dillon
32. Alex Bowman
The first week pairings are:
No. 1 Tyler Reddick vs No. 32 Alex Bowman
No. 16 Austin Cindric vs No. 17 Brad Keselowski
No. 8 Daniel Suárez vs No. 25 Todd Gilliland
No. 9 Carson Hocevar vs No. 24 Zane Smith
No. 12 Chase Briscoe vs No. 21 AJ Allmendinger
No. 5 Ty Gibbs vs No. 28 Austin Dillon
No. 13 Bubba Wallace vs No. 20 Michael McDowell
No. 4 Chase Elliott vs No. 29 Noah Gragson
No. 2 Denny Hamlin vs No. 31 Ty Dillon
No. 15 Erik Jones vs No. 18 Joey Logano
No. 7 Chris Buescher vs No. 26 John Hunter Nemechek
No. 10 Christopher Bell vs No. 23 Ross Chastain
No. 11 William Byron vs No. 22 Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
No. 6 Kyle Larson vs No. 27 Riley Herbst
No. 14 Shane van Gisbergen vs No. 19 Ryan Preece
No. 3 Ryan Blaney vs No. 30 Josh Berry
Race fans can also participate in the challenge by filling out their own brackets – predicting the winners – and compete for prizes.
Go to nascar.com to register and fill out a bracket. The deadline for entries is June 28.