The inaugural NASCAR In-Season Challenge seemed to run through Ty Dillon, and though he isn't actually in the Cup Series playoffs, they apparently do too.
Hendrick Motorsports' William Byron was one of four drivers who started Sunday's South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the opening race of the round of 8 of the postseason, above the Championship 4 cut line.
He was poised to stay there, possibly even by locking himself into the Championship 4 for the third consecutive season with his third win of the year. But while running second late in event, he plowed into the back of Dillon's No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet.
Ty Dillon screws over William Byron, possibly ending his championship
It had not been communicated through the spotters that Dillon, who was not even on the same lap as Byron, was planning on coming into the pits, and Dillon did absolutely nothing to indicate it either.
He did not give a wave out the window, which would have been the appropriate thing to do considering the fact that Byron was actually running on the lead lap in second place.
And not only was he not on the bottom of the race track to begin with, but for some reason, he drifted up the race track before making the attempt to get down to pit entry, slowing down without warning directly in front of Byron in the process.
Now for William Byron's onboard. The only thing Byron is told pre-impact is that Ty Dillon's car "should go Lane 2, Lane 3" in Turns 3 & 4. Byron and his team seemed to have no idea Dillon was coming to pit road.
— Steven Taranto (@STaranto92) October 13, 2025
There was some additional radio chatter as Byron's car was put on… https://t.co/MvqaatUMKW pic.twitter.com/cAafcs3q7m
Disaster ensued, and Byron's championship chances took a huge tumble.
He finds himself 15 points below the Championship 4 cut line heading into next weekend's race at Talladega Superspeedway, making him the one and two drivers who started the Las Vegas race above the cutoff but dropped below it.
Joe Gibbs Racing's Denny Hamlin started the round of 8 as the points leader and punched his first Championship 4 ticket since 2021 by winning the race. Hendrick Motorsports' Kyle Larson started above the cutoff and remained there with a runner-up finish.
The other driver who started the round of 8 on the plus side of the cut line was Team Penske's Ryan Blaney, but a blown tire resulted in a DNF and mired him well below it.
Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Christopher Bell and Chase Briscoe both started the round of 8 below the cut line but now find themselves above it after strong runs. Hendrick Motorsports' Chase Elliott and Team Penske's Joey Logano started and remained below it.
A full updated playoff picture can be found here.
Talladega Superspeedway is scheduled to host the second race of the round of 8 on Sunday, October 19. Live coverage of the YellaWood 500 is set to begin at 2:00 p.m. ET. Begin a free trial of FuboTV now and don't miss any of the action!