The track that hosted the opening round of the inaugural NASCAR In-Season Challenge one year ago hosted the quarterfinals this year, and it was just as chaotic.
EchoPark Speedway (Atlanta Motor Speedway) whittled the tournament field from eight drivers down to four on Sunday night/Monday morning, ahead of this coming Sunday night's race at North Wilkesboro Speedway, which hasn't hosted a Cup Series points race since 1996.
For as dominant as the Toyotas have been this year, winning 12 races including the All-Star Race, it's a bit of a surprise to see just one remaining in tournament contention.
And that one is only ninth in the point standings.
Toyota's last hope isn't Denny Hamlin or Tyler Reddick
Joe Gibbs Racing's Christopher Bell, who has yet to win this season but has racked up four second place finishes in the six most recent oval races, is set to take on Atlanta winner Ryan Blaney of Team Penske in one of the two semifinal matchups this weekend at North Wilkesboro.
Bell eliminated teammate and points leader Denny Hamlin with his second place finish at Atlanta, even though Hamlin's 12th place finish was actually the third-best finish among the eight remaining tournament drivers.
Blaney knocked out Hendrick Motorsports' William Byron, who finished 16th. And for as behind as Ford has been throughout much of this year, they are actually the only manufacturer with two representatives in the fourth of five rounds with Front Row Motorsports' Todd Gilliland somehow continuing to find ways to advance.
Gilliland, who is only 24th in points, hasn't finished a single race in the top 15 all tournament long, but he has managed to do enough to advance to face Hendrick Motorsports' Chase Elliott
Not much has been said about it, since Elliott, unlike Gilliland, is among those who were expected to advance at least a few rounds, but he actually doesn't have a single top 10 finish in this tournament either. So Gilliland could very well have a path to the championship round as this year's version of Ty Dillon.
As for the other Toyota frontrunners, 23XI Racing's Tyler Reddick, who sits second in the standings, was eliminated in the opening round at Sonoma Raceway when he finished last due to power steering issues, making No. 1 seeds 0-for-2 in the first two tournaments.
Joe Gibbs Racing's Ty Gibbs, who is fourth in points, was eliminated in the second round at Chicagoland Speedway, since he was matched up against race-winning teammate Chase Briscoe.
Gibbs won the tournament in 2025.
The winners of Bell vs. Blaney and Gilliland vs. Elliott are set to square off in the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway next weekend. Let's hope it takes more than a 21st place finish to win this year's trophy.
Sunday night's Window World 450 is set to be broadcast live on TNT Sports from North Wilkesboro Speedway starting at 7:00 p.m. ET. Don't miss the historic track's first points race in three decades!
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