RFK Racing’s Brad Keselowski became the final driver to secure a spot in NASCAR’s inaugural In-Season Challenge with a 23rd-place finish in Sunday’s Cup Series race at Nashville Superspeedway.
Keselowski beat out Trackhouse Racing’s Shane van Gisbergen by 21 points for a chance at $1 million in the knockout-style bracket. Among full-time drivers, 23XI Racing’s Riley Herbst, Haas Factory Team’s Cole Custer and Rick Ware Racing’s Cody Ware all failed to qualify. The top 32 drivers in Cup Series points after 14 races are eligible.
RELATED: Cup Series standings | How the In-Season Challenge works
Drivers will be seeded in the challenge by their best overall finish over the next three weeks at Michigan International Speedway (June 8), Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez (June 15) and Pocono Raceway (June 22). The first tiebreaker is a driver’s second-best finish, with the next tiebreaker being the driver’s overall points position. All three seeding races will air on Prime Video.
Once the challenge officially begins at Atlanta Motor Speedway (June 28), it’s simple: drivers will be placed in head-to-head matchups based on seed, and whoever finishes better in each race advances. The last driver standing after Indianapolis Motor Speedway (July 27) pockets $1 million.
All five races of the In-Season Challenge will air on TNT Sports and HBO Max with an alternate broadcast available on truTV.
Unofficial 2025 In-Season Challenge Field — pending post-race inspection at Nashville
| Points position | Driver | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | William Byron | No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet |
| 2 | Kyle Larson | No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet |
| 3 | Christopher Bell | No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota |
| 4 | Denny Hamlin | No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota |
| 5 | Chase Elliott | No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet |
| 6 | Tyler Reddick | No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota |
| 7 | Ryan Blaney | No. 12 Team Penske Ford |
| 8 | Joey Logano | No. 22 Team Penske Ford |
| 9 | Ross Chastain | No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet |
| 10 | Bubba Wallace | No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota |
| 11 | Chase Briscoe | No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota |
| 12 | Alex Bowman | No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet |
| 13 | Austin Cindric | No. 2 Team Penske Ford |
| 14 | Chris Buescher | No. 17 RFK Racing Ford |
| 15 | Kyle Busch | No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet |
| 16 | Ryan Preece | No. 60 RFK Racing Ford |
| 17 | Carson Hocevar | No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet |
| 18 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | No. 47 Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet |
| 19 | AJ Allmendinger | No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet |
| 20 | Josh Berry | No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford |
| 21 | Michael McDowell | No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet |
| 22 | John Hunter Nemechek | No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Toyota |
| 23 | Todd Gilliland | No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford |
| 24 | Erik Jones | No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota |
| 25 | Zane Smith | No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford |
| 26 | Austin Dillon | No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet |
| 27 | Ty Gibbs | No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota |
| 28 | Daniel Suárez | No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet |
| 29 | Justin Haley | No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet |
| 30 | Ty Dillon | No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet |
| 31 | Noah Gragson | No. 4 Front Row Motorsports Ford |
| 32 | Brad Keselowski | No. 6 RFK Racing Ford |
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