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When NASCAR introduced the In-Season Challenge for the 2025 season, it was billed as a midseason tournament designed to pit the stars of the sport against each other over five races with a million dollar prize on the line. As it turns out, what began as a tournament bevvied by star power has become a star maker -- with an unlikely yet willing protagonist.

Like Saint Peter's, Florida Atlantic or any other NCAA Tournament Cinderella, Ty Dillon has gone from being the final driver to qualify for the In-Season Challenge as the No. 32 seed to the precipice of winning it all. In a charmed three-week run, Dillon capitalized on a field-clearing crash at Atlanta to earn an eighth-place finish and win his matchup with No. 1 seed Denny Hamlin, then advanced again at Chicago after an early crash took out tournament rival Brad Keselowski before carrying on his run in dramatic fashion a week ago at Sonoma -- where, in the final corner, Dillon put the bump-and-run on Alex Bowman to take 17th spot and win his In-Season Challenge matchup, advancing to the semifinals this weekend in Dover.

Normally by this point in the regular season, drivers like Dillon and teams like the No. 10 group at Kaulig Racing are well out of the spotlight, as they are neither near the playoff bubble nor perceived to be an imminent threat to win a race and make the playoffs from deep in the standings. But thanks to the In-Season Challenge and their unlikely run through it, Dillon has become one of NASCAR's stars of the summer as he and his crew use the spotlight to show who they are and what they're capable of.

"A lot of people are surprised by our runs this year and runs during the In-Season tournament, but when you look at our average finish, we're not really outperforming a whole lot of what we've done. We're just taking advantage of the opportunities," Dillon told CBS Sports. "But this In-Season tournament has given everybody a look into what our weekends are like and putting the spotlight on us when a lot of the times the TV broadcast and a lot of the media go to only the top five in each race and the top 10, top 12 in points.

"This In-Season tournament has given a lot of runway to storylines that are still going on that are really interesting and drivers and teams that have a lot of personality that don't get recognized enough. So this has done something really big for the sport. And I hope NASCAR and all the media people realize it, not just speaking on my behalf but everyone that's involved in it."

Personality is, indeed, a big component of what has made Dillon's In-Season Challenge run the talk of the garage area. The younger of the Dillon brothers and Richard Childress' grandsons, Ty has proven a great showman in his tournament run, most notably through his clever deployment of one-liners after advancing through each round. After turning Denny Hamlin's own catchphrase against him and gloating to his fans that "I just knocked your favorite driver out" at Atlanta, Dillon has kept it up with playful jabs at Brad Keselowski's basketball skills (or lack thereof) and the Hendrick Motorsports PR department, which declared that Dillon's Cinderella Story was set to end only for it to continue.

Dillon's streak of self-expression is something he credits to how he's fit into the team culture of Kaulig Racing, as well as the sponsors and team leaders who have allowed him and his crew to be themselves and feel comfortable in executing races their way. While still working toward week-to-week consistency, Dillon's highs this year -- such as contending to win his Duel race at Daytona and a chance to win Phoenix on strategy -- have been noticeable. And the opportunities that have been presented for Dillon to perform in his In-Season Challenge matchups have brought out the best in him as a competitor.

"Honestly, each one of these races I've tried to go into them as clear-minded as possible not really thinking about the competition of beating one guy in the in-season tournament, just trying to have the best day possible," Dillon said. "But you're totally aware of it, and then when the situation arises it's like that final shot in a basketball game. The seconds are ticking down. Are you gonna make the shot, or are you gonna miss it?

"To have that opportunity in our sport, you always look forward to those moments. And when you feel like you nailed it, it's definitely worth celebrating and having a little fun over."

When it comes to Dillon, "fun" is a key word. It's a word he used on his team radio after the checkered flag at Sonoma, and it's a concept he's rediscovered after emerging from valleys that he at one point was not prepared to travel.

A decade ago, Dillon was heralded as one of NASCAR's future superstars, as he had raced for wins and championships in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and Craftsman Truck Series alongside drivers like Chase Elliott, Ryan Blaney, Kyle Larson and more who have gone on to become the biggest stars in the sport. Dillon moved up to Cup full-time with Germain Racing in 2017, but was in a situation that -- while stable -- did not give him the same resources to run up front the same way he did working his way up the ranks at Richard Childress Racing.

When the loss of their sponsor led to Germain shutting down at the end of 2020, Dillon was cast adrift to take what rides he could, running part-time for an independent team in 2021 before bouncing between B teams at Petty GMS and Spire Motorsports. Once a driver who spoke of aiming high and winning championships, Dillon struggled with his circumstances -- At one point breaking down and publicly opening up about how hard a time he was having on a personal level.

Then, a career reset in 2024 gave Dillon a chance to run some Cup races for Kaulig while returning to full-time Truck Series racing, where he could immediately feel that the baseline speed and capability of his cars were better than anything he'd ever had before. When it turned into a full-time ride for 2025, Dillon called it the best opportunity he's ever had, and it's become one that has rejuvenated him as a race car driver.

"I'm having fun again. Being a part of a team that I feel like genuinely has confidence in me and my ability is building back that confidence I had when I was with a No. 1 team," Dillon said. "To fight through what I've gone through and start building that confidence back, that's why I say I feel like there's still so much more room to go. I know I'm better physically and mentally than I was back in those days, but the almost like a blind confidence you have in those times is starting to come back a little bit. It's super strength that you feel when you're really running up front. It's slowly starting to come back.

"And when we have weekends like last weekend at Sonoma, even in Mexico City we were running up front in the top 10, you start feeling that you're capable of doing it. You start seeing yourself outrun the guys who win races, that only builds in a snowball effect. It's how you handle that momentum going forward that's going to determine what the next half of the year looks like and hopefully my career. I'm well aware of continuing to work hard and grind on it, and I really feel like we're on the precipice of something really big."

In the short term, Dillon is already on the precipice of advancing to the final round of the In-Season Challenge, as he will earn a chance to race for the In-Season Challenge title and a $1 million bonus if he can win his matchup against John Hunter Nemechek this weekend in Dover. Should he advance, a powerhouse Toyota team -- whether Tyler Reddick's 23XI group or Ty Gibbs and the full weight of Joe Gibbs Racing -- awaits him in the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis. But impending underdog status if he can take care of business against Nemechek is something that he and his team not only accept, but embrace.

"We're not afraid of any team, and I think the best thing about our team is we know exactly who we are," Dillon said. "We know exactly what we've got to do to put our foot forward, and I think that's why you see when these other teams stumble and we get close, we seem to excel and take it to the next level. And that's all we're gonna do for next week in Dover is put the most pressure we can on John Hunter to go out and execute his best race, and hopefully we survive that and we go to a racetrack that no doubt either one that comes out of this next round at Dover from our side of the bracket is gonna be the underdog. 

"And I love that, and I really hope to get that opportunity to go into Indy, a place that I probably have the most supreme confidence in being that I've won there (in the Xfinity Series in 2014). Being the underdog in this story going for a million dollars no matter what's gonna be pretty cool."

As for whether or not he has a one-liner or any other trash talk prepared for Nemechek, Dillon said that's to be determined -- and may be a little tougher than usual given their bond as young fathers away from the racetrack.

"I don't have anything for John Hunter, I think he's a good dude. His daughter is a good friend of my son, so I like John Hunter a lot," Dillon said. "I don't have any fodder to work on yet, but I'm sure somebody will give me some at some point. But the thing that matters first is just beating him, and then we'll have some fun after that."