“If they’re making it a David vs. Goliath story, that’s not good news for me. I recall that David won that battle.”
Ryan Blaney and Todd Gilliland, a pair of third-generation racers whose fathers spent their career scrapping for every NASCAR Cup Series opportunity they could get, are set to face off Sunday in the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway – not just for an elusive crown jewel victory, but for the $1 million prize that comes from winning the second annual In-Season Challenge.
Blaney (No. 12) was the No. 3 seed in the bracket challenge and had to outrun Josh Berry (Sonoma), Shane Van Gisbergen (Chicagoland), William Byron (EchoPark), and Christopher Bell (North Wilkesboro) to make his way to the final matchup. His opponent, Todd Gilliland, the No. 25 seed, had to defeat Daniel Suarez (Sonoma), Carson Hocevar (Chicagoland), Alex Bowman (EchoPark), and Chase Elliott (North Wilkesboro) to make his surprise appearance in the final matchup.
Now, for the second year in a row, the In-Season Challenge has a ‘Cinderella-like’ story in its Final Round.
Last year, Ty Dillon (Kaulig Racing) was the underdog facing off against juggernaut Ty Gibbs (Joe Gibbs Racing) for the $1 million prize, which ultimately was awarded to the driver of the No. 54. This year might seem like it’s the same kind of story, a David versus Goliath if you will, but truth be told, Gilliland and Blaney don’t see it that way.
“That group runs really well. Front Row Motorsports, they do a really good job. They have good drivers. Todd [Gilliland] is a great driver, and they have a really good team over there, so it’s going to be tough,” Blaney said Tuesday in a Ford Racing media call. “I don’t think people should write anything off. I’m not going into this weekend thinking that it’s going to be a layup because it’s not. It’s going to be incredibly difficult, and we have to be on top of our game to try to not only compete for the win but also race that No. 34 car too.”
“I don’t think that’s accurate what people are saying. I think it’s going to be just as tough as ever no matter who you’re facing because you’re not going to be able to have any mistakes. You better be fast on the racetrack. You better be good on pit road, and your strategy better be where it should. I think it’s going to be a heck of a battle, for sure.”
If Todd Gilliland were to pick the perfect venue for him to face off against Blaney, based on his NASCAR Cup Series results, Indianapolis Motor Speedway would probably be at the top of the list. The Sherrills Ford, North Carolina-native has an average finish of 6.0 since the series returned to the 2.5-mile oval in 2024, and, while it won’t translate to Sunday, Gilliland does have a top five in the NextGen car on the Indy Road Course.
“I think my confidence level is honestly pretty high,” Gilliland said. “I was able to do one of the first tests there, a tire test when we were going back to the oval at Indy, so I think that really helped me a lot of just getting off on a good foot of getting laps, understanding the racetrack, going through a lot of changes, and then once we got racing I feel like that’s been probably one of our best intermediate racetracks. So, I’m excited about it. I obviously know it’s going to take everything we’ve got, and more probably, to beat the No. 12 straight up, but I think just for the No. 34 team and us, it’s going to be an interesting weekend. Chicagoland even was a step in the right direction for us, so I’m hopeful that we can continue that momentum.”
Front Row Motorsports (FRM) has been the ‘David’ in a ‘David Vs. Goliath’ story or two before… but that was with David Gilliland (and David Ragan) behind the wheel; this time, it’s Todd Gilliland.
“Put the house on us, that’s what I would say,” Gilliland joked. “We made it this far, why not us?”
“We’ll see. I’m with you. I would probably agree with all of those people who say we’re fighting an uphill battle, but, honestly, we’ve been underdogs in however many matchups there’s been, but it’s doable. It’s crazy. It’s only one person standing between us and winning this thing, so I’m excited about it.”
“It’s going to be an uphill battle. David Vs. Goliath is probably fair, but we’re going to go out and do our best and see where everything ends up.”
Gilliland and Blaney will have a full weekend of on-track activity to get their Ford Mustang Dark Horses dialed in and ready to tackle one of the biggest races in the NASCAR Cup Series, the Brickyard 400.
Practice will take place Friday, July 24 at 1:00 PM ET, with qualifying on Saturday, July 25 at 1:30 PM ET, and the green flag for the Brickyard 400, the final race on TNT Sports, on Sunday, July 26 at 2:00 PM ET.
