The 2026 NASCAR In-Season Challenge is back! After a successful first year in 2025, the series has brought back the in-season tournament for a second season. Let’s take a look at the 2026 NASCAR In-Season Challenge picks, odds, and best bets.
They’ve made everything much easier in the second year of the game. If you do March Madness basketball tournament brackets, it’s very similar to that. To get signed up, you simply go here and navigate to the in-season challenge. Don’t forget to join our FREE contest here as well.
The tournament spans the next five race weeks, with the top 32 drivers in the series paired up based on seeding this weekend at Sonoma. Beat the driver you are matched up against, and move on to the next round. It’s as simple as that. Round two takes place at Chicagoland, round three at EchoPark Automotive Speedway (Atlanta). Round four is at North Wilkesboro, and the championship match will once again take place in the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
This year’s points won’t be weighted based on seeding; it’s a much simpler process. Each first-round pick you get right is worth 10 points. In round two, it’s 20 points per correct pick, 40 points in round three, and 80 points in round four. If you pick the champion correctly, you get a whopping 160 points to help push you over the top. Keep in mind, last year when we had all the crazy upsets, the bracket began at Atlanta Motor Speedway. This year, that race isn’t until the third round.
Odds to Win NASCAR In-Season Tournament
Denny Hamlin +500
Tyler Reddick +750
Ryan Blaney +850
Kyle Larson +850
William Byron +1000
Christopher Bell +1000
Chase Elliott +1000
Ty Gibbs +1600
Chase Briscoe +1600
Chris Buescher +2000
Brad Keselowski +2500
Carson Hocevar +3000
Ross Chastain +3000
Joey Logano +3300
Shane Van Gisbergen +4000
Bubba Wallace +4000
Daniel Suarez +4000
Alex Bowman +5000
Austin Cindric +5000
Michael McDowell +5500
Erik Jones +6000
Zane Smith +7500
Ryan Preece +7500
AJ Allmendinger +8000
Josh Berry +8000
Ricky Stenhouse Jr +10000
John Hunter Nemechek +10000
Todd Gilliland +15000
Noah Gragson +20000
Austin Dillon +20000
Ty Dillon +20000
Riley Herbst +20000
NASCAR In-Season Challenge Picks, Odds, and Best Bets
I’ve gone through and filled out my bracket below!
Zane Smith Over Carson Hocevar (+105)
Many of the books are offering head-to-head matchups for drivers paired up against each other this week. You’ll find these head-to-heads in the Sonoma race sections, since that’s where the matchup will be decided. Hocevar has had a stellar season, but Zane Smith is the much more trustworthy driver, especially at a road course. Hocevar looked strong last weekend at San Diego before a late spin, but so did Smith, who finished fourth.
COTA is the only road course where Hocevar finished better than Smith, and they were 31st and 33rd. Over the last six road courses, that’s the only time Hocevar has gotten the better of Smith. Zane pulls the upset and moves on to the next round.
Chase Elliott to Win (+1000)
Elliott immediately pops off the board to me at this number. Elliott is a consistent driver who you can count on to be solid each and every week. When we are looking for someone to bet on to win this five-week challenge, that’s what we want. Elliott faces Gragson in round one, which shouldn’t be much of a challenge. He’ll likely face Michael McDowell at Chicago. While McDowell has been good on road courses, not so much on ovals. I have him taking on Ty Gibbs at Atlanta, another track Elliott is good at.
If Reddick survives Atlanta, Elliott gets him at North Wilkesboro, a short track. Short tracks are easily Reddick’s biggest weakness. Then, it’s Mano-E-Mano, him against someone else at the Brickyard 400, and having Elliott in a head-to-head matchup at 10/1 is a bet I’ll always take.
Ty Gibbs to Win (+1600)
For similar reasons, I also love Ty Gibbs in this bracket challenge. Gibbs was the inaugural winner last season, and he did so just by surviving. 2026 Ty Gibbs is light-years ahead of 2025 Ty Gibbs. Gibbs’ path to the title is almost identical to Elliott’s. Either way, one of our bets gets knocked out in Round 3. But on the other side of the coin, if they both make it through Round 1, now one of our bets is in Round 4.
Gibbs has Austin Dillon at Sonoma, which should be an easy win. Round 2 could be a matchup with teammate Chase Briscoe, unless Allmendinger upsets Briscoe, which is possible on a road course. If it’s Allmendinger, easy win at Chicago. If it’s Briscoe, give me the 54.
Then it’s the likely Elliott matchup at Atlanta, where Ty has also shown promise. He’s had the speed to hang with Reddick if he makes it to North Wilkesboro, and again on a short track, give me the 54. Gibbs has had the speed everywhere all season, and he could easily defend this title.
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