Tyler Reddick’s run in the NASCAR In-Season Challenge ended almost as soon as it began. The No. 1 seed and points leader was knocked out by Alex Bowman on Sunday after early engine trouble left him unable to recover at Sonoma.
That made the opening round feel like a bracket reset. Reddick had come in as the top seed, but he spent most of the day racing from behind after the trouble started early, and he told his team over the radio, “I can barely go fast,” while trying to sort out what was wrong. He added, “I’m trying to understand what’s causing this.” Bowman stayed steady and turned that opening into an upset that removed the favorite from contention for the $1 million prize.
The loss matters because the format leaves no margin for a slow start. One mechanical problem can decide a head-to-head race, and that is what happened to Reddick, who was forced to fight from the back while Bowman kept building a clean result. In a tournament built around elimination, the points leader could not convert seed position into survival.
Reddick’s exit also sharpened the rest of the bracket on a day when other top names held on. Denny Hamlin spun out on Lap 64, dropped several positions and later fell toward the bottom of the pack, but still finished 26th to avoid an upset against Ty Dillon, who finished 35th after losing power steering with 12 laps to go. Ryan Blaney finished 6th and Chase Elliot finished 17th, and both moved on without drama.
Shane van Gisbergen, the 14th seed, also finished Sunday with momentum at Sonoma, coming out atop the leaderboards and earning his second win of the season. That result underlined how quickly the tournament can tilt: one driver with trouble is out, while another lower seed can turn a strong day into a bigger opening. For Reddick, there is no second chance in the challenge, and the top seed is now out of the race for the prize.
