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INDIANAPOLIS – Todd Gilliland has won $1 million in NASCAR's In-Season Challenge after finishing higher than Ryan Blaney in the Brickyard 400. Gilliland finished 24th, Blaney finished 26th.
Blaney qualified 23 spots higher than Gilliland and was comfortably ahead of him for most of the race, but contact with John Hunter Nemechek on a Lap 120 restart spun Blaney into the wall between Turns 3 and 4. After the crash, Blaney's No. 12 Team Penske Ford suffered splitter damage that required a lengthy pit stop for repair. Blaney rejoined the field in 31st, which was second-last of cars running at the time.
"What a dumb (expletive) that 42 (Nemechek) is," Blaney said on his radio. "Every week."
Gilliland has captured the second In-Season Challenge championship in what was truly an underdog run. He entered the tournament 25th of the 32 drivers who qualified for the In-Season Challenge. He then finished higher than Daniel Suarez (No. 8 seed), Carson Hocevar (No. 9), Alex Bowman (No. 32) and Chase Elliott (No. 4) to make it to the final round at the Brickyard 400. Gilliland beat out Blaney, who was the No. 3 seed and won at Atlanta Motor Speedway in the quarterfinal round, for the championship.
"It was nerve wracking," Gilliland said of holding off Blaney on Sunday. "Seems like we barely squeezed by every round but we did what we need to do. This is something to celebrate.
"We'll figure out something to do with $1 million bucks."
Gilliland never finished better than eighth en route to the championship, but he and Front Row Motorsports have secured the $1 million prize. Front Row Motorsports recently signed Gilliland to a contract extension, and he has rewarded them by outlasting the field to win the In-Season Challenge.
Zion Brown is IndyStar's motorsports reporter. Follow him at @z10nbr0wn. Get IndyStar's motor sports coverage sent directly to your inbox with our Motor Sports newsletter. Subscribe to the YouTube channel IndyStar TV: IndyCar for a behind-the-scenes look at IndyCar and expert analysis.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Todd Gilliland wins NASCAR's $1 million In-Season Challenge at Brickyard 400
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Blaney qualified 23 spots higher than Gilliland and was comfortably ahead of him for most of the race, but contact with John Hunter Nemechek on a Lap 120 restart spun Blaney into the wall between Turns 3 and 4. After the crash, Blaney's No. 12 Team Penske Ford suffered splitter damage that required a lengthy pit stop for repair. Blaney rejoined the field in 31st, which was second-last of cars running at the time.
"What a dumb (expletive) that 42 (Nemechek) is," Blaney said on his radio. "Every week."
Gilliland has captured the second In-Season Challenge championship in what was truly an underdog run. He entered the tournament 25th of the 32 drivers who qualified for the In-Season Challenge. He then finished higher than Daniel Suarez (No. 8 seed), Carson Hocevar (No. 9), Alex Bowman (No. 32) and Chase Elliott (No. 4) to make it to the final round at the Brickyard 400. Gilliland beat out Blaney, who was the No. 3 seed and won at Atlanta Motor Speedway in the quarterfinal round, for the championship.
"It was nerve wracking," Gilliland said of holding off Blaney on Sunday. "Seems like we barely squeezed by every round but we did what we need to do. This is something to celebrate.
"We'll figure out something to do with $1 million bucks."
Gilliland never finished better than eighth en route to the championship, but he and Front Row Motorsports have secured the $1 million prize. Front Row Motorsports recently signed Gilliland to a contract extension, and he has rewarded them by outlasting the field to win the In-Season Challenge.
Zion Brown is IndyStar's motorsports reporter. Follow him at @z10nbr0wn. Get IndyStar's motor sports coverage sent directly to your inbox with our Motor Sports newsletter. Subscribe to the YouTube channel IndyStar TV: IndyCar for a behind-the-scenes look at IndyCar and expert analysis.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Todd Gilliland wins NASCAR's $1 million In-Season Challenge at Brickyard 400
Continue reading...
