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Ty Dillon Beats John Hunter Nemechek, Continues Remarkable Cinderella Run

Jared Turner Written by Sports EditorJared Turner
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Ty Dillon

The glass slipper still belongs to Ty Dillon.

Seeded last out of 32 drivers in NASCAR’s inaugural In-Season Challenge, Dillon survived Round of 4 of 5 on Sunday at Dover Motor Speedway to keep his unlikely run through the NCAA-style bracket alive.

After beating John Hunter Nemechek at the high-banked, 1-mile concrete oval, Dillon will go head-to-head with Ty Gibbs next weekend at Indianapolis for the In-Season Challenge crown and its $1 million winner’s prize.

Gibbs finished fifth at Dover, outmaneuvering fellow semifinalist and Toyota driver Tyler Reddick — who finished 12th — to advance.

How Did Ty Dillon Survive Another Round Of The In-Season Challenge?

Remarkably, Ty Dillon spent most of the day at Dover running exactly one position behind or ahead of John Hunter Nemechek.

Needing to simply finish better than Nemechek to reach the final In-Season Challenge round, Dillon had a clear mission.

Defying the odds yet again, Dillon came home 20th in his No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevy while Nemechek placed 21st in his No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Toyota.

Mission accomplished for Dillon at the Monster Mile.

“It feels good,” said the Lewisville, North Carolina native, who remains winless in over 250 NASCAR Cup Series starts. “You know, I have been the underdog for a long time now, just battling my way to try to get opportunity.

“Eventually, you get comfortable in fighting from behind and people underestimating you.”

The Stars Aligned, One More Time, For Underdog Driver At Dover

Like in the first and second round of the In-Season Challenge where a multi-car wreck eliminated the driver paired against him in the bracket, Ty Dillon enjoyed some good fortune at Dover. Only this time it took the form of an ever-so-timely free pass, which he inherited when the final caution flag waved for an accident involving Zane Smith and Ryan Preece on the backstretch.

Getting the free pass, otherwise known as the “Lucky Dog,” put Dillon a full lap ahead of John Hunter Nemechek on the restart for the final two-lap dash.

Had the two remained on the same lap, they seemed virtually destined to battle all the way to the checkered flag. But Dillon passed Nemechek and put himself — not Nemechek — in position to secure the free pass at just the opportune moment.

“We haven’t been a dominating car, but we have been a pain to everyone around us,” Dillon said. “That is all we can do — put pressure on them and execute at the right time. That is what we have done.”

Nemechek appeared visibly disappointed about falling short at Dover, where he was the higher seed in his semifinal fight with Dillon.

“A lot of effort went into today,” Nemechek said. “A lot effort went into making our car better. The last couple of restarts just didn’t stack up very well for us with the cautions coming out and how all that went.”

Nemechek, who playfully ribbed Dillon on social media in the days leading up to Dover, wished his Round 4 In-Season Challenge foe well at Indianapolis next weekend.

“Congrats to Ty and them,” Nemechek said. “Hopefully, he can go win it all.”

Jared Turner Written by Sports EditorJared Turner
Jared Turner is a motorsports writer who has covered NASCAR for 20 years. He has interviewed over 20 NASCAR Hall of Famers and around 100 drivers, crew chiefs, and team owners, both past and present. He has also covered the sport for FOX Sports (where he was a two-time recipient of the FOX “X” Award for “Xtraordinary” job performance), NASCAR.com, Sporting News, NASCAR Pole Position Magazine, the SPEED network, and plenty of other online and print-only publications throughout his career. Notably, Jared has penned dozens of articles for NASCAR souvenir programs, including several featured prominently in Daytona 500 keepsakes. A Virginia Press Association award winner and former member of the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA), Jared has racked up accolades both for his writing and his academic work. He studied both Communication and Psychology at Virginia Tech, where he was permanently enshrined in Phi Beta Kappa — the nation’s oldest and most prestigious academic honor society. Jared excels at feature writing and opinion writing, much of which stems from his dedication to all levels of racing.
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