NASCAR in-season tournament: A look at first-round matchups for Elliott, Bowman, Larson and Byron at Atlanta

CONCORD N.C. - The upcoming race at Atlanta Motor Speedway marks the first of five races for the NASCAR In-Season Challenge with 32 drivers competing head-to-head for a $1 million prize.

The single elimination, bracket-style event will take place at five tracks over the next five weeks. The first being Atlanta Motor Speedway, followed by the Chicago Street Course, Sonoma Raceway, Dover Motor Speedway and ending at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. 

Hendrick Motorsports has found success at all five venues, especially Atlanta. The organization boasts the most wins of any team at Atlanta with 17 trips to victory lane and also has the most top fives (67), the most top 10s (106) and the most laps led (3,690). 

Among Hendrick Motorsports' current roster of drivers, William Byron has gone to victory lane twice at Atlanta, while Chase Elliott also has a victory at his home track.  

RELATED: NASCAR in season tournament matchups

This week's race is scheduled for a 7 p.m. green flag on Saturday night. 

With the seeding completed, let's see how the four Hendrick Motorsports drivers have fared at Atlanta going into race weekend: 

Chase Elliott

Chase Elliott is the highest-seeded Hendrick Motorsports driver, entering as the fifth seed. He will go up against Austin Dillon, the 28th seed, this weekend.

Hailing from Dawsonville, Georgia, Elliott will look to impress the home crowd. He nabbed a win in the 2022 summer race and along with that achievement, has garnered two top fives, eight top 10s and has led 164 laps at the 1.54-mile quad-oval. 

Since a reconfiguration ahead of the 2022 season, Atlanta, now a drafting track, has created chaos an unpredictability for drivers in the field. For Elliott however, neither the venue nor the in-season tournament has affected his mentality going into race weekend.

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"If we are doing our job, that's going to take care of itself," Elliott said. "My mindset is to go out and try and win the race on a weekly basis."

Elliott has outraced Dillon in 86 in 118 races in the Next Gen Era (2022-present) and 14 times at drafting tracks. 

Here's a look at Elliott's history at Atlanta:

Chase Elliott averages, statistics at Atlanta

Alex Bowman 

Alex Bowman is seeded eighth and he will be facing the 25th seed, Joey Logano. 

Logano's recent numbers at Atlanta since its reconfiguration are impressive, Bowman may have an edge over his opponent when looking beneath the surface. 

Bowman has shown remarkable consistency in drafting/superspeedway races. He was up front for a majority of the race at Atlanta earlier this spring, leading six laps and overtaking Logano for the lead at one point. A crash not of his own doing damaged the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet, but despite the setback, Bowman and the No. 48 team got back out on track. 

Bowman has six top 10s in the last 11 races at drafting tracks. Since the start of the 2024 season, he is ranked third of all drivers in points at drafting tracks and leads all drivers in laps without a win at 132. He has finished better than Logano in three of the last five races at drafting tracks.

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Even though Atlanta is lumped into a set of wildcard tracks, Bowman has found success there, with three top fives and four top 10s. 

Coming off a 11th-place run at Pocono Raceway, Bowman is sure to use that momentum to navigate toward the front of the pack at Atlanta. 

Here is an overlook of Bowman's statistics in the Peach State:

Alex Bowman averages, statistics at Atlanta

Kyle Larson

Coming off a seventh-place run at Pocono and with the lead in the NASCAR Cup Series playoff standings, Kyle Larson looks to convert that push into a win on Sunday. Seeded 10th, his opponent is Tyler Reddick who is seeded 23rd. 

Larson seems to be rewriting the narrative of his relationship to drafting tracks. His recent run at such facilities has proven that he can master pack racing that Atlanta Motor Speedway will bring this Saturday night.

Larson finished third at Atlanta in the spring and second at Talladega Superspeedway this year. He has finished higher than Reddick in three of the last five drafting races and has beaten his opponent 71-53 in the Next Gen era. He looks to take that momentum and carry it into this weekend's race along with some impressive statistics.

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The No. 5 HendrickCars.com driver has three top fives, five top 10s and an average starting position of 8.9 at the track. Larson is looking forward to the tournament. 

“I like the concept of the in-season bracket challenge, I feel like it’s a race within the race," Larson said. "This is something you pay attention to and with money and a trophy on the line, we all want to win."

Watch out for Kyle Larson this Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway:

Kyle Larson averages, statistics at Atlanta

William Byron

Even though he is seeded 18th, William Byron is still the atop the NASCAR Cup Series points standings. He sits 54 markers above second-place Larson and in the opening round of the in-season tournament, will battle with Ryan Preece, who holds the 15th seed.

Since the 2022 season, the two-time Daytona 500 champion has finished higher than Preece in 12 out of 15 drafting races. He also has beaten his opponent in 10 of 17 events in 2025. 

At Alanta, Byron is well acquainted with the winner's circle, parking his No. 24 Chevrolet on the checkered floor twice in the Next Gen era (spring 2022, summer 2023). Along with his success, he has two top fives, four top 10 and 181 laps led in Georgia. 

RELATED: All-Pro Auto Reconditioning becomes primary sponsor of NASCAR points leader William Byron

While the next four races following this weekend are challenging, Byron looks to put in as much effort as possible to win each event, extend his points lead and set himself up to win the prize money. 

"Those are decent tracks for us, but they are also tracks that we could use some work at too. Atlanta we’ve has success at, but it also has an unknown element to it," Byron said. "The summer has been a bit tough for us in the past, so I know we’re putting focus into those this year."

Here is an overview of how he's done at the track in the next gen era:

William Byron averages, statistics at Atlanta

NASCAR in season tournament bracket

• Matchup 1 - Denny Hamlin (1) vs. Ty Dillon (32)
• Matchup 2 - Kyle Busch (16) vs. Brad Keselowski (17)
• Matchup 3 - Bubba Wallace (9) vs. Daniel Suarez (24)
• Matchup 4 - Alex Bowman (8) vs. Joey Logano (25)
• Matchup 5 - Christopher Bell (4) vs. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (29)
• Matchup 6 - Ross Chastain (13) vs. Erik Jones (20)
• Matchup 7 - John Hunter Nemechek (12) vs. Josh Berry (21)
• Matchup 8 - Chase Elliott (5) vs. Austin Dillon (28)
• Matchup 9 - Chase Briscoe (2) vs. Noah Gragson (31)
• Matchup 10 - Ryan Preece (15) vs. William Byron (18)
• Matchup 11 - Kyle Larson (10) vs. Tyler Reddick (23)
• Matchup 12 - Ryan Blaney (7) vs. Carson Hocevar (26)
• Matchup 13 - Chris Buescher (3) vs. Todd Gilliland (30)
• Matchup 14 - Zane Smith (14) vs. Austin Cindric (19)
• Matchup 15 - Michael McDowell (11) vs. AJ Allmendinger (22)
• Matchup 16 - Ty Gibbs (6) vs. Justin Haley (27)

Where is NASCAR racing this weekend?

The ARCA Series and the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series are both at Lime Rock Park. The NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series will race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. 

What channel is the NASCAR race on today?

(All times listed in eastern time)

Friday, June 27

• 1:05 p.m. - CRAFTSMAN Truck Series practice, FS2
• 3 - Xfinity Series qualifying, CW
• 5:05 - Cup Series qualifying, truTV
• 7:30 - Xfinity Series race, CW

Saturday, June 28

• 9:30 a.m. - CRAFTSMAN Truck Series qualifying, FS1
• 1 p.m. - CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race, FOX
• 4 - ARCA race, FS2
• 7 - Cup Series race, TNT