Todd Gilliland Wins NASCAR's $1 Million In-Season Challenge at the 2024 Brickyard 400
Key keywords: Todd Gilliland, NASCAR In-Season Challenge, Brickyard 400, $1 million NASCAR prize, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, 2024 NASCAR Cup Series, Front Row Motorsports, stock car racing, oval circuit victory, NASCAR playoff standings
On a sun-drenched Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, 24-year-old stock car driver Todd Gilliland pulled off one of the most stunning underdog victories of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season, taking home the inaugural NASCAR In-Season Challenge title and its accompanying $1 million grand prize at the annual Brickyard 400.
Launched by NASCAR earlier this year to boost engagement during the middle of the regular season, the In-Season Challenge accumulates points across four designated midseason races, with the Brickyard 400 serving as the decisive final round for the seven-figure payout. Gilliland, who drives the No. 38 Ford Mustang for Front Row Motorsports, entered the final event ranked 7th in the challenge standings, but a near-flawless on-track performance and strategic pit stops from his crew lifted him to the top of the board.
Over the 160-lap race, Gilliland navigated 11 caution periods and 18 lead changes, taking first position for the final time on lap 139 after a lightning-fast 10.2-second four-tire pit stop that put him ahead of perennial Cup Series contender Denny Hamlin. Over the final 21 laps, he fended off repeated overtaking attempts from 2020 Cup Series champion Chase Elliott, holding his line through three late restarts to cross the finish line 0.32 seconds ahead of Elliott, marking his first career victory at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the biggest payday of his professional career.
In his post-race press conference, an emotional Gilliland told reporters, “I grew up watching my dad race at the Brickyard, and I’ve dreamed of winning here since I was 8 years old. To do it while taking home that $1 million check for my team, who have put in endless hours of work even when we didn’t have the fastest cars, is just unbelievable. This win puts us in a great spot for the playoffs, and we’re going to keep pushing hard every lap for the rest of the season.”
The victory also lifts Gilliland 3 spots in the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series playoff standings to 14th place, putting him well within reach of his first ever playoff berth with five regular season races remaining before the 16-driver playoff field is locked in.
Featured Comments
Longtime Gilliland fan here! I’ve followed his career since he was competing in the ARCA Menards Series as a teenager, and seeing him win $1 million at the most iconic track in stock car racing is so surreal. He’s spent years grinding with Front Row Motorsports, often driving cars that were slower than the top-tier teams, and this win is 100% the reward for all that hard work. I can’t wait to see if he can carry this momentum to a playoff spot this year.
This In-Season Challenge was such a genius call from NASCAR. For years, the middle of the Cup Series regular season felt like filler before the playoffs, but this $1 million prize gives mid-tier drivers a real reason to push every single lap. Gilliland’s underdog win at the Brickyard is exactly the kind of storyline that gets casual fans invested, and that final 10-lap battle between him and Chase Elliott was some of the most exciting racing we’ve seen all season.
As a diehard Chase Elliott fan, I was obviously gutted when he couldn’t pass Gilliland on the final restart, but you can’t be mad at that performance. Todd didn’t make a single mistake in those last 20 laps, even when Chase was right on his bumper coming out of turn 4. That’s the kind of poise you expect from veteran champions, not a 24-year-old in his fourth full Cup Series season. He definitely earned that million dollars.
I’ve attended 19 straight Brickyard 400 races, and this is easily one of the top 3 finishes I’ve ever seen in person. The entire crowd was on our feet for the last 5 laps, screaming so loud you could barely hear the cars. It’s so refreshing to see a smaller team like Front Row Motorsports beat the powerhouse organizations like Hendrick and Joe Gibbs Racing for a huge prize like this. I’m already buying my Gilliland No. 38 hat tomorrow.