Bowman keeps his NASCAR in-season challenge Cinderella story alive at Chicagoland

Alex Bowman is the Cinderella story of this year’s NASCAR in-season challenge.

Bowman, from the No. 32 seed, is headed to the third round after dispatching of Austin Cindric on Sunday night at Chicagoland Speedway. The Hendrick Motorsports driver advanced out of the first round by beating Tyler Reddick in the opening race at Sonoma Raceway, albeit aided by Reddick’s mechanical issue.

But like a year ago, when it was Ty Dillon who went on a run from the last seed, Bowman is on his way forward. Bowman will face Todd Gilliland of Front Row Motorsports at EchoPark Speedway.

Carson Hocevar was the biggest surprise elimination on Sunday night. Gilliland made that happen with a 16th-place finish, compared to Hocevar’s 22nd.

Ty Gibbs was also eliminated. Gibbs won the in-season challenge and the $1 million bonus last season. Chase Briscoe, his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, won the race, defeating him in the bracket.

Michael McDowell, Shane van Gisbergen, Kyle Larson, Chris Buescher, and Erik Jones were the other drivers eliminated.

The third-round matchups for EchoPark Speedway are:

·      Denny Hamlin (No. 2) vs. Christopher Bell (No. 10)

·      Ryan Blaney (No. 3) vs. William Byron (No. 11)

·      Chase Elliott (No. 4) vs. Chase Briscoe (No. 12)

·      Todd Gilliland (No. 25) vs. Todd Gilliland (No. 25)

There are three races left in the tournament. The race at EchoPark will cut the contenders to the final four.