Ty Dillon determined to make full use of his ‘secret weapon’ at Indianapolis to win the $1,000,000 event

Ty Dillon defied the odds after reaching the final round of NASCAR's In-Season Challenge as the last-seeded driver. For the upcoming round with $1 million on the line, Dillon plans to use his ‘secret weapon,’ which is to take advantage of crashes and restarts.

Driving the #10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet, Dillon kicked off his In-Season Challenge campaign strong after beating the top-seeded Denny Hamlin in the opening round at Atlanta. He won the second round against Brad Keselowski in Chicago before sending Alex Bowman out of the tournament at Sonoma following a last-lap bump-and-run on the #48. After defeating John Hunter Nemechek in the fourth round at Dover last week, the 33-year-old is facing Ty Gibbs in the finale at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Speaking with the media ahead of the Brickyard 400, Ty Dillon was asked how his ‘secret weapon’ (good restarts) translates to a place like the 2.5-mile Indy circuit with a long frontstretch.

“Yeah, it translates quite well,” Dillon responded. “I think the thing about this is there's been a lot of talk about raw speed, which really matters here.”

The Chevy driver explained his plan of avoiding being in bad spots at a track he described as prone to crashes, saying:

“If you look at the last five Cup races, at least almost every Cup race that I've been a part of here, the end of the race gets quite wild and there's a lot of crashes here. That's something you've got to take advantage of, but also not put yourself in too bad of a spot, which fits my mentality as a driver and what I've excelled at in my career.”

“I think that's one thing that gives me confidence every time here is that I know when it gets chaotic, I feel comfortable, and that's been the story of my career,” he added.

Ty Dillon drives the #10 Chevrolet Camaro for Kaulig Racing - Source: Imagn

The Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis is scheduled for Sunday at 2:00 p.m. ET. The 160-lap race will crown the first-ever In-Season Challenge champion.

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“I'm having fun again”: Ty Dillon on recent triumphs in NASCAR

Last week, Ty Dillon shared he was “having fun again” amid an unexpected In-Season Challenge run and being part of a team that believes in him. These reminded him of the confidence he had driving for a top team, presumably Richard Childress Racing.

In an interview with CBS Sports, the North Carolina native said:

“I'm having fun again. Being a part of a team that I feel like genuinely has confidence in me and my ability is building back that confidence I had when I was with a #1 team.”

Ty Dillon (right) with his grandfather and team boss Richard Childress (left) - Source: Imagn

When Dillon drove for RCR in the early 2010s in the Xfinity and Craftsman Truck Series, he was on par with NASCAR's then-rising stars, including Chase Elliott and Ryan Blaney. However, he wasn't producing the same results in the Cup Series, starting in his first full-time season with Germain Racing in 2017.

This year marks his return to the premier series after running a full-time schedule with Rackley W.A.R. in the Truck Series in 2024. After 21 races, he only scored one top-10, which he earned after beating Denny Hamlin in the In-Season Challenge at Atlanta Motor Speedway.