$1 million In-Season Challenge prize sets up the Brickyard 400 for split-screen racing

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Brickyard 400 viewers will be tuning into pure split-screen racing Sunday.

On one side, they'll monitor whether Kyle Larson can defend his Brickyard 400 title or if Denny Hamlin can charge from the back of the field to become the fifth driver to complete a career sweep of the Cup's four crown jewel races.

On the other side, they'll see whether Ty Gibbs or Ty Dillon or collects the $1 million prize that goes to the first In-Season Challenge champion. And, fittingly, this March Madness-like tournament concludes on one of the sport's grand stages — Indianapolis Motor Speedway's historic 2.5-mile oval.

It's a made-for-television moment.

“This is going to be a special moment no matter what happens,” Dillon said before qualifying started Saturday. “I do, ultimately, want to win in the Cup series, and I hope (winning) feels as great as these five weeks have. I don't know how to compare it because it's the first time anybody has really gone through this round by round.”

The concept comes straight out of Indiana's other favorite sport, basketball.

Series officials wanted a solution for the series' midsummer blues and chose a combination of the NBA's In-Season Tournament and college basketball's single-elimination NCAA Tournament.

Race results at Michigan, Mexico City and Pocono set up a 32-driver field. Head-to-head results in Chicago eliminated 16 drivers, which was down to the Elite Eight after Sonoma. Gibbs and Dillon advanced from last week's Final Four and now they are here in Indy, getting as much attention Larson, Hamlin and the array of other big-name drivers.

Larson and Hamlin spoke with reporters Friday. Gibbs and Dillon waited until just before a brief, rescheduled practice session took place at Indy.

“This is race car country is what we would call it, so being able to race here is an honor,” Gibbs said. “The main goal, of course, is to go win the race and we're going to do everything we can to put ourselves in position to do that, and maybe if we don't do that, try to finish as best we can and if that's better than (Dillon), we'll take it.”

The championship looks like a classic between Dillon, a 12-year veteran who is winless in 266 career Cup starts, and Gibbs, the 2022 Xfinity Series winner in his third full Cup season and the grandson of three-time Super Bowl champion and team owner Joe Gibbs.

Like so many NCAA Tournament brackets, the bracket results defied expectations. Gibbs went into the five-race challenge seeded No. 6. Dillon took on the role of Cinderella after starting No. 32. And Gibbs has an edge after qualifying fifth. Dillon starts 26th.

Along the way some of the favorites such as Hamlin, William Byron, Chase Briscoe and Kyle Larson fell out. Hamlin, who is seeking his first Brickyard win in 17 starts, first introduced the notion of a tournament on his “Actions Detrimental” podcast and gave the series good marks for how it's played out.

“I think you get more buy-in from drivers if, you know, they're financially motivated,” said Hamlin, who lost to Dillon in the first round. “I know a lot of people kind of played it off this year, but everyone knew about it, everyone knew who they had to beat. Everyone did care about it. I feel like it was implemented fairly well this year."

Hamlin faces an even bigger hurdle after crashing hard in qualifying. He'll start 39th after Chase Briscoe claimed the pole.

Now the question becomes who will take home the big prize?

While Gibbs is trying to race his way into the playoffs and Dillon continues to chase his first Cup win, the two drivers also will be paying attention to the race inside Sunday's race. And so will the fans.

“It feels like the last three or four weeks, I've done enough media and talked to enough people and had fan growth like I've never seen before, that felt like I had won the last three weeks,” Dillon said. “So it's a weird conundrum. It's not a win, but it has felt so special to be a part of.”

When Bubba Wallace drove the No. 23 car onto the track for his qualifying run Saturday, he didn't have any expectations.

When he climbed out of the car, he had the provisional pole and it stayed there — until Briscoe's late attempt. And while Wallace will start on the front row, he wasn't satisfied with how it played out.

“It's a weird feeling right now,” Wallace said. “I had no idea what kind of lap I put together and obviously, man, so close. You know no one wants to finish second in motorsports or whatever it is. I sure don't want to. So if it's qualifying, it's a little kick in the groin but aside from that, a pretty good day.”

Briscoe's pole-winning run was the second leg of a celebratory weekend for his family, which still calls Mitchell, Indiana, home. That's about 85 miles southwest of Indy.

The first part came Friday when Briscoe's sister got married. And Briscoe has a chance to complete the third leg by winning his first Brickyard title.

But he's also wary about a potential sibling rivalry.

“I would love to cap it off with the Brickyard 400, but I'm sure my sister would be mad if I went and kind of topped the wedding,” Briscoe said. “But, yeah, it's been a fun week to come up here and get to do all the things we've done.”

After qualifying 38th for Sunday's race, Katherine Legge took a short break before jumping in her car for the start of the Xfinity race.

The longtime IndyCar driver is doing double duty this weekend on a track she knows well. Legge has started four Indianapolis 500s, most recently in 2024. This season, she's made six starts on the stock car circuit — two in the Xfinity Series and four, so far, in the Cup Series.

And on Sunday, she'll hit another milestone — becoming the 21st driver to compete in both the Indianapolis 500 and the Brickyard.

Shane van Gisbergen will make his first career start on Indy's oval after qualifying 11th. ... Points leader Chase Elliott starts from the No. 30 spot on the grid. ... Despite the qualifying crash, Hamlin remained the betting favorite in Indianapolis with Larson and Briscoe not far behind, according to BetMGM Sportsbook. The trio has just one win on Indy's oval.

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

Ty Dillon walks with his car during qualifications for the NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Saturday, July 26, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Ty Dillon climbs into his car during qualifications for the NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Saturday, July 26, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Chase Briscoe, left, and Ty Gibbs watch during qualifications for the NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Saturday, July 26, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Ty Gibbs climbs into his car before a practice session for the NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Saturday, July 26, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

HAVANA (AP) — Trumpets and drums played solemnly at Havana's airport Thursday as white-gloved Cuban soldiers marched out of a plane carrying urns with remains of the 32 Cuban officers killed during a stunning U.S. attack on Venezuela.

Nearby, thousands of Cubans lined one of Havana’s most iconic streets to await the bodies as the island remained under threat by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump.

The soldiers' shoes clacked as they marched stiff-legged into the headquarters of the Ministry of the Armed Forces and placed the urns on a long table next to the pictures of those killed. Tens of thousands of people paid their respects, saluting the urns or holding their hand over their heart, many of them drenched from standing outside in a heavy downpour.

Thursday’s mass funeral was only one of a handful that the Cuban government has organized over the past half-century.

The soldiers were part of the security detail of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro during the Jan. 3 raid on his residence to seize the former leader and bring him to the U.S. to face drug trafficking charges.

State television also showed images of what it said were more than a dozen wounded combatants from the raid, accompanied by Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez after arriving Wednesday night from Venezuela. A man identified in state media as Col. Pedro Domínguez attended Thursday's ceremony in a wheelchair.

He said it was a “disproportionate attack” that killed 11 colleagues around him as they slept. Domínguez said he was committed to doing “whatever it takes to defend this people and to remain united in the face of threats from the United States.”

Tensions between Cuba and the U.S. have spiked, with Trump recently demanding that the Caribbean country make a deal with him before it is “too late.” He did not explain what kind of deal.

Trump also has said that Cuba will no longer live off Venezuela's money and oil. Experts warn that the abrupt end of oil shipments could be catastrophic for Cuba, which is already struggling with serious blackouts and a crumbling power grid.

Officials unfurled a massive flag at Havana's airport as President Miguel Díaz-Canel, clad in military garb, stood silent next to former President Raúl Castro, with what appeared to be the relatives of those killed looking on nearby.

Cuban Interior Minister Lázaro Alberto Álvarez Casas called the slain soldiers “heroes” of an anti-imperialist struggle spanning both Cuba and Venezuela. In an apparent reference to the U.S., he said the “enemy” speaks of “high-precision operations, of troops, of elites, of supremacy.

“We, on the other hand, speak of faces, of families who have lost a father, a son, a husband, a brother,” Álvarez said.

The events demonstrate that “imperialism may possess more sophisticated weapons; it may have immense material wealth; it may buy the minds of the wavering; but there is one thing it will never be able to buy: the dignity of the Cuban people,” he said.

Carmen Gómez, a 58-year-old industrial designer, was among the thousands of Cubans who lined a street where motorcycles and military vehicles thundered by with the remains of those killed.

“They are people willing to defend their principles and values, and we must pay tribute to them,” Gómez said. “It’s because of the sense of patriotism that Cubans have, and that will always unite us.”

The 32 military personnel ranged in age from 26 to 60 and were part of protection agreements between the two countries.

Officials in Cuba have said they expect a massive demonstration Friday across from the U.S. Embassy to protest the deaths.

“People are upset and hurt ... many do believe that the dead are martyrs” of a historic struggle against the United States, analyst and former diplomat Carlos Alzugaray told The Associated Press.

In October 1976, then-President Fidel Castro led a massive demonstration to bid farewell to the 73 people killed in the bombing of a civilian flight financed by anti-revolutionary leaders in the U.S. Most of the victims were Cuban athletes.

In December 1989, officials organized a ceremony to honor the more than 2,000 Cuban combatants who died in Angola during Cuba’s participation in a war that defeated the South African army.

In October 1997, memorial services were held following the arrival of the remains of guerrilla commander Ernesto “Che” Guevara and six of his comrades, who died in 1967.

The latest mass burial is critical to honor those slain, said José Luis Piñeiro, a 60-year-old doctor who lived for four years in Venezuela.

“I don’t think Trump is crazy enough to come and enter a country like this, ours, and if he does, he’s going to have to take an aspirin or some painkiller to avoid the headache he’s going to get,” Piñeiro said. “These were 32 heroes who fought him. Can you imagine an entire nation? He’s going to lose.”

The remains arrived a day after the U.S. announced $3 million in additional aid to help the island recover from the catastrophic Hurricane Melissa. The first flight took off on Wednesday, and a second flight was scheduled for Friday. A commercial vessel also will deliver food and other supplies.

Cuba had said on Wednesday that any contributions will be channeled through the government.

But U.S. State Department foreign assistance official Jeremy Lewin said Thursday that the U.S. was working with Cuba’s Catholic Church to distribute aid, as part of Washington's efforts to give assistance directly to the Cuban people.

“There’s nothing political about cans of tuna and rice and beans and pasta,” he said Thursday, warning that the Cuban government should not intervene or divert supplies. “We will be watching, and we will hold them accountable.”

Lewin said the Cuban government has a choice to: “Step down or better provide towards people.” Lewin added that “if there was no regime,” the U.S. would provide “billions and billions of dollars” in assistance, as well as investment and development: “That’s what lies on the other side of the regime for the Cuban people.”

Rodríguez, the Cuban foreign minister, said the U.S. government was “exploiting what appears to be a humanitarian gesture for opportunistic and politically manipulative purposes.”

Coto contributed from San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

People line up outside the Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces where the remains are on display of the Cuban officers who were killed during the U.S. operation in Venezuela that captured President Nicolas Maduro, as it sprinkles rain in Havana, Cuba, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Military members line up outside the Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces where the urns containing the remains of Cuban officers, killed during the U.S. operation in Venezuela that captured President Nicolas Maduro, are on display in Havana, Cuba, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Military members pay their last respects to Cuban officers who were killed during the U.S. operation in Venezuela that captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, at the Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces where the urns containing the remains are displayed during a ceremony in Havana, Cuba, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

A motorcade transports urns containing the remains of Cuban officers, who were killed during the U.S. operation in Venezuela that captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, through Havana, Cuba, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Soldiers carry urns containing the remains of Cuban officers, who were killed during the U.S. operation in Venezuela that captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, at the Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces in Havana, Cuba, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (Adalberto Roque /Pool Photo via AP)

A motorcade transports urns containing the remains of Cuban officers, who were killed during the U.S. operation in Venezuela that captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, through Havana, Cuba, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

A motorcade transports urns containing the remains of Cuban officers, who were killed during the U.S. operation in Venezuela that captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, through Havana, Cuba, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

People line the streets of Havana, Cuba, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, to watch the motorcade carrying urns containing the remains of Cuban officers killed during the U.S. operation in Venezuela that captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Workers fly the Cuban flag at half-staff at the Anti-Imperialist Tribune near the U.S. Embassy in Havana, Cuba, Monday, Jan. 5, 2026, in memory of Cubans who died two days before in Caracas, Venezuela during the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro by U.S. forces. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)