“I’m a little in shock,” Ty Dillon said after NASCAR’s Cup Series race in Sonoma. After all, the Kaulig Racing #10 driver’s Cinderella story has been continuing since EchoPark Speedway. Entering the bracket as the 32nd seed (lowest), he beat 56-time Cup race-winner Denny Hamlin in Atlanta, and then 2012 Cup Series champion Brad Keselowski in Chicago. In Sonoma as well, he emerged victorious over Alex Bowman to get into NASCAR’s In-Season Tournament semi-finals. But his new rival swore to stop his streak.

Legacy Motor Club has been living a redemption story this season. Jimmie Johnson and his drivers are making up for their disastrous 2024 season, being a front-running Toyota team. The two racers put on a thrilling face-off in Sonoma, and one of them is rolling up his sleeves to continue that against Ty Dillon.

Ty Dillon needs to make the slipper fit again

Well, the No. 10 Chevrolet driver dazzled his fans after the Atlanta race. Ty Dillon used Denny Hamlin’s famous words and used them against him: “To all the Denny fans out there, I just knocked your favorite driver out.” This iconic statement kicked off a thrilling storyline that continued into Sonoma. Paired against Alex Bowman, a seasoned road course racer, Dillon had few chances, and he waited till the very end to make the most of them.

NASCAR’s $1 Million In-Season Challenge has motivated Dillon like nothing else. He had Bowman in his sights in the last 15 laps and used a last-lap bump-and-run in Turn 11 to get ahead. As we head to the semi-finals of the in-season challenge in Dover, however, LMC racer John Hunter Nemechek is a threat to Dillon.

After knocking out Alex Bowman from the Sonoma round, Ty Dillon sent another catchy message on social media. He took a sly dig at Hendrick Motorsports for allowing him to win: “I do have to give a shout-out to Hendrick’s PR department and let them know the glass slipper fit one last time.” Indeed, that is an iconic reference to Dillon’s Cinderella story. However, Lady Tremaine, Cinderella’s wicked stepmother, is here to ruin her plans. Tremaine is none other than John Hunter Nemechek, who is paired up with Dillon for the Dover round. Nemechek responded savagely to Dillon’s message: “Key word: last.”

His on-track rivals, who are not part of the bracket anymore, also welcomed Dillon’s success. Denny Hamlin, who was eliminated by Dillon, drove up to him and waved a thumbs-up out of the window during the cooldown lap at Sonoma. Even Bubba Wallace’s spotter, Freddie Kraft, was all for Dillon to go all the way as the 32 seed, saying on the Door Bumper Clear podcast, “The whole world should be cheering for Ty Dillon to win.”

Meanwhile, in Sonoma, Nemechek clashed with Legacy Motor Club teammate Erik Jones, who spun out in a multi-car incident with 9 laps left. Nemechek got the nod in a 28th-place finish, while Jones finished 29th. The other two drivers who reached the semi-finals are Ty Gibbs and Tyler Reddick. Gibbs finished 7th, outdueling his Sonoma matchup, Zane Smith. And Reddick finished 6th after stumping Ryan Preece. Clearly, Ty Dillon needs to be at his A-game, as he is the lone Chevrolet driver surrounded by Toyota rivals.

John Hunter Nemechek has his hands full stealing Ty Dillon‘s glass slipper. Meanwhile, however, Nemechek is also involved in other tasks.

Promoting the ‘tough’ track

In less than two months, NASCAR will head to the track, which is “Too Tough To Tame.” Darlington Raceway, the 1.366-mile track, will host the prestigious Southern 500, and John Hunter Nemechek is fully preparing for it. The No. 42 Toyota driver’s best finish in Darlington was an 8th-place finish back in 2020. But his stats in 2025 have been impressive, having clinched 6 top tens and 1 top five. So Nemechek is looking forward to his chances in Darlington, which holds special memories for his team owner. Jimmie Johnson owns three wins at the racetrack. Recently, Nemechek spent Monday visiting the Darlington Fire Department in a promotional campaign for the upcoming Southern 500 race.

Usually used to wearing NASCAR’s firesuits, John Hunter Nemechek donned a first responder firesuit for a change. He reflected on his experience: “It’s been really fun. Being able to suit up with the fire department was really neat. Seeing the fire suit that what they wear compared to what we wear on a weekly basis is definitely different. Theirs is way heavier than ours is. But it’s been really neat to be able to come down here to be on the police simulator, to tour the police station and really just get to know more about the city of Darlington and being able to come and hang out with some of the first responders.” He continued about the upcoming race: “Iconic crown jewel race. Everyone wants to win it, right? It’s probably one of the hardest races to win, in my opinion, on the schedule.”

Evidently, John Hunter Nemechek’s goals are fixed for the 2025 season. Ty Dillon may need to watch out for his moves in the upcoming weekend’s race in Dover.