Final Four set for In-Season Challenge after eventful Sonoma

The Final Four contenders of NASCAR’s first In-Season Challenge have been set.

A wild final stage at Sonoma Raceway saw challengers ebb and flow, with each of the four battles to advance coming down to the final laps – and in one case, the final corner.

Eager to keep playing spoiler amid an otherwise-difficult year, Ty Dillon and Kaulig Racing found themselves just behind Alex Bowman in the last lap of Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350.

Entering the last corner, Dillon did what he needed to do. The North Carolinian put himself behind Bowman and nudged his No. 48 up the track. Bowman tried to pay him back, but Dillon held on and drove off to a third upset with a 17th-place finish.

The 33-year-old will be joined in the penultimate round by John Hunter Nemechek, who narrowly beat Legacy Motor Club teammate Erik Jones to advance. The pair spent a good chunk of the day near each other and both spun at different stages in the race. But it was Nemechek ahead when it counted most, coming home on spot ahead of Jones in 28th.

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Dillon and Nemechek will go up against each other in the next round, meaning someone deep in the Cup standings will get a shot at the tournament’s $1 million prize in two weeks.

On the other side of the bracket, the favorites prevailed – but not without some drama.

Tyler Reddick got the better of Ryan Preece in tense race-long battle to stamp his birth into the semifinal round. But it took a solid run and some help to make it happen. Preece spent a good chunk of the afternoon ahead of Reddick on a day where RFK Racing generally showed pace. But the Modified standout was caught up in a crash late and had to finish with a damaged car.

Preece still came home 12th to make the most of the weekend and bolster his playoff odds. But Reddick took the checkered flag six spots ahead of him to keep his tournament alive.

Just behind Reddick in seventh was Ty Gibbs, who ultimately prevailed over Zane Smith. Gibbs had an up-and-down day, surviving reviewed contact with an RFK Racing crew member without a penalty but having to overcome occasional contact and a few small mistakes.

Smith was briefly ahead as cautions and pit strategy shook up the field in the closing stages. But he ran off-track coming to the final corner with two laps left and faded to 27th.

Reddick and Gibbs will square off in an all-Toyota battle for a chance to become the favorite entering the final round.

“Two evenly matched cars,” Reddick said of the matchup. “Obviously we work very close together. I have a feeling we’re going to be around each other all day long. It’s going to be a long battle.”

With Sonoma complete, the road course section of the In-Season Challenge is done. The final four combatants will fight to advance next weekend at Dover Motor Speedway, with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway following for the two drivers that advance.