In-Season Challenge: Update after Round 3 at Sonoma

The Cinderella run extends into the final four for No. 32 seed Ty Dillon as he passed No. 8 seed Alex Bowman in Turn 11 on the final lap to advance to the semifinals of the In-Season Challenge Sunday afternoon at Sonoma Raceway. It was arguably the most impressive win in the 32-driver tournament for the driver of the No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet as he had to outduel a pretty stout road-course driver in Bowman from start to finish. What was once improbable is now trending realistic as Dillon now has a 25% chance to claim the $1 million prize in NASCAR's inaugural tournament on TNT Sports. Here's where we stand after Sonoma and before next Sunday's AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 at Dover Motor Speedway (2 p.m. ET, TNT Sports/truTV, HBO Max, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio): RELATED: Race results | Check your bracket Sonoma Raceway winner: Shane van Gisbergen has become unstoppable on road courses this year, winning three of the last five races to match Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell for most wins at the Cup level in 2025. Van Gisbergen led 97 of the 110 laps completed Sunday at the Northern California track, the most ever for a Cup race at Sonoma. Who advances to semifinals: (6) Ty Gibbs, (12) John Hunter Nemechek, (23) Tyler Reddick and (32) Ty Dillon. Nemechek clashed with Legacy Motor Club teammate Erik Jones in a Round 3 matchup. The No. 43 Toyota driver held point on Nemechek until late in the race when Jones was spun off Turn 7 in a multicar incident with nine laps to go. The two were separated by a single position until the checkered flag waved, with Nemechek getting the nod in 28th. Jones crossed the line in P29. Pitting for fresh Goodyear tires with 13 to go, Ty Gibbs placed seventh Sunday to outduel Zane Smith in their third-round matchup. On the same strategy as Gibbs, Tyler Reddick stumped Ryan Preece after finishing sixth. Preece also collected significant damage in the Lap 101 incident, but still managed to score a 12th-place result. There will be no clear favorites heading to Dover next Sunday. Nemechek and Dillon will face off in the semifinals on their side of the bracket, while Gibbs and Reddick meet for a spot in the championship round. Who's up Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. Gibbs' seventh-place finish at Sonoma continued a fruitful summer stretch that has included two top fives (Michigan, Chicago) and no finish worse than 14th in the last six races. Gibbs' run to the semifinals has now included wins over Justin Haley, AJ Allmendinger and now Smith. Dover could be enough to get Gibbs into the championship round as the third-year Cup driver finished 10th in last year's event, shaping up a thrilling battle with Reddick as the No. 45 driver finished just behind Gibbs in the most recent edition. Who's down Erik Jones, No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota. Sunday was not what the doctor ordered for the Jones camp as a 29th-place result will now put the No. 43 team in must-win territory the next six weeks to make the playoffs. It's the second straight finish of 25th or worse for the 29-year-old driver. Jones had quite the eventful end at Sonoma as he was involved in a multicar wreck after getting turned by Josh Berry coming out of Turn 7. Jones, however, can gain some momentum back at Dover as he has just two finishes outside the top 20 in 11 starts at the concrete oval.