WATCH: Insane last-corner Cup Series elimination results in awkward pit road moment

Shane van Gisbergen may have cruised to victory at Sonoma on Sunday, but further down the field there was some incredible, and impactful, late drama.

Ty Dillon came into this weekend's race still clinging on as the 32nd of 32 seeds in the NASCAR In-Season Challenge, with vaunted knockout opponents Denny Hamlin and Brad Keselowski wrecking early in their matchups to grant him passage through to the Elite 8.

Dillon was matched up with 8-seed Alex Bowman this weekend, the second-highest seed remaining in the tournament, and looked in some strife in his hunt for the $1m prize when Bowman inexplicably spent the 110-lap race failing to wreck out.

However, a series of late cautions, restarts and drivers splitting tire strategy meant that the two found themselves drawn together in the final laps, with Bowman controlling Dillon from in front.

Bowman and Dillon share awkward post-race moment

That was, until the final corner of the final lap, when Dillon got into the back of the No. 48 car to nudge it off line and sneak through on the inside, aggressively blocking Bowman off as he tried to outdrive him off the turn.

That move was enough to keep Dillon's Cinderella story alive for at least another week going into Dover, where he will be up against John Hunter Nemechek – who knocked out team-mate Erik Jones by a single place on Sunday, 28th to 29th.

Dillon and Bowman were seen talking on pit road after the high-octane end to their race, with no evidence of bad blood over the tough racing, with Dillon's Kaulig team calling it '100% friendly and good fun'.

The one awkward moment? A grinning Dillon went for a handshake as Bowman moved his hand to turn and walk away, resulting in an astonishingly cringeworthy couple of seconds as the pair tried to make the motion look somewhat natural. They failed.

100% friendly and good fun!

Brutal handshake though… tough to watch. 😂 https://t.co/HGkZg2RBxb pic.twitter.com/YrEP8Y1w1e

— Kaulig Racing (@KauligRacing) July 13, 2025

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