NASCAR Cup Series
Next Race: Toyota / Save Mart 350
The Place: Sonoma Raceway
Track Length: 1.99 Mile Road Course
The Date: Sunday, July 13
The Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
The Purse: $11,055,250
TV: TNT, 3 p.m. ET
Radio: PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR (Channel 90)
Distance: 218.9 miles (110 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 25),
Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 55), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 110)
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Next Race: Pit Boss / FoodMaxx 250
The Place: Sonoma Raceway
Track Length: 1.99 Mile Road Course
The Date: Saturday, July 12
The Time: 4:30 p.m. ET
The Purse: $1,651,939
TV: CW, 4 p.m. ET
Radio: PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR (Channel 90)
Distance: 156.95 miles (79 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 20),
Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 45), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 79)
NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series
Next Race: TSport 200
The Place: Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park
Track Length: 0.686 Mile Asphalt Paved Oval
The Date: Friday, July 25
The Time: 8 p.m. ET
The Purse: $782,900
TV: FS1, 8 p.m. ET
Radio: NRN, SiriusXM NASCAR (Channel 90)
Distance: 137.2 miles (200 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 60),
Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 120), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 200)
Where To Watch NASCAR This Weekend:
Friday, July 11
ARCA West Race: General Tire 200 (NASCAR Channel, FloRacing at 6:30 p.m. ET)
Saturday, July 12
NCS Practice & Busch Light Pole Qualifying (truTV, PRN, SiriusXM at 1 p.m. ET)
NXS Race: Pit Boss / FoodMaxx 250 (CW Network, PRN, SiriusXM at 4:30 p.m. ET)
Sunday, July 13
NCS Race: Toyota / Save Mart 350 (TNT, PRN, SiriusXM at 3:30 p.m. ET)
NCS Race: Toyota / Save Mart 350 – In Season Challenge Altcast (truTV, MRN, SiriusXM at 3:30 p.m. ET)
NASCAR Cup Series
Sonoma Storylines and Insights:
- This weekend marks the 36th running of a NASCAR Cup Series race at Sonoma Raceway (1989-2025), third most all-time for road courses in the Cup Series.
- The stage end laps are lap 25, 55 and 110.
- Only one of the last six Sonoma races were won by a driver getting their first win of the season (Daniel Suarez – 2022).
- The driver leading the most laps won five of the last six Sonoma races, all but 2024.
- Kyle Larson (2), Kyle Busch (2), and Daniel Suarez (1) are the only active Sonoma winners.
- Chris Buescher finished top-five in the last three Sonoma races, the longest active streak. In the last three Sonoma races, Chris Buescher finished second, fourth and third.
- Ross Chastain and Chase Elliott finished top-10 in the last four Sonoma races, the longest active streak.
- Shane van Gisbergen won the last two road course races from pole, the record is three by Jeff Gordon between 1998 and 1999.
- Two of the seven remaining races before the Playoffs are on road courses – Sonoma and Watkins Glen.
- Five of the last 12 road course races were won by drivers getting their first road course win.
- Hendrick Motorsports leads all teams in poles, wins, top-fives, top-10s, laps led and average finish on road courses in the Next Gen era (2022-2025).
- Alex Bowman was the top-finishing Hendrick Motorsports driver for the first time in 2025 at Chicago Street Course last week by finishing eighth.
- Hendrick Motorsports drivers won five of the last 10 road course races with three different drivers winning: William Byron and Kyle Larson (twice) and Alex Bowman (once).
- The stage one winner finished outside the top-10 in each of the last six road course races.
- Chase Elliott leads all drivers with 10 top-five finishes in the Next Gen car on road courses but none of his seven road course wins came in the Next Gen car.
- Christopher Bell finished in the top-two in three of the last four road course races including a win at COTA this year.
- Both of Kyle Busch’s top-five finishes in 2025 came on road courses
- Chris Buescher has the best average finish on road courses in the Next Gen car (9.3), Shane van Gisbergen is the only other driver with a top-10 average finish on road courses in the Next Gen (9.8).
- Ryan Blaney is on a 21-race streak without a top-five finish on road courses.
- Brad Keselowski is on an 18-race streak without a top-10 finish on a road course.
- The driver leading the most laps won six of the last 11 road course races.
- The last three road course races Kyle Larson led; he went on to win.
- Since Mexico City three races ago, William Byron’s regular season points lead has shrunk from 67 to 13.
- The top-three drivers in 2025 regular season standings are all Hendrick Motorsports’ drivers (William Byron-1st, Chase Elliott-2nd, Kyle Larson-3rd), it’s the fourth race this year that the top-three in regular season standings were all Hendrick Motorsports’ drivers (2025 is the first season since 2014 that Hendrick drivers ranked 1-2-3 in points following multiple races in the season).
- Christopher Bell will make his 200th career Cup Series start this weekend, four drivers won in their 200th start, most recently Kevin Harvick at Watkins Glen in 2006.
- Both Tyler Reddick and Christopher Bell will be making their 200th consecutive Cup starts this weekend.
- Ryan Preece has been part of the Playoff bubble following the last eight races.
- Shane van Gisbergen, with two, is the only repeat winner in the last 10 races of 2025.
- In the stage era, Daniel Suarez is the only driver to win at Sonoma from below the cutline. He was 20th, 60 points out before winning.
- Other than Suarez, every winner at Sonoma in the stage era was sixth or better in the points standings at the time of their win.
- The pole winner has not won at Sonoma in the last 19 races (2004).
- The average finish of the pole winner is 19th over those 19 races.
- Kyle Larson and Martin Truex Jr. are the only repeat winners in the last 15 Sonoma races.
- Seven of the 16 road course regular season races in the Next Gen were won by a driver ranked 16th or worse in the Playoff standings.
Understanding the In-Season Challenge:
- The top 32 in driver points following Nashville were eligible for the In-Season Challenge (Shane van Gisbergen, Cole Custer, Riley Herbst and Cody Ware failed to qualify among full-time drivers).
- The three races at Michigan, Mexico City and Pocono established the seeding for the challenge based on the best driver finishing positions over those races.
- The five races for the In-Season Challenge are Atlanta, Chicago, Sonoma, Dover and Indianapolis.
- The drivers will compete in a bracket-style tournament until the final two drivers face off in the finale at Indianapolis with the best-finishing driver winning $1 million.
In-Season Challenge Round 3 Matchups:
- Alex Bowman (No. 8 seed) Vs. Ty Dillon (No. 32 seed)
- Bowman has made eight Cup starts at Sonoma compared to Dillon’s five.
- Bowman (17.2) has a better average finish at Sonoma than Dillon (26.8).
- Bowman has two top 10s at Sonoma; Dillon’s best finish at Sonoma is 23rd.
- John Hunter Nemechek (No. 12 seed) Vs. Erik Jones (No. 20 seed)
- Jones has made seven Cup starts at Sonoma compared to Nemechek’s just one.
- Jones has an average finish of 17.7 and two top 10s at Sonoma.
- Nemechek finished 29th in his series track debut at Sonoma last season.
- Ryan Preece (No. 15 seed) Vs. Tyler Reddick (No. 23 seed)
- Both Preece and Reddick have each made four starts in the Cup Series at Sonoma.
- Reddick has one top-10 finish, Preece’s best finish at Sonoma is 13th.
- Preece (20.2) has a slightly better average finish than Reddick (23.8) at Sonoma.
- Ty Gibbs (No. 6 seed) Vs. Zane Smith (No. 14 seed)
- Both Gibbs and Smith have made two Cup Series starts at Sonoma Raceway.
- Smith (25.0) has the edge in average finish over Gibbs (27.5) at Sonoma.
- Smith’s best finish at Sonoma is 16th and Gibbs’ best finish is 18th.
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Sonoma Storylines and Insights:
- This weekend marks the third running of a NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Sonoma Raceway (2023-25).
- Sonoma will be the fourth of seven road course races on the 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule.
- The last nine races of 2025 were won by nine different drivers, the record streak for most different winners is 13 (three times).
- Kyle Larson (two) is the only repeat winner in the last 11 Xfinity Series races.
- There are eight races left in the regular season and five Playoff spots remain open.
- Taylor Gray and Harrison Burton are separated by eight points at the Playoff cut line.
- The drivers from 10th-13th in Playoff standings are separated by just 30 points.
- Sheldon Creed gained 30 points to the Playoff cut line at Chicago after losing 42 points in the previous two races.
- Taylor Gray lost 20 points to the Playoff cut line at Chicago after gaining 60 points in the previous three races.
- JR Motorsports won nine races this season with a series-record six different drivers, all six drivers won in the last nine races.
- JR Motorsports is three wins away from 100, only three other teams won at least 100 NXS races (Joe Gibbs Racing-217, Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing-138, Richard Childress Racing-100).
- JR Motorsports won all three road course races this season with three different drivers.
- JR Motorsports won the last five road course races with four different drivers, the longest win streak by a team on road courses in NXS.
- Chicago Street Course winner Shane van Gisbergen will be back in the JR Motorsports #9 for Sonoma. Shane van Gisbergen won both Chicago Street and Sonoma races in 2024 in the NXS.
- Shane van Gisbergen’s fourth career NXS win is one behind Marcos Ambrose for most by a foreign-born driver, currently tied with Daniel Suarez and Ron Fellows.
- Shane van Gisbergen became the second driver all-time to sweep Cup and Xfinity poles and races in one weekend – Kyle Busch at Indianapolis 2016.
- Shane van Gisbergen’s seven career NASCAR wins all came on road courses.
- Shane van Gisbergen’s 57% winning percentage on road courses is the best all-time in the NXS.
- Sam Mayer and Shane van Gisbergen lead active drivers with four career road course wins each.
- Connor Zilisch has six straight top-five finishes since returning from back injury.
- Connor Zilisch finished top-five in all four career road course starts, including two wins.
- Connor Zilisch won the pole for three of his four NXS road course starts.
- Connor Zilisch’s average finish of 2.25 on road courses is second all-time to Terry Labonte.
- Connor Zilisch and Austin Hill are the only two drivers to finish in the top-10 in all three road course races this season.
- Shane van Gisbergen and Connor Zilisch combined have won six of the last eight road course races.
- Shane van Gisbergen and Connor Zilisch combined have won the last seven poles on road courses.
- Austin Hill finished in top-10 in four straight road course races, the longest active streak.
- Five drivers finished in top-10 in both previous Sonoma races: Justin Allgaier, Austin Hill, Sam Mayer, Cole Custer and Parker Kligerman.
- Greg Ives will serve as crew chief for Hendrick Motorsports #17 after Adam Wall was suspended for three races for main frame rail conical receiver violation at Pocono.
- Twelve drivers on the entry list are making their first Xfinity Series start at Sonoma; four drivers have never raced at Sonoma in any series.
- Chevrolet won the last eleven road course races with five different drivers.
- Five drivers entered in the Xfinity Series race at Sonoma have won on road courses: Sam Mayer (4), Shane van Gisbergen (4), Justin Allgaier (3), Connor Zilisch (2) and Jeremy Clements (1).
- Ryan Ellis is making his 150th NASCAR Xfinity Series start this weekend.
- Kyle Sieg is making his 100th NASCAR Xfinity Series start this weekend.
- Five crew chiefs got their first NXS win in 2025: Chad Haney at Atlanta, Sam McAulay at Darlington, Adam Wall at Bristol, Cory Shea at Mexico City & Dale Earnhardt Jr. at Pocono.
- JR Motorsports #88 has won three races with three different driver/crew chief combos this season.
- Justin Allgaier’s 28 career wins are ninth on the all-time wins list and one away from tying NASCAR Hall of Famer Matt Kenseth.
- Justin Allgaier is seven top 10s away from 300 in his career, he would be the first driver with 300 top-10 finishes.
- Justin Allgaier leads all drivers with 10 top-five finishes and 648 laps led in 2025.
- Justin Allgaier’s 10 top-five finishes in 2025 are his most ever after 18 races in a season.
- Justin Allgaier won the Fastest Lap Award five times this season, no other driver has more than two.
- Sam Mayer is the only driver to finish top-15 in 15 of 18 races this season.
- Five races this year ended with a last lap pass. Last season’s Sonoma Xfinity race had the final pass for the lead with 11 laps to go.
- Six of the last eight races this season had a pass for the win in the final six laps.
- Seven of the 18 races this season went to overtime.
- Chevrolet led 2,294 of 3,014 laps this season.
- Chevrolet won 16 of 18 races, the most all time by a manufacturer through 18 races in series history.
Crunch Time: Only Five Spots Remain In Playoffs
- It’s possible to get more than 12 series winners with eight races remaining in regular season.
- If there are more than 12 winners after 26 races, the winner with the fewest regular season points will miss the Playoffs.
- Taylor Gray and Harrison Burton are separated by 8 points at the Playoff cut line.
- Sheldon Creed in 10th to Harrison Burton in 13th are separated by 30 points.
- Sheldon Creed in 10th to Ryan Sieg in 14th are separated by 52 points, less than one race
- The three drivers behind Ryan Sieg are all rookies.
NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series
Looking Ahead – Indianapolis Storylines and Insights:
- This season marks the 21st running of a NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.
- Defending series champion, Ty Majeski, has won the last two consecutive Truck races at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park (2023-24). Grant Enfinger (2022) is the only active driver with a win at IRP.
- Ty Majeski currently occupies the 10th and final Playoff transfer spot in the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series driver point standings, up +38 points on Jake Garcia in 11th, and up +65 points on Giovanni Ruggiero in 12th.
- Corey Heim has won five of the 15 Truck Series races this season, his best finish at Indianapolis is fifth (2022).
- Corey Heim has 14 stage wins in 2025, the driver with the next most is Layne Riggs with four.
- Corey Heim has accumulated 39 Playoff points this season. The all-time most Playoff points a Truck Series driver has earned to take into the Playoffs is 49 by John Hunter Nemechek in 2021.
NCTS Clinch Scenarios Following Lime Rock Park:
Already Clinched:
- The following seven drivers have clinched a spot in the 10-driver postseason field: Corey Heim, Chandler Smith, Layne Riggs, Daniel Hemric, Tyler Ankrum, Stewart Friesen and Rajah Caruth.
Can Clinch Via Win:
The following drivers would clinch on their win alone:
- Kaden Honeycutt, Grant Enfinger, Ty Majeski, Jake Garcia, Giovanni Ruggiero, Ben Rhodes, Tanner Gray, Connor Mosack, Matt Crafton, Andres Perez De Lara, Jack Wood, Matt Mills, Dawson Sutton, Spencer Boyd, Toni Breidinger and Frankie Muniz.
Can Clinch Regular Season Championship:
Additionally, the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Regular Season Championship could be clinched by the following drivers:
- Corey Heim: Would clinch with 39 points.
NASCAR & Sonoma, Etc.
Historical and Significant Events at Sonoma Raceway:
- The track known today as Sonoma Raceway, was opened as a 2.52-mile, multi-elevational paved road course and drag strip in 1968 located just outside of Sonoma, California.
- The Sonoma track also has a 1.99-mile configuration of the road course and that is what the NASCAR national series currently compete on.
- Considered the largest motorsports facility in Northern California.
- The Road Course features more than 160 ft. of elevation change from its highest point (Turn 3a, 174 ft.) to its lowest point (Turn 10, 14 ft.) – the largest of any track on the NASCAR circuit.
- Over the course of its existence, the facility has held a few different names – Sears Point Raceway, Sears Point International Raceway and Infineon Raceway prior to being renamed Sonoma Raceway.
- The first NASCAR Cup Series race at Sonoma Raceway was held on June 11, 1989 and was won by Ricky Rudd driving a Buick for car owner Kenny Bernstein. Rudd ran the race at an average speed of 76.088 mph. He led 61 of 74 scheduled laps.
- The first nine NASCAR Cup Series races at Sonoma Raceway were 300 kilometers and then switched to a 350k format in 1998.
- In Nov. 1996, O. Bruton Smith, the founder of Speedway Motorsports, purchased Sonoma Raceway, then “Sears Point Raceway” from owner “Skip” Berg.
- The track was reconfigured to 1.949-miles in 1998 with the installation of an 890-foot chute between the original Turns 4 and 7.
- The track was reconfigured to 2.0 miles in 2001 and re-measured at 1.99 miles in 2002.
- In 2019 and 2021, the track was reconfigured back to the original 2.52-mile configuration with races being 90 laps – 226.8 miles.
- Starting in 2022, Sonoma Raceway returned the track configuration back to the 1.99-mile configuration with the return of the ‘chute’.
- More than 10 million viewers in over 90 countries watch events televised from Sonoma each year.
- In 2011, in a partnership with Panasonic Corporation of North America, the raceway installed nearly 1,700 solar panels, which offset 41% of the raceway’s energy usage.
- Nearly 4,000 sheep that live on track property provide an invaluable service, helping to maintain the grass and fire lanes around the facility.
- Drivers who complete the Toyota/Save Mart 350 NASCAR Cup Series race on the Chute configuration will make a total of 1,100 turns around the road course. The race spans 110 laps.
- The property on which the raceway was built was a working farm called Sears Point farm in the early 1900s.
- The raceway houses a motorsports industrial park of more than 70 businesses in 104 shops.
- Sonoma Raceway and Humboldt Sawmill Company, the leader in environmentally-certified redwood decking, are pleased to bring shade and comfort to race fans with custom-built fan amenities including the “Real. Strong. Humboldt Sawmill Redwood Deck” above Turn 2.
- Mat Mladin (AMA), Josh Hayes (AMA), Doug Kalitta (NHRA – Top Fuel), John Force (NHRA – Funny Car), and Jeff Gordon (NASCAR) are the only riders/drivers to three-peat in a major racing series at Sonoma Raceway.
- Winners in Sonoma celebrate with a sip from the Champion’s Goblet in Victory Lane. The goblet, which is handcrafted by a Bay Area glass blower, was introduced in 2006 and incorporates the raceway’s rich wine country heritage.
- The raceway has collected more than 734 tons of recyclable material (1,469,341 pounds) since the inception of the recycling program in 2004.
- Twenty owl boxes placed around Sonoma Raceway encourage owls to nest and help with natural rodent mitigation.
- In total there have been 35 NASCAR Cup Series races at Sonoma Raceway since the inaugural race there in 1989 – one race per season, until the 2020 season due to the pandemic the series did not compete at Sonoma Raceway.
— NASCAR —