In last season’s NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series event at Sonoma Raceway, Connor Zilisch held off pole winner Shane van Gisbergen by a mere 0.438 seconds.
Both drivers are back in JR Motorsports Chevrolets for a rematch in Saturday’s Pit Boss/Food Maxx 250 at the 1.99-mile circuit (5:30 p.m. ET on CW, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
“I’m really pumped about getting back to Sonoma with JR Motorsports,” Zilisch said. “Shane and I had a great race for the win last year, and fortunately, we came out on top…
“It’s always great to race with (crew chief) Rodney (Childers) and everyone on the No. 1 team. Getting the extra track time on Friday and Saturday is really valuable to prepare for the Cup race.”
Zilisch has struggled in his rookie year in the NASCAR Cup Series this season, but he has won twice while moonlighting in the O’Reilly Series, at Bristol and Watkins Glen. Last week, he was leading the Cup race at Naval Base Coronado when an accident not of his making knocked him out of the inaugural event.
Head-to-head on road and street courses in the O’Reilly Series, Zilisch leads van Gisbergen with four wins to the New Zealander’s two, but Sonoma Raceway is one of SVG’s favorite tracks.
“I really like Sonoma,” said van Gisbergen, who won the O’Reilly Series race from the pole in 2024 and did the same in last year’s Cup race. “I’ve had good success there. Last year in the O’Reilly race we came up a bit short, but it was one of the best races for everyone to watch.
“I really enjoyed being in it and racing Connor. It’s really cool to race in O’Reilly and Cup, and I learn a lot about the track throughout the weekend and what I need from the cars. Looking forward to having a good crack at it this weekend.”
After a breakthrough street course win at Naval Base Coronado last Saturday, Austin Hill will be looking for more at Sonoma. Hill finished fifth after leading 21 laps at Sonoma in 2024.
Looking for a rebound will be Justin Allgaier, who fell out of last Saturday’s race in 32nd place. In a record-setting season for the No. 7 JR Motorsports team, Allgaier has won five times and already has clinched a spot in the postseason Chase.
Allgaier leads second-place Jesse Love by 224 points in the series standings. He has finished seventh, sixth and sixth in his three Sonoma starts.
— NASCAR News Wire —