Posted on by NASCAR Wire Service

As the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads to Sonoma Raceway this weekend after coming of an idle-week, the wine region of California has much more to offer fans than just racing.

The weekend will be packed with fans from near and far looking forward to the many events and things to do.

The view of the wine region is a treat within itself and gives way to a 1.99-mile, 12-turn road course that races as aggressively as a short track. Because of the unique and compact layout of the course, fans in the stands can see almost all the bumping and hitting that takes place after the green flag flies.

Sonoma Raceway has provided many unforgettable moments in racing. Two moments that stick out are Tony Stewart’s move on Denny Hamlin for the win in 2016 and Kyle Busch’s win in 2015 that pushed him into championship contention. This complicated road course has sent numerous frustrated drivers off-course and into the tire barriers in the battle for position.

The winner receives something only a Northern California track can provide – an iconic and over-sized “Champion’s Goblet” of red wine in Victory Lane.

Sonoma Raceway to Honor Heroes, Provide Fan Entertainment

Sonoma Raceway will honor first responders and local heroes as part of the “Sonoma Rising” program. Race fans have submitted nominations for Sonoma County residents who stood out during devastating fires of 2017 and the winning heroes will be recognized during pre-race ceremonies. In addition, the top 10 drivers will be introduced alongside first responders from North Bay agencies that responded during the fires.

Food, Drinks and Fun for Everyone

Race fans will not be disappointed by the large array of food they can indulge in this weekend at Sonoma Raceway.

Levy Restaurants will provide new food at the track, such as loaded fry bread nachos with Dungeness crab, pulled pork or impossible meat, and Farmstand Deli sandwiches including the Racer Banh Mi – a Wine Country Baguette with Parisian ham, brie, Dijon aioli and arugula.

That’s the just beginning of the menu on tap.

Fans 21 and over can enjoy race-themed drinks like Tito’s Texas Bloody Mary, Raceway Lemonade and American Mule. The raceway has also installed 100 feet of Humboldt Redwood stand-up bars in front of the Raceway Café, which is a cool and easy spot to sit down and enjoy your food and drinks.

Sonoma Raceway, in an effort to keep fans cool during the long, hot race weekend, has collaborated with Portacool to provide ten Portacool Cooling Stations spread throughout the raceway. Along with this, the RevZone at Turn 7 will feature more than twice the amount of shade and picnic tables as previous years. There is now a 9,000-square foot shade tent with more than 70 picnic tables for fans to enjoy the entertainment and relax in the shade.

For the fourth year in a row, Save Mart and Lucky will host the Breaking Zone in the main paddock area. This is a popular fan destination aimed specifically at social media activity. There will be a photo booth and virtual-reality ride around the track. It will also include Q&As with drivers and NASCAR personnel, as well as music to keep the party going.

There will be several DC Solar Power Stations placed around the track for fast and easy charging of phones and other electronics.

A Total Access Pass to Get Behind the Scenes

Sonoma Raceway has partnered with Friedman’s Home Improvement to host a pre-race show before the Toyota/Save Mark 350 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race on Sunday, June 24. The entertainment starts at 10 a.m. Fans looking to be involved in all the action should purchase the Total Access pass, which includes access to the NASCAR Drivers’ Meeting, Pre-Race Pass, a reserved seat in the Main Grandstand or Turn 2 Terrace and FanVision controller rental.

The Drivers’ Meeting will be held at 10 a.m. inside Sonoma Raceway’s famed Turn 11 hairpin. At 10:15 a.m., “Wild Thing” Steve Stavrakakis will amaze fans from the sky in his rare ex-Romanian Military IAR-823 aircraft. Martin Truex Jr. will do a “Chat with the Champ” at 10:25 a.m. on the pre-race stage.

The Patriots Jet Team Air Show will be at 10:45 a.m. – just one hour before the green flag drops. At 11:15 a.m., Sonoma Raceway will begin their Hometown Hero Recognition.

Legendary road racer and Northern California native Scott Pruett will pilot the Toyota Camry pace car to lead the Toyota/Save Mart 350 field.

Grand Marshal Jonny Mosley and special guests of Toyota will give the most famous words in motorsports — “Drivers, start your engines! — to begin the 110 laps of the race at Sonoma.

Catch the Action for Yourself

Tickets, parking and transportation are all still available for the Toyota/Save Mart 350 weekend, June 22-24. For more information, call 800-870-7223, visit www.sonomaraceway.com.

Posted on by

Zane Smith found out he was making his Camping World Truck Series debut with DGR-Crosley with a text around 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday.

Twenty-four hours later — after running through a series of checklist items — he will be wheels up to Gateway Motorsports Park in Madison, Illinois, where he’ll run the ARCA Racing Series race before making his NASCAR national series debut in Saturday’s Truck race (8:30 p.m. ET, FS1).

It’s been a “little busy today,” the second-year NASCAR Next driver noted.

“I actually found out about this yesterday,” Smith told NASCAR.com Wednesday. “I got a text saying that we could do this … I didn’t even have a NASCAR license until yesterday. Got a concussion test and today I’m getting fitted and I’ve got to fly out at 4 for the ARCA race at Gateway as well. …

“It’s huge to continue to be able to move up the ladder and now finally the top-three tier. … Hopefully, I’ll be able to continue up the ladder, but for right now, all I can hope going into this weekend is just to have a shot and I know I’m definitely going to give it everything I’ve got to do the best I can this weekend.”

Now in his second year of ARCA competition, Smith, 19, earned his first three wins in the series this year at Nashville, Talladega and Toledo. His No. 41 MDM Motorsports Toyota edged out Joe Graf Jr. for the win at Talladega by 0.0029 seconds, the closest finish in ARCA Racing Series history.

The trio of trips to Victory Lane has helped prepare the Huntington Beach, California, native for his national series debut in the No. 54 Toyota, a truck most recently piloted by team owner David Gilliland to a fourth-place finish at Iowa Speedway on June 16.

“It just builds your confidence and (helps) carry momentum into this weekend,” Smith said. “I’m running an ARCA car this weekend as well before the Truck race, so that’s going to be good seat time and good track time since I’ve never been here before, also. I think anything is going to help.”

This weekend is one of excitement, learning and potential nerves during qualifying — although he hasn’t had much time to get nervous yet, Smith said. He hopes that people “notice” him when he takes the track — for good reasons.

“I think it’s just one of those deals … if I have a shot I’m definitely going to take it — shoot, I mean this is a once-in-a-lifetime deal, you only get to make your debut once,” Smith said on his strategy.  “So, I’m (going to) make the most of it and I’m going to be smart and learn as much as I can …

“Hopefully, we’ll just be running good and just have a shot, really. That’s all you can ask for racing.”

Posted on by Chase Wilhelm

Race-car drivers will make anything into a race. Literally, anything.

On the latest edition of the “Dale Jr. Download” on Dirty Mo Radio, Dale Earnhardt Jr. recounted the time when he raced Brad Keselowski to a port-a-john while waiting out an extended red-flag period during the 2012 Daytona 500 (yes, the Juan Pablo Montoya-jet dryer one).

As it turns out, Earnhardt was behind the race within the race.

“He started walking to the port-a-john and I thought, man, that’s a good idea,” Earnhardt said. “Where’s this port-a-john at? I got to looking and saw where it was and I kind of jogged up behind him (Keselowski) quietly, tapped him on the shoulder and said, ‘Race ya!’ ”

“We started running and with those long legs, man … I thought I had him beat. He had me beat, actually, but we got to the port-a-john and I had to give him the shoulder. I put the bumper to him and pushed him by where he overran the port-a-john.”

Earnhardt may have collected his first “unofficial” victory of the 2012 season, but it came at a cost.

“At this point, my heart is literally pounding out of my chest and I’m almost embarrassed about how out of breath I am,” Earnhardt recalled. “So I go into the port-a-john and stood there for five minutes before I ever took a leak to catch my breath. Like, holy moly, I can’t let anybody see how terrible I feel.”

And, of course, there’s video of it all.

Posted on by RJ Kraft

Numbers mean plenty when it comes to building out your Fantasy Live teams each week. NASCAR.com will examine the stats outlook for each track in advance to help give you an edge as you set your lineups and bonus picks ahead of the race weekend.

Don’t forget to check back on NASCAR.com for additional insight from fantasy expert RJ Kraft, and watch Fantasy Fastlane with Jessica Ruffin and NBC Sports’ Steve Letarte for even more advice.

RELATED: Play Fantasy Live now | How the new Fantasy Live works | Driver stats

Top five average running position (per loop data from 2005 to present):

Driver Average Running Position
Kurt Busch 9.960
Jimmie Johnson 11.428
Kyle Larson 12.834
Kevin Harvick 13.538
Ryan Newman 14.062

Top five in stage points earned at Sonoma in 2017:

Driver Stage points Stage wins
Denny Hamlin 13 0
Ryan Blaney 11 0
Joey Logano 11 0
Martin Truex Jr. 10 1
Jimmie Johnson 10 1

Top five in points earned at Sonoma in last two years:

Driver Race points Race win
Denny Hamlin 87 0
Kevin Harvick 76 1
Joey Logano 74 0
Brad Keselowski 69 0
Kyle Busch 67 0

Most laps led in last two races at Sonoma:

Driver Laps led
Denny Hamlin 44
Kevin Harvick 27
Martin Truex Jr. 25
AJ Allmendinger 24
Brad Keselowski 17

Average starting position for last 10 winners: 10.5; five of last seven winners started between 10th and 14th.

Active drivers to win pole: Jamie McMurray (3), Kasey Kahne (2), Kurt Busch (1), Joey Logano (1), Kyle Larson (1), AJ Allmendinger (1)

Active drivers to win at Sonoma: Kyle Busch (2), Jimmie Johnson (1), Kevin Harvick (1), Kasey Kahne (1), Kurt Busch (1), Clint Bowyer (1), Martin Truex Jr. (1)

Most recent pole winner: Kyle Larson, June of 2017

Last time pole-sitter won here: Jeff Gordon, June of 2004

Where stage winners started from: Third, 24th

Winning manufacturers of last 10 races: Toyota-4, Ford-2, Chevrolet-2, Dodge-2

Posted on by Chase Wilhelm

While on vacation with family in the U.S. Virgin Islands, NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Jeb Burton had more plans than just soaking up the sun.

Burton, son of 2002 Daytona 500 champion Ward Burton and nephew of 21-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series winner Jeff Burton, proposed to longtime girlfriend Brandi Newcomb.

Burton has competed in two Xfinity Series events so far this season in the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, finishing 12th at both Richmond and Dover.

Posted on by Pat DeCola

Apparently the partying from Clint Bowyer’s win two Sundays ago at Michigan International Speedway has finally subsided and the affable Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver has run out of things to do, having not raced in the past week and a half.

MORE: Bowyer wins rain-shortened Michigan

So, why not spend some QT with the ol’ boy and try their hand at drawing the winding, 12-turn Sonoma Raceway, site of Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 (3 p.m. ET, FS1)?

Honestly … not bad! Much better than I could do, anyway.

Now let’s see you two kick the difficulty level up a notch and draw Martinsville Speedway. Good luck.

Posted on by Steve Luvender

The launch of the eNASCAR Ignite Series headlined this week’s iRacing news. The new series, aimed at developing young racing talent, kicks off June 20 at the virtual Charlotte Motor Speedway Legends Oval.

JP Motorsports NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Josh Bilicki logged some laps on iRacing in advance of last weekend’s race at Iowa Speedway.

While Bilicki looked quick on the virtual track, his real race Sunday ended early with a fuel pump issue.

Fellow Xfinity Series racer Shane Lee showed how he gets around the tricky short track using the Richard Childress Racing iRacing setup.

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver William Byron shared why he continues to hop on iRacing throughout the week when he’s not racing for his day job with Hendrick Motorsports.

Not only can iRacing help drivers stay sharp, it gives drivers the ability to learn new tracks and racing disciplines, according to Dale Earnhardt Jr. — something vital when NASCAR heads to normally unfamiliar road courses.

What sets iRacing apart from team- and manufacturer-funded simulators is the human element. There’s no substitute for racing against other humans.


NASCAR PEAK ANTIFREEZE IRACING SERIES UPDATE

After a two-race absence, Ryan Luza returned to the track and won his third race of the season Tuesday in Michigan — but not without controversy.

Luza, in pursuit of Ray Alfalla in the closing laps, put a bumper to Alfalla’s Ford, sending it into the wall, while Luza never looked back and took the checkered flag ahead of Zack Novak and Keegan Leahy. Marcus Richardson and Michael Guest rounded out the top five.

Alfalla, the three-time series champion, ended up finishing sixth, and remains in control of the points lead by 36 points over Keegan Leahy.

The NASCAR PEAK Antifreeze iRacing Series heads to the twists and turns of Sonoma Raceway June 26, where Bobby Zalenski looks to defend his 2017 victory.

IRACING PAINT SCHEMES OF THE WEEK

Jordan E. brought Justin Allgaier’s Breyers 2in1 Xfinity Series Camaro to the virtual track.

If you’re into throwbacks, Riley Roush rebuilt Paul Menard’s 2007 paint scheme to life for iRacing’s K&N Pro Series-style cars.

 

DON’T TRY THIS AT HOME

Take a ride with NASCAR PEAK Antifreeze iRacing Series driver Nolan Scott when his Ford flips on its roof after a crash unfolds ahead in last Tuesday’s race at Michigan.

Thank goodness it’s a lot less expensive to call a virtual tow truck instead of a real one.

Posted on by Staff Report

Organizers for the Kyle Petty Charity Ride Across America announced Tuesday that this year’s edition raised $1.3 million for the Victory Junction Camp for children with chronic or life-threatening illnesses.

RELATED: Kyle Petty Charity Ride carries ‘Americana’ theme

This year’s Ride, the 24th edition of the charity fundraiser, wound roughly 1,200 miles from Maine to North Carolina over seven days, ending with a May 11 celebration at the camp in Randleman. Several figures from the NASCAR community rode along, lending their support to Petty’s philanthropic mission.

The tour visited a pair of NASCAR tracks — New Hampshire Motor Speedway and Pocono Raceway — along the way. Petty indicated that the New Hampshire stop was particularly emotional; his son, Adam, lost his life at the track in May 2000.

“From lapping the track at New Hampshire to our homecoming at Victory Junction, this year’s Ride was a little bittersweet,” Petty said in a news release. “It was more emotional for me this year than past Rides because we ended at Camp. I’ve said it a million times – when I see a camper, I see Adam in their smile and I know he’s still here with us. And there were campers everywhere as we pulled into Camp.”

Funds from the charity ride have directly benefited Victory Junction since its opening in 2004. The camp, which is open year-round to benefit medically fragile children, was founded to honor the memory of Adam Petty.

Seven-time NASCAR champion Richard Petty participated in this year’s ride. joining legends Harry Gant, Donnie Allison, Ricky Craven and Hershel McGriff. Other celebrities offering their support: Front Row Motorsports’ David Ragan, Heisman Trophy winners Herschel Walker and George Rogers, and NBC Sports colleagues Krista Voda, Rutledge Wood and Rick Allen.

Posted on by George Winkler

The 1970s were great for hairstyles, high-collared shirts and those rare family photos that people stuck in books called photo albums, which are still wonderful to look through for those lucky enough to have a few laying around the house.

What the 70s weren’t great for were home mortgage rates, but you cannot tell that hardship by looking at Dale Earnhardt in this photo from 1975. Dale Jr. posted the picture from his aunt on Instagram, and it’s one we haven’t seen before — have fun trying to figure out what the occasion was that made ‘The Intimidator’ let down his guard.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BkL_h67nt5W/?hl=en&taken-by=dalejr

Posted on by Zack Albert

Five Monster Energy Series drivers and three NASCAR Next prospects are entered in Saturday’s NASCAR K&N Pro Series West event at Sonoma Raceway.

RELATED: Entry list | Sonoma schedule

A total of 31 cars are on the preliminary entry list, revealed Monday ahead of the Carneros 250. Two drivers are still to be announced. The NASCAR premier-series regulars participating are:

  • Erik Jones, in the No. 20 Toyota owned by David Gilliland
  • Alex Bowman, in the No. 24 Chevrolet from the Bill McAnally Racing stables
  • William Byron, in the No. 27 Chevy owned by Jerry Pitts
  • Aric Almirola, in a No. 41 Ford with Tony Stewart listed as the car owner of record
  • Daniel Suarez, in the No. 54 Toyota also owned by David Gilliland

Those five should benefit from extra track time ahead of Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 (3 p.m. ET, FS1, PRN, SiriusXM).

Three drivers in the current NASCAR Next class will also suit up for the sixth K&N West race of the season. Among those is Will Rodgers, who won the pole for the Sonoma race last year before finishing a close second to Kevin Harvick.

Other K&N regulars in the Next program who are scheduled to compete: Derek Kraus, winner of the West season opener and a three-time pole winner already this year; and Hailie Deegan, who has finished in the top 10 in all five K&N West races this season.