Three Up, Three Down: Drivers in focus leaving Sonoma

Posted on June 10, 2024 by Zach Sturniolo

Sonoma Raceway provided an incredible amount of ups and downs in the Toyota/Save Mart 350 — and not just in its elevation changes.

Kyle Larson was able to storm through the field and celebrate his second win in Napa Valley. Few others behind him left the 1.99-mile road course smiling — even those who capitalized on the day to exit with good finishes.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos: Sonoma

Before the circuit heads to the Midwest for the inaugural Cup race at Iowa Speedway on Sunday (7 p.m. ET, USA Network, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App), here’s a look at the drivers who trended up and slid down through Sonoma.

THREE UP ⬆️

1. Chris Buescher, No. 17 RFK Racing Ford

Brittney Wilbur | NASCAR Digital Media

Started: 26th

Finished: 3rd

What happened: After three weeks of disheartening results, Buescher launched back into the conversation Sunday at Sonoma, leading 32 laps and planting himself firmly in the conversation for the race win. He charged through the field early, setting himself up well enough that crew chief Scott Graves could leave Buescher on track to take the lead ahead of the final-stage restart.

Ultimately, Buescher was at a 13-lap tire disadvantage to eventual race winner Kyle Larson, but Buescher maintained to collect a third-place finish when second-place-running Martin Truex Jr. ran out of fuel. It’s Buescher’s first top-five finish since coming 0.001 seconds short of the victory at Kansas Speedway on May 5, ending a spell of poor results: 30th at Darlington Raceway, 23rd at Charlotte Motor Speedway and 14th at World Wide Technology Raceway.

What’s next: Buescher heads to Iowa Speedway for the track’s inaugural NASCAR Cup Series race. The Texas native scored an Xfinity Series win at the 0.875-mile oval in 2015.

2. Michael McDowell, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford

Brittney Wilbur | NASCAR Digital Media

Started: 12th

Finished: 2nd

What happened: Despite starting 12th, McDowell’s day was anything but smooth sailing and required a gargantuan comeback. The No. 34 Ford was inside the top 10 to begin Stage 2 but took an opportunity during an early-stage caution to hit pit road. That decision set the car back in traffic, just for calamity to strike in front of McDowell entering Turn 11, forcing him to knife through spun and sitting cars. The Arizona native then was involved in another melee not of his own doing, getting spun through the grass at Turn 8A after checking up for Austin Cindric, Noah Gragson and Corey LaJoie’s contact ahead.

But the veteran driver persevered and ran solidly inside the top five late in Sunday’s going, capitalizing on his speed and others’ misfortune to charge into a runner-up finish, his first top-five result of 2024.

What’s next: McDowell is no stranger to Iowa Speedway and has great results to show for it. In eight Xfinity starts — including six with Joe Gibbs Racing — McDowell has a 6.9 average finish at the Midwestern short track, earning a runner-up finish in 2014, his most recent outing.

3. Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

Meg Oliphant | Getty Images

Started: 29th

Finished: 12th

What happened: A topsy-turvy day for Busch ultimately resulted in a net positive, finishing 17 positions better than he started. But even that felt like a little bit of a letdown for the two-time Cup champion. Busch was running fifth on the final lap, but a hard-charging Ross Chastain rocketed into Turn 4 and appeared to lock his brakes while attempting to pass Busch, ultimately spinning the No. 8 Chevrolet around.

Busch was still able to salvage a 12th-place finish for his efforts, continuing a four-race stretch of results outside the top 10 but earning his second top 15 in that stretch.

What’s next: Busch has only made two Xfinity starts at Iowa Speedway — way back in 2009 and 2010 — but managed finishes of second and first.

THREE DOWN ⬇️

1. Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford

Brittney Wilbur | NASCAR Digital Media

Started: 1st

Finished: 21st

What happened: All things started beautifully for Logano, who led each of the first 16 laps before the No. 22 team opted to pit under caution to get a jump on fuel strategy. That decision ultimately played a part in upending the team’s day, though, placing Logano in unfortunate circumstances when Chase Briscoe spun at Turn 8A. With Briscoe’s No. 14 Ford sideways cresting the corner, Logano darted left to avoid the mess but instead caught the rear of Briscoe’s car with the No. 22 Ford’s passenger-side door.

Logano never properly recovered and finished 21st despite starting from the pole position for the third time this season.

What’s next: Surprisingly, Logano has never made an Xfinity, Craftsman Truck, or ARCA start at Iowa — but don’t rule him out. Logano has a knack for doing really well when the Cup Series attends a track for the first time.

2. William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

Logan Riely | Getty Images

Started: 6th

Finished: 30th

What happened: Byron’s race turned upside down almost immediately and never landed right-side up. The No. 24 Chevy was forced to pit with a flat rear tire at Lap 13, miring him back in traffic early. He charged back to 12th place in Stage 2 but was then collected in the Turn 11 pileup, breaking a toe link on Byron’s suspension.

The team eventually cleared the Damaged Vehicle Policy clock and could further repair the damage, but the day never quite improved. He later suffered a flat right-rear tire within the final 25 laps. Byron, a three-time winner this year, came home 30th, two laps down — his third finish of 23rd or worse in the past six races.

What’s next: Byron could use some good momentum and might find it at Iowa, where he has two wins — one each in Xfinity (2017) and Truck (2016) competition — in three national series starts.

3. Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

Alejandro Alvarez | NASCAR Digital Media

Started: 10th

Finished: 37th

What happened: A self-admitted, self-induced mistake thwarted any chance of a good run Sunday for Ty Gibbs. A misjudgment exiting Turn 11 led Gibbs into the right-side concrete barriers on corner exit, impacting the right-front tire and wheel. That went from bad to worse two corners later when Gibbs couldn’t steer his car out of the Turn 1 concrete.

The result was a retirement after completing just 16 of 110 laps, leading to a 37th-place finish in the 38-car field.

What’s next: Gibbs may not have any Xfinity or Truck starts at the Iowa short track, but he does have three ARCA Menards Series races to lean on. In a shock to no one who remembers Gibbs’ ARCA domination, he has two wins in three starts at the 0.875-mile oval.

Posted on June 10, 2024June 10, 2024 by Zack Albert

Kyle Larson wasn’t really certain about Sunday’s race-winning strategy, the one that delivered his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet to Sonoma Raceway’s wine-soaked Victory Lane for a second time.

“Yeah, I didn’t know what we were doing as far as strategy. I was just out there banging laps away,” Larson said in his post-checkered flag interview. “I don’t know, we study all the strategy, but it’s like doing homework. I don’t really know what I’m looking at.”

Turns out, he didn’t need to. Larson cut through the unexpectedly topsy-turvy nature of the Toyota/Save Mart 350’s first half, blocked out the dizzying array of pit strategies that emerged and rose above a week’s worth of chatter about playoff eligibility and waivers and the like to focus on what he does: drive.

RELATED: Race results | Larson surges in Sonoma

His at-track support staff, led by a capable commandant in crew chief Cliff Daniels, dealt with all the strategy, subplots and zigzags around him. Larson did the rest.

“Because he drives the wheels off of it,” said Hendrick Motorsports vice chairman Jeff Gordon, noting Larson’s pace, tire management and wise decision-making on the track — no strategy-sleuthing necessary. Take it from Gordon, another multiple-time Sonoma winner with Northern California roots. “… I think it’s obviously extracting the most speed out of a car. You don’t have to know anything about a car to extract speed out of it. I think where it comes down to — where he probably is a little too humble in some of the things he says is that he’s a key element of what the car is doing to be able to give that communication information back to Cliff and the team to get more out of it.”

Daniels’ approach helped, especially when the opening two stages of Sunday’s 110-lap contest threw the field a breaking ball with extra curve. Four of the last five Sonoma races had been relatively incident-free with longer green-flag runs that set the strategy table, and several other road-course races in the Next Gen era have adhered to that script. The first half Sunday, however, was a higgledy-piggledy flurry of caution periods for off-track excursions and significant stack-ups.

Daniels could have reacted with alarm when the best intentions for pre-race plans went haywire. Instead, he met the shifting strategy challenges with an embrace.

“That was actually fun because it changed everything everybody had in their mindset for how to understand pace, falloff, all those things, that it just changed the factors that you had to solve for,” Daniels said. “People could do things differently. We were completely off script with the way that we called the race, but that was fun.”

Larson may have been unaware of just how convoluted the strategy shake-up got, but where Daniels and Co. netted out was a longer run to start the final stage, which left the No. 5 Chevy with Goodyear tires that were 13 laps fresher than two of his nearest competitors, Chris Buescher and Martin Truex Jr. That call from Daniels put Larson on offense for the final stretch, and he picked off both Buescher and Truex in one swoop to lead the final nine laps.

“Well, that’s all you really can do when you’re behind the wheel is just trust that they’ve got it figured out, and then as long as you keep the car on the race track, don’t get passed by people, usually whatever strategy I feel like you’re on is going to typically work out OK,” Larson said. “You may not win, but you’re still going to finish good.”

MORE: At-track photos: Sonoma | 2024 Cup Series winners

Winning for the third time this season helped Larson regain the Cup Series points lead, reaffirming his status as a top playoff contender for the second time in five days. The first was a more clerical designation, coming from NASCAR officials who confirmed his postseason eligibility with a waiver after he missed the Coca-Cola 600 when weather fouled the Indianapolis 500 rookie’s double-duty plans.

Sunday’s second affirmation was a bit more intangible, with Larson’s drive through the field serving as yet another validation of the team’s overall strength with the playoffs looming. He’s earned more points than anyone this season, with one fewer start. He also blockaded the seemingly wide-open door for Buescher and Truex, who both held promising hopes of scratching the win column for a playoff berth before their late Sunday fades.

Larson reached a pair of milestones with Sunday’s triumph, which marked the 20th win of his Hendrick Motorsports tenure that began in 2021. His 26th Cup Series win overall also inched him up NASCAR’s all-time win list, tying him with Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Fred Lorenzen — both Hall of Famers.

The victory was a different experience than his most recent tally, a nail-biting win last month by a record 0.001 seconds that denied Buescher at Kansas Speedway. Sunday’s path was a bit more methodical, the drama reserved for his eventual rise back through the field on fresher rubber.

Asked which path to Victory Lane he favored, Larson was indifferent — just like he was with the swirling strategies.

“I just prefer winning,” Larson said. “However you have to do that, whatever.”

Posted on June 9, 2024June 9, 2024 by Cameron Richardson

SONOMA, Calif. — In most contexts, a top-three finish on a road course is a stellar result for any Cup Series driver.

Michael McDowell and Chris Buescher respectively ran second and third when the checkered flag waved on a crystal-clear Sunday at Sonoma Raceway.

While the points will pay big for both drivers, it’s another race weekend without a victory to provisionally lock them a spot in the postseason field with 10 races to go until the 16-driver fight for the Bill France Cup is set.

“We’ve just had too many missed opportunities this year, and in the Cup Series, you have to be perfect to win a race, and we just weren’t perfect today,” McDowell said.

To score his best finish of 2024 thus far, McDowell needed to overcome a pair of obstacles to set up the final result. After starting outside the top 10, the 39-year-old had to play for points at the end of the first stage and grabbed five after the first 25 laps. However, the No. 34 was caught up in a multicar incident on Lap 42 at the start of the esses section in Turn 7.

The damage set McDowell back, but it caused a strategy shift from eventual race winner Kyle Larson that put him back toward the front. Along with Buescher, Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Busch, the group of drivers were on a fuel-only strategy during the final stage after pitting during the Stage 2 caution.

Larson was able to run them all down with 10 laps to go to cruise out to the lead, but the deferred strategy resulted in a better run than expected, except for Truex, who ran out of gas coming to the finish line and parachuted down to 27th on the results sheet.

“There’s a lot of strategies going on, so it’s hard to know from the driver’s seat where you’re at and who is going to be where because there’s just so many different strategies,” McDowell said. “But as it started to cycle out, I knew that we had to run down the leaders, and we had fresher tires than some of them, but Larson had the freshest tires of all, so it just didn’t go our way.

“I think if we could have kept our track position there and not had to come back down pit road to fix the damage, we would have had 10 or so more spots forward, and that would’ve been 10 less cars that I had to pass to get to the front.”

Entering Sunday’s race with just a 10-point cushion as the 16th driver provisionally into the playoffs, Buescher had an uphill climb starting from 26th.

He kept his No. 17 RFK Racing Ford clean through a slew of cautions for cause in the first half of the race and became a true contender for the win after taking the Stage 2 checkered flag. But as nothing seemed to get in Larson’s way to stall his push to the lead, the season trend continued for Buescher as he couldn’t hold serve in the closing laps.

Despite another trip to the winner’s circle taken late from the Prosper, Texas native, Buescher found the positive in his final tally.

Brittney Wilbur | NASCAR Digital Media

“If you had told us at the beginning of the day that we’d be able to win a stage and come home with a third-place finish, I think we would’ve been pretty dang happy with that,” Buescher said. “So, trying to remember that side from six hours ago and enjoy it. But yeah, when you’re close, you’re always gonna think about what-ifs.

“Ultimately, if we would have started a lot farther forward, it may have opened up better opportunities for us to have some fresher tires and to fight for it a little better there at the end.”

Leaving Sonoma, Buescher added another 22-point cushion and is now 15th on the provisional playoff grid, 32 points up on Busch.

As for McDowell, a 93-point chasm to the top 16 will likely be too much to overcome if he’s to go winless when the checkered flag waves for the Southern 500 on Labor Day weekend, but given the pace the Front Row Motorsports stable has shown throughout the season so far, McDowell’s confident he’ll get that sticker on his car before it’s too late.

“We’re close. I believe wholeheartedly we will win a race before the end of this regular season,” McDowell said. “We have the speed, and we have the team to do it. We just have to put it all together.”

Posted on June 9, 2024June 10, 2024 by Holly Cain

SONOMA, Calif. — The hometown hero Kyle Larson executed as he needed to, making a pass for the lead with eight laps remaining in the NASCAR Cup Series’ Toyota/Save Mart 350 to claim his second win at the Sonoma Raceway road course and third trophy of the season.

It was a frantic start to the day on the newly repaved 1.99-mile course through the rolling Northern California hills with seven caution flags falling before the 110-lap race’s halfway point — more yellow flags than the previous two Sonoma races had combined.

But the final 51 laps ran caution-free with varying pit-stop strategies playing a vital role in track position. The Hendrick Motorsports driver Larson was among the last to make his final stop — coming out on track in eighth position with 20 laps remaining and then moving forward by picking off one car, sometimes two cars at a time.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos

Larson — who is from Elk Grove, California, about an hour from the track — ultimately put his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet out front to stay after a dramatic three-way battle with four-time Sonoma winner Martin Truex Jr. and Chris Buescher with eight to go.

After Larson passed them both, Truex kept Larson honest for much of the closing laps only to run out of gas on the final corner. His No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota came to a stop in front of the frontstretch grandstands about 40 yards shy of the checkered flag. And with the other cars zooming by, Truex ultimately inched his car forward to a cheering crowd limping across the finish line in a heartbreaking 27th place.

“I didn’t know what we were doing as far as strategy,” said the 31-year-old Larson. “I was just out there banging laps away. … So I was like, these guys have to pit another time maybe but then when they said I had to go race and then pass those guys, I got a bit nervous. I knew I’d be quick from the get-go but thought once the tires came up to temp it would even off too much.

“Thankful we had enough grip. Thankful too, those guys got racing and Martin never got clear really to where I’d be stuck in third. Just an awesome, awesome race.”

After making a last-lap pass of Buescher and then benefitting from Truex’s situation, Front Row Motorsports driver Michael McDowell came across the line in second place — 4.258 seconds behind Larson.

Buescher’s No. 17 RFK Racing Ford was third followed by Hendrick’s Chase Elliott and Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain, who had a collision with Richard Childress Racing driver Kyle Busch on the last lap that sent Busch’s No. 8 Chevrolet off track and dropped him from a likely top-10 finish to 12th place.

“Proud of everybody,” Buescher said of his 32 laps led and Stage 2 win despite starting the race 26th. “That was a good one to be close and in the hunt. … Kind of a tough weekend until today. If you had told us we’d gather some playoff and stage points, we’d be happy. Just needed a bit more coming to the finish line.”

Kaulig Racing’s AJ Allmendinger was sixth followed by Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney and 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick, who won the opening stage and led a race-best 35 laps. Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell finished ninth and Front Row Motorsports’ Todd Gilliland claimed 10th-place — the 23-year-old driver’s second top-10 finish of the season.

Polesitter Joey Logano finished 21st and the two Australian Supercar Series drivers making their NASCAR debuts — Will Brown and Cam Waters — finished 31st and 35th, respectively.

It was a significant win for the 2021 series champion Larson, giving him the championship lead by 14 points over his Hendrick teammate Elliott. It comes on the heels of last week’s news that Larson would be granted a playoff waiver from NASCAR despite missing the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway two weeks ago.

The multi-talented Larson had competed in a rain-delayed Indianapolis 500 on Memorial Day weekend with plans to run racing’s celebrated “Double” – the Indy 500 and Charlotte’s Coca-Cola 600. Bad weather, however, ruined those plans. There was a rain delay in Indianapolis, where Larson finished 18th and by the time he arrived in Charlotte to assume driving duties in that NASCAR race, rain had forced officials to call it early and he never was able to turn a lap.

Larson’s victory Sunday — his 26th career win — was significant for him in the championship standings, but the race was also a big deal for the opposite reasons for Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin, who had held the points lead entering the race. Hamlin’s No. 11 Toyota suffered an engine problem after just two laps and he finished 38th — last — in the field. He dropped to third in the championship standings, 26 points behind Larson.

“No [warning], it’s just the gearing is a little weird for the track,” said Hamlin, who snapped a five-race streak of top-five finishes that included a win at Dover and a runner-up at Gateway last week.

“It’s a lot of high-end RPM stuff, but the same as everyone else and I’m just not really sure. They’ll look at it and figure it out, but certainly not ideal.”

MORE: Hamlin exits early with engine trouble

His JGR teammate Ty Gibbs was out just 14 laps later after his No. 54 Toyota clipped the Turn 11 wall, damaging his right-front and sending his car into the Turn 1 barrier.

The Cup Series’ next race is the Iowa Corn 350, scheduled next Sunday (7 p.m. ET, USA Network, NBC Sports App, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Iowa Speedway. The event is the Cup Series’ first at the 0.875-mile oval in the Hawkeye State.

Note: Post-race inspection in the Cup Series garage was completed without issue at Sonoma Raceway, confirming Larson’s victory. No cars were selected for further inspection at the NASCAR Research & Development Center.

Contributing: Staff reports

Posted on June 9, 2024June 9, 2024 by Staff Report

Denny Hamlin made an early exit at Sonoma Raceway on Sunday when his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota suffered an apparent engine failure after just two laps.

Hamlin’s No. 11 entry trailed thick, white smoke as he crossed the road course’s start/finish line to complete his second lap in the Toyota/Save Mart 350. As the race’s first retiree, he was credited with last place in the 38-car field, which knocked him from the lead in the Cup Series standings.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos: Sonoma

Hamlin, who started 25th in the 110-lap race, had registered five consecutive top-five finishes before Sunday’s early retirement. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver, who entered Sunday as the series leader with a 21-point advantage over Kyle Larson, said he had no indication of a motor problem until the engine expired.

“No, I didn’t notice anything,” Hamlin said. “Just trying to get up to speed, but no, that was out of the blue, for sure, down the straightaway.”

Hamlin’s worst finish of the season dropped him two spots in the standings to third, 26 points behind race-winner Larson and 12 points behind second-place Chase Elliott, Larson’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate.

Posted on June 9, 2024June 9, 2024 by Zach Sturniolo

Shane van Gisbergen was giddy with excitement, showering smoke everywhere as he burned out his rear tires around the 1.99-mile Sonoma Raceway road course to celebrate his second straight NASCAR Xfinity Series win. But in the clouds of that smoke stewed more fumes — particularly in the cockpit of the No. 21 Chevrolet.

Austin Hill was less than pleased to finish fifth in Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race, especially since the victorious SVG used the bumper to score the second win of his budding Xfinity career.

“I’m just gonna leave it to the keyboard warriors on this one. I’ll let them figure out what happened,” a frustrated but restrained Hill told FOX Sports. “I’m sure no matter what comment I say, it’ll be wrong.”

MORE: Sonoma Xfinity results | At-track photos

The latest instance of their on-track disagreements came on a restart with 11 laps to go in the Zip Buy Now, Pay Later 250. Hill, who was the leader under caution, chose the left lane for the re-fire with SVG alongside him on the front row. Hill got the edge through the left-handed sweeping Turn 1, but van Gisbergen had the preferred inside line up the hill to Turn 2.

Van Gisbergen charged hard into the corner, but Hill didn’t appear to leave much room. The two collided, sending Hill sliding toward the grass and ruining his momentum while van Gisbergen scooted away for the eventual victory.

“I plead the fifth. I’m not gonna say anything about it,” Hill said. “We’ll just go onto the next one. Good, hard racing. Bennett Chevrolet was fast as Xfinity internet. We were holding off SVG there for a while, had that caution and I knew it was gonna be tough on the restart. Then, it didn’t work out, but we had a good points day, finished in the top five. Can’t ask for more than that.”

WATCH: Extended highlights from Saturday’s race

This wasn’t their first run-in, though. In March, the two faced a similar duel in a double-overtime restart at Circuit of The Americas. On that day, Hill lined up in the second row just behind SVG and shoved the New Zealander deep into Turn 1, enough to move him out of the way and allow Hill to move through to the lead. But SVG got back to him on the final lap, moved Hill, and both of them subsequently lost to Kyle Larson.

So, after that incident more than two months ago, was it simply “fair game” no matter what happened on the final Sonoma restart?

“One-hundred percent,” van Gisbergen said.

Brittney Wilbur | NASCAR Digital Media

Van Gisbergen, a three-time Australian Repco Supercars Championship series champion, is still learning the ropes of stock-car racing. He stunned the world last summer with a win in his NASCAR Cup Series debut on the Chicago Street Course and made an additional start on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, but the 2024 season marks his first full-time campaign stateside, driving the No. 97 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet.

Through the opening five months, those on-track lessons have proven to include contact and managing the frustrations of both himself and his competitors as a grueling season wears on.

“I hate racing and thinking like that, but to me, we’ve both taken a race win off each other now,” van Gisbergen said. “I don’t know. I didn’t go into the corner planning to take him out. Like, I wasn’t going to hit him off the track, but I was gonna try to pass him and I did everything I could. And when he kept choosing left on restarts, I was like ‘oh, that’s surprising,’ because I chose the left on the first restart and it was a mistake. And if I had the opportunity again I would have chosen the right every time.

“So as soon as he chose the left, I knew, OK, this is a good opportunity to hang around the outside (of Turn 1) and force my way to the inside at Turn 2. And, like, I didn’t take him out properly, you know? I just made a hole and got through.”

MORE: Xfinity standings

Hill has also been no stranger to confrontation throughout his career—or even the last few weeks. Contact with Cole Custer at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 25 sent both Hill and Custer into the outside wall, with both receiving heavy damage. Hill showed his displeasure by then intentionally turning Custer’s wrecked car on the backstretch, sending the No. 00 Ford into the inside SAFER barrier and resulting in a $25,000 fine issued to Hill.

The tensions haven’t quite reached that fever pitch between Hill and SVG — yet. A new rivalry may have seen its latest chapter written in Napa Valley, with more to come.

“That last restart, I was just making a hole no matter what,” van Gisbergen said. “And yeah, it pretty felt like a pretty cool move, and hopefully it’s good to watch, but yeah, that was just hard racing, you know? Pretty stoked to come away with it.”

Posted on June 9, 2024June 9, 2024 by Alex Cadavid

This Sunday the Cup Series is back out West for its second road-course race of the season in the Toyota/Save-Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN Radio, Sirius XM NASCAR Radio).

This week, the advance metrics predict Chase Elliott to step back into the winner’s circle for the second time this year and earn his first career victory at Sonoma.

It wasn’t long ago that Elliott was considered the clear best road-course driver among active participants, compiling seven career wins on such tracks. Since Elliott’s last road-course win in 2021 at Road America, the gap between him and the rest of the Cup field when it comes to turning left and right has closed.

But there’s good reason to think the 2020 champ returns to vintage form at Sonoma. He’s finished top 20 in every ’24 race and his 9.87 average finish — a career-best through 15 races — remains the best in the Cup field.

Elliott’s recent numbers at Sonoma also indicate he’s due to break through soon. He’s one of four drivers to finish in the top 10 in both Sonoma races in the Next Gen era. His 97 laps run in the top five rank fourth over that same span. And with how strong the No. 9 team has looked all season in terms of pace and on pit road, there’s good reason to favor the team this Sunday.

Behind Elliott in the projections are 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick, Elliott’s Hendrick Motorsports teammates Kyle Larson and William Byron and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell. Ty Gibbs, Martin Truex Jr., Michael McDowell, Chris Buescher and AJ Allmendinger complete the projected top 10.

OTHER DRIVERS TO WATCH

WILLIAM BYRON: Byron has won two of the last three road-course races (Watkins Glen, Circuit of The Americas), finishing second in the other (Charlotte Motor Speedway road course). He is also the only driver to claim four poles on four different road courses.

TY GIBBS: It’s only a matter of time until Gibbs steps into Victory Lane. He’s remained consistent all year, and what better way to earn career win No. 1 and provisionally lock into the playoffs than winning at a road course in the Wild West and then having a celebratory glass of wine?

MICHAEL MCDOWELL: McDowell has won three poles this year, proving there’s speed in the No. 34 Ford. Look for that trend to continue for McDowell at Sonoma. He finished in the top 10 in both Next Gen races at the circuit and won at the Indy Road Course last year.

AJ ALLMENDINGER: Allmendinger will be back in the No. 16 Chevrolet this weekend, and as a proven road-course ringer, it’s hard to count him out. He upset the playoff field at the Charlotte Motor Speedway road course with a win in the Round of 12 last year. Allmendinger also finished sixth at COTA earlier this season.

CAM WATERS & WILL BROWN: Two Australian Supercars regulars will be making Cup debuts this weekend. Similar to Shane van Gisbergen, it’s a long shot for either of them to win over a field of regulars — especially at a track the Cup Series regularly visits — but not out of the realm of possibilities. Plus, it will be interesting to see how they fare in a car that comparably handles to Supercars on a tough circuit.

RACING INSIGHTS’ PROJECTIONS FOR TOYOTA/SAVE-MART 350

Racing Insights’ advanced statistical formula includes current track, current track type, recent performance, team data and pit-crew data to arrive at a projected winner and full race results.

Finish	Car Number	Driver
1	9	Chase Elliott
2	45	Tyler Reddick
3	5	Kyle Larson
4	24	William Byron
5	20	Christopher Bell
6	54	Ty Gibbs
7	19	Martin Truex Jr.
8	34	Michael McDowell
9	17	Chris Buescher
10	16	AJ Allmendinger
11	1	Ross Chastain
12	48	Alex Bowman
13	11	Denny Hamlin
14	8	Kyle Busch
15	22	Joey Logano
16	99	Daniel Suárez
17	12	Ryan Blaney
18	2	Austin Cindric
19	6	Brad Keselowski
20	14	Chase Briscoe
21	23	Bubba Wallace
22	3	Austin Dillon
23	41	Ryan Preece
24	38	Todd Gilliland
25	77	Carson Hocevar
26	51	Justin Haley
27	7	Corey LaJoie
28	47	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
29	43	Erik Jones
30	10	Noah Gragson
31	42	John Hunter Nemechek
32	71	Zane Smith
33	21	Harrison Burton
34	4	Josh Berry
35	31	Daniel Hemric
36	15	Kaz Grala
37	33	Will Brown
38	60	Cam Waters

Posted on June 8, 2024June 9, 2024 by Holly Cain

SONOMA, Calif. — New Zealander Shane van Gisbergen powered his way to the lead on a restart with 11 laps remaining in Saturday’s Zip Buy Now, Pay Later 250 on the Sonoma Raceway road course and bolted off to a 1.323-second victory — his second career NASCAR Xfinity Series win coming only a week after his first.

The 35-year-old Kiwi — who earned his first career pole position earlier Saturday at the 1.99-mile course and led a race-best 32 laps — took the lead from Austin Hill negotiating a tight Turn 2 on a late-race restart, his No. 97 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet winning a battle of tough side-by-side action that ultimately cost Hill four positions.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos: Sonoma

Both drivers acknowledged the close racing — the second time this season they have had contact racing for the late race lead at a road course. At Circuit of The Americas, they collided racing for the win on an overtime restart only to see NASCAR Cup Series regular Kyle Larson bolt by them to claim the victory.

“Man, what a race — an adventure up and down and up and down all day,” said van Gisbergen, who, as he did in Portland, celebrated his win by signing a rugby ball and kicking it into the grandstands.

“But that last restart I was just giving it all I had and two guys going for the same real estate came together.

“It was pretty awesome though, a lot of fun. Hope everyone enjoyed the show. Pretty awesome back-to-back weeks for us.”

Hill, who led 21 laps and finished fifth in the No. 21 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, was clearly displeased with the contact between himself and van Gisbergen, but insisted on taking a sort of racing “high road.”

“I’m gonna leave it to the keyboard warriors on this one, I’ll let them figure out what happened,” said Hill as he watched the replay on the track’s video screen. “No matter what comment I say, it’ll be wrong.

“I plead the fifth, I’m not going to say anything about it,” he continued. “We’ll just go on to the next one, good hard racing. We were holding off SVG for a while, had that caution and I knew it was going to be tough on the restart and it didn’t work out. But we had a good points day and finished in the top five. You can’t ask for more than that.”

MORE: Hill’s post-race reaction from Sonoma

Joe Gibbs Racing’s Sheldon Creed finished runner-up to van Gisbergen, the ninth second-place finish for Creed in the series and second of the 2024 season. JR Motorsports’ Sam Mayer was third with Jordan Anderson Racing rookie Austin Green fourth and Hill rounding out the top five.

It marked the second top-10 finish in three career starts for the 23-year-old and recent college grad Green and was particularly impressive considering he started 22nd.

It was another young driver, former Xfinity Series champion Ty Gibbs, who looked to be among van Gisbergen’s toughest challengers early in the day. He led 26 laps but a slow second pit stop dropped him in the field for the Stage 2 restart and he was among 13 cars collected in an accident in Turn 2 that eliminated several top cars.

WATCH: Big wreck starts final stage at Sonoma

The other NASCAR Cup Series regular in the field, John Hunter Nemechek, was sixth in a Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota with JR Motorsports’ Justin Allgaier, JGR’s Chandler Smith, Stewart-Haas Racing’s Cole Custer and Big Machine Racing’s Parker Kligerman rounding out the top 10.

“It was the work we did between weeks to make the car better again,” said van Gisbergen, who also took the Stage 1 victory, his first career stage win.

“It was awesome racing Ty Gibbs at the start, we were really pushing each other. It’s special to win two road courses in a row and dream about one day winning on an oval.”

Custer’s eighth-place finish was good enough to keep a 12-point championship lead over both Hill and Chandler Smith.

The NASCAR Xfinity Series moves to Iowa Speedway for next Saturday’s HyVee Perks 250 (3:30 p.m. ET, USA Network, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App). Christopher Bell and Chase Briscoe each won a race at Iowa in the 2019 season — the last time the series visited the 0.875-mile track.

Note: Post-race technical inspection was completed without issue, confirming van Gisbergen as the race winner. The Nos. 21 and 39 cars each had one loose lug nut, which will result in a monetary fine.

Posted on June 8, 2024June 9, 2024 by Staff Report

After leading 26 of the opening 50 laps, Ty Gibbs was one of numerous others collected in a significant multicar crash during Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Sonoma Raceway.

MORE: Race results | At-track photos

On the Lap 50 restart to begin the event’s final stage, chain-reaction contact just outside the top 10 between Jesse Love, Gibbs, Jeb Burton and Chandler Smith turned Smith and Josh Williams sideways atop the hill in Turn 3. The smoke, dust and debris blocked the track and drivers’ visions, leading to multiple vehicles piling into the melee with just 29 laps remaining.

Brittney Wilbur | NASCAR Digital Media

Gibbs was mired in the middle of the mess despite winning Stage 2 due to a long pit stop with trouble on his left-rear wheel. Officially listed on the caution report were 12 cars — those of Gibbs, Burton, Williams, Smith, Brandon Jones, Ed Jones, Kyle Weatherman, Ryan Sieg, Parker Retzlaff, Preston Pardus, Josh Bilicki and Riley Herbst. Also receiving apparent damage were Love, Thomas Annunziata and Boris Said.

Immediately ousted from competition were Gibbs, Burton, Williams and Brandon Jones, all of whom were evaluated and released from the infield care center.

“The 81 (Smith) was in a hurry to go to the front, I guess,” Williams said. “I don’t know if he had a bad pitstop or what, but overly excited, I guess. I mean, we still got 30 laps to go. We got plenty of time, but the kids, they get in a hurry, and they want to go to the front. Now there’s a bunch of tore-up race cars because of it.

“I knew it was gonna get antsy if we had a little caution towards the end, but not with 30 to go, so, disappointing.”

Gibbs, Burton, Williams and Brandon Jones were credited with finishes of 35th, 36th, 37th and 38th, respectively.

Contributing: Cameron Richardson

Posted on June 8, 2024June 8, 2024 by Dustin Albino

Sonoma Raceway is blistering fast this weekend with a fresh repave. Typically, the best teams shine at the 1.99-mile road course, but the track has become unpredictable. Sure, the sight lines and nuances remain the same, but 23 cars were faster than the previous track record during practice on Friday. Track position is going to be crucial on Sunday and some teams are going to flip the stages to jump to the front to begin the ensuing stage. All that makes setting the best fantasy lineup nearly impossible. Let’s give it a shot!

RELATED: Set your Fantasy Live lineups

Dustin Albino’s race-day lineup:

Starter 1: Chase Elliott
Starter 2: Tyler Reddick
Starter 3: Michael McDowell
Starter 4: Alex Bowman
Starter 5: Joey Logano
Garage pick: AJ Allmendinger

NEXT IN LINE: Kyle Larson, William Byron, Daniel Suárez, Ty Gibbs

RISING: For just the third time in his career — second at Sonoma (2011) — Logano has won a road-course pole. Given where Logano is in the regular-season standings and the No. 22 team’s track record at Sonoma, expect plenty of stage points on Sunday. Over the last three Sonoma races, no driver has tallied more points than Logano and the two-time Cup champion has backed up the finishes in two of those races, including a third-place effort last season. Stage points can go a long way in fantasy lineups, so Logano is a credible pick this weekend.

Over the course of his career, Alex Bowman has turned into a robust driver on road courses. He stands out at some of the technical tracks, such as Circuit of The Americas, or in previous seasons at the Indianapolis road course. But that speed has transitioned to Sonoma through Saturday, earning his second-best starting spot (eighth) in eight starts at the track. Moreover, I’m putting Bowman in my lineup above Larson and Byron because of sheer starts. I’m running low for both of those HMS drivers and in 2022, no driver scored more than 47 points in this Sonoma race (using that as an example because there weren’t cautions for stages last year at Sonoma).

FALLING: Truex’s advantage at Sonoma is gone with the repave being an equalizer. It took until the waning minutes of practice for the No. 19 team to post a lap that barely cracked the top 10. He couldn’t duplicate that speed in qualifying and will start 21st. Good news for Truex fans: He’s 132 points above the elimination line, so don’t be surprised to see his crew chief James Small switch the strategy. Overall, four of the six powerhouse Toyota cars — Joe Gibbs Racing and 23XI Racing — will start 15th or worse.

What a difference a week makes. Austin Cindric was standing tall — quite literally, on top of his car — following last week’s race at Gateway, snapping an 85-race winless streak. Momentum was on the No. 2 team’s side entering Cindric’s specialty: road-course racing. But Cindric’s struggles from 2023 on road courses returned on Saturday during qualifying, as he posted the 28th-best qualifying lap. If the No. 2 Ford is going to be a factor on Sunday and score worthy points, crew chief Brian Wilson will need to have a brilliant strategy.

FEATURED MATCHUPS:

Ty Gibbs vs. Kyle Busch: Gibbs was one of two Toyota drivers to break into the final round of qualifying on Saturday. He’s risen to become among the best in the series on road courses. Busch’s trying 2024 season has moved to Sonoma, where the No. 8 Chevrolet will take the green flag from 29th. Gibbs is the clear-cut choice this weekend, as he also ranked second in practice.

Austin Cindric vs. Ross Chastain: This matchup has flipped from earlier in the week. Trackhouse seems to have brought some of its road-course pace from previous seasons to Sonoma. Both Chastain and Suárez, a former Sonoma winner, were sporty in qualifying. Cindric will be mired back in 28th position at the start of the race. Early advantage to Chastain.

Chase Elliott vs. Tyler Reddick: There have been some great matchups this season, but throw this up there as one of the toughest to pick this season. It could easily go either way. Both are exceptional road-course competitors, though Reddick has been better in the Next Gen car. Hendrick was the most equal team on the speed chart, with all four of its Chevrolets making it to the final round of qualifying. I’m leaning towards Elliott because, though he’s never sipped the red wine in Victory Lane, he has more success at Sonoma.

Daniel Suárez vs. Michael McDowell: Here is another challenging matchup. McDowell barely missed the final round of qualifying and his road-course prowess has been expedited with the Next Gen car. This is one of Suárez’s better road courses as well, picking up his first Cup win here in 2022. Staying with McDowell, believing the potential of his car is far better than 12th.