Posted on by Zach Sturniolo

SONOMA, Calif. — Daniel Suárez found his breakthrough moment in the NASCAR Cup Series at Sonoma Raceway one year ago.

The Monterrey, Mexico, native returns to the site of his first Cup victory some 364 days later, in need of another win to secure his position in the NASCAR Playoffs with 11 races left in the regular season.

Ten of the 16 postseason positions are locked up thanks to race wins — Kyle Busch, William Byron, Kyle Larson, Ryan Blaney, Martin Truex Jr., Christopher Bell, Denny Hamlin, Tyler Reddick, Joey Logano and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. are those firmly set to compete for a championship. But how many more winners will we see in the regular season?

“At least one more. You’re looking at him,” Suárez said Saturday with a laugh.

MORE: Relive Suárez’s Sonoma win | Cup standings

The statement was made at least partially in good humor, but Suárez’s confidence is not to be underestimated. The No. 99 Trackhouse Racing team nailed the setup for the hills of Sonoma a season ago with 47 laps led en route to the race win. But the team isn’t quite firing on all cylinders the same way it was in 2022.

“This year, we have had worse execution for some reason,” Suárez said. “We haven’t done a great job executing, but we are really heading in the right direction. But we’ve been fast at 90% of the tracks and I feel like that’s what makes me happy.”

Suárez typically thrives on optimism, and he’s needed some this season. Suárez scored a seventh-place finish last weekend at World Wide Technology Raceway, but that was preceded by four straight finishes of 15th or worse — two of which were DNFs due to crashes.

Sixteenth in points, Suárez will have opportunities past Sonoma to win and solidify his spot in the playoffs. Entering Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), he’s six points to the good ahead of Alex Bowman.

He pointed to the many “wild-card” races ahead, including the Chicago Street Race set to debut on July 2.

“I personally don’t call a road course a wild card for me, but for many others it is,” Suárez said. “So I think we should be OK. I think the team is getting better and better.”

RELATED: Chastain eager to lead Trackhouse back to wins | Sonoma starting lineup

His focus Sunday, though, is bolstered by the burning confidence that comes with returning to Sonoma for the first time as a defending winner of a NASCAR Cup Series race.

“Maybe a little extra confidence, but honestly, I’ve been always very confident when it comes to road-course racing,” Suárez said. “I’m happy to be here. You know, the Mexican population here (and) Hispanic population is huge. So they make me feel at home. But I know we’re gonna be strong and I know we’re gonna have a good time.”

Posted on by Dustin Albino

Ahead of Saturday’s qualifying session at Sonoma Raceway for the Toyota/Save Mart 350, one would’ve assumed Tyler Reddick would pace the Toyotas. And he did — until Denny Hamlin made a surprisingly fast run in the waning seconds to earn just his second career pole award on a road course (Watkins Glen, 2018). All told, Toyota put five of its six entries in the top eight in qualifying, with Bubba Wallace being the lone exception in 18th.

RELATED: Martin Truex Jr. enjoying a new resource in 2023 — Tyler Reddick

Dustin Albino’s race-day lineup:

Starter 1: Tyler Reddick
Starter 2: Chase Elliott
Starter 3: AJ Allmendinger
Starter 4: Chris Buescher
Starter 5: Ty Gibbs
Garage pick: Michael McDowell

NEXT IN LINE: Kyle Larson, Martin Truex Jr., Daniel Suárez, Denny Hamlin

RISING: Noted in Fastlane earlier this week was that Hamlin had a best effort of 13th in the seven road-course races in the Next Gen era. His average qualifying position for those races is 16.3, including a 10th-place starting position at Sonoma last year. So just because the No. 11 team qualified up front this weekend, it doesn’t necessarily mean it will race well. Hamlin does have a road course win to his resume, however, and before the Next Gen chassis, he often showcased his skills when turning left and right. This might be the weekend the No. 11 team needed to turn its fortune around on such race tracks.

It took 32 road-course starts for Ricky Stenhouse Jr. to get his first top 10 at COTA earlier this year, but the No. 47 team brought more of that speed to Sonoma this weekend. Stenhouse ranked ninth in practice and qualified 13th. Now it will be up to the Mike Kelley-led team to see if it can have speed for the duration of a long run.

FALLING: In the Cup Series’ first road course event of the season at Circuit of The Americas, William Byron thought he handily had the second-best car in the field to Reddick. On that afternoon, he led 28 laps and dropped to fifth in the finishing position after late-race madness on restarts. The No. 24 Chevrolet showed no pace on Saturday, however, running the 27th quickest time in practice. Qualifying wasn’t much better, as he will start 26th.

Over the past handful of seasons, Kevin Harvick has simply gotten it done at Sonoma. He has six top-six finishes in the last seven races in Wine Country. On Saturday, Harvick struggled with the handling of his Ford and was just 28th on the scoring chart in practice (27th on five-lap averages). Though he upped his qualifying performance to 21st, I’d shy away from using the No. 4 team this weekend.

FEATURED MATCHUPS:  

Kevin Harvick vs. Martin Truex Jr.

With how consistent Toyota looked in practice and qualifying, this one seems relatively easy this weekend. That’s surprising because Harvick and the No. 4 team typically find pace during Sonoma races and contend for a top-five finishing position. The only reason Truex isn’t in my starting lineup is because I have limited uses left for the No. 19 car, so he’s the pick here.

Chase Elliott vs. Tyler Reddick

Certainly, this is the toughest matchup of the weekend. It’s like King Kong vs. Godzilla of the drivers that have had the most success on road courses over the past few seasons. Reddick has seemed to take the throne over, winning three of the last five races on them. He also has immediate track position on Sunday by starting second. It wouldn’t be surprising if he dominated another road course event.

Austin Cindric vs. Ty Gibbs

Team Penske looks like it has some catching up to do after practice and qualifying, with Joey Logano having the best starting position in 17th. Cindric did express concern last season regarding the team’s road course program, and he will take the green flag from the 34th position. Gibbs showed the speed to have a career weekend, and his aggressive nature lends itself to this style of racing, so he’s the right pick.

AJ Allmendinger vs. Ross Chastain

For not believing himself that he’s a good road-course racer, Chastain has put together quality races on road courses since joining Trackhouse Racing last season. But Allmendinger could probably figure out a way to wheel a boat fast around Sonoma. Going with the road-course ace this weekend.

Posted on by Zach Sturniolo

SONOMA, Calif. — Kyle Larson led 53 laps, swept the stages and seemed well on his way to the win in Saturday’s inaugural NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Sonoma Raceway.

Fate thought otherwise.

Chasing Aric Almirola in an attempt to reclaim the lead with eight laps to go, Larson clipped a tire bundle in the center of Turn 11, knocking the wheel out of Larson’s hand and forcing his No. 17 Chevrolet wide. Larson fell from second to third as AJ Allmendinger capitalized on Larson’s mistake, and Larson could not recover.

MORE: Full Xfinity recap | Xfinity standings

“I just got a little too greedy there trying to get low through 11,” Larson said. “If you can get your right sides underneath the rumble strips, it’s worth a lot of speed and grip and just got a little too greedy.

“Yanked the wheel out of my hand, and then even after that, the toe was bent. So yeah, just was tight to the left after that and then really loose in the rights, which really hurt my shot of having any more chance to win.”

After a late caution for a crash by Jeffrey Earnhardt in Turn 10, Larson was caught behind leader Alex Labbe and Daniel Suárez on the restart after the duo opted not to pit. Larson’s lane stacked up, allowing Almirola and Allmendinger to get past the No. 17. Larson quickly worked past Allmendinger and set sail for Almirola, but the opportunity to pass Almirola’s No. 28 RSS Racing Ford never materialized.

“When I was behind (Almirola), he was better than me off of a couple of important corners, and then I just couldn’t get close enough to him,” Larson said. “So (Turn) 11 was really the best chance for me to kind of build a run throughout a whole lap. That’s why I was getting really greedy over there and just ended up biting me.”

The result was a win for Almirola, the first for RSS Racing, which has an alliance with Stewart-Haas Racing. Team co-owner and driver Ryan Sieg, who piloted the No. 39 Ford to a 28th-place finish, had no idea until he hopped out of his car behind his hauler in the Xfinity Series garage.

“It pays the bills,” Sieg said with a laugh. “It’s a great day. It’s pretty special to do it here with Ford and everybody helping out, Stewart-Haas. It’s a great day for RSS Racing and great points day. … Just not a lot of words to say. It’s a great day. Pretty exceptional to come out here and win. We’re pretty excited. We just found out when this guy told me here, so I didn’t even know.

“At least RSS is a winner now. Too bad it’s not me,” he laughed.

Posted on by Reid Spencer

SONOMA, Calif. – Aric Almirola knew Sonoma Raceway was a track that wouldn’t make him look like a “wanker.”

Far from it. Holding off the dominant car of Kyle Larson—until Larson made a critical mistake—and then outrunning road course ace AJ Allmendinger over the final laps, Almirola won Saturday’s DoorDash 250 at the 1.99-mile road course.

Ty Gibbs ran fourth as full-time NASCAR Cup Series drivers claimed the top four finishing positions. Parker Kligerman led the Xfinity regulars in fifth, followed by Cole Custer, Justin Allgaier, Austin Hill, Sammy Smith and Sam Mayer.

The victory was Almirola’s fourth in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and his first since 2017 when he won at Talladega Superspeedway for owner Fred Biagi.

RELATED: Full results | At-track photos 

The win also was the first-ever for Georgia-based RSS Racing, which fields cars for brothers Ryan and Kyle Sieg. The Stewart-Haas Racing shop prepared the car for Almirola.

Driving the No. 28 Ford, Almirola took the checkered flag 1.868 seconds ahead of runner-up Allmendinger, with Larson running third 3.329 seconds back. Almirola had taken the lead from the fifth position on a Lap 65 restart, an advantage he held the rest of the way.

“Oh, man, this is so special,” said Almirola, who was making his second Xfinity start of the season after a 24th-place finish at Circuit of The Americas in April. “It’s hard to explain. I know it’s an Xfinity win — it’s not a Cup win, but after COTA, (I said) I don’t think I should run any more road course races in an Xfinity car.

“It makes me look like a wanker, and I lose self-confidence going into Sunday. But I knew that this race track, this is one that I can run good at. I’ve run good here my whole career. I don’t know what it is about this place, but I love racing here.”

WATCH: Almirola celebrates win with burnout | Almirola rehashes Sonoma win

Larson swept the first two stages and held a lead of more than 13 seconds over Allmendinger when Jeffrey Earnhardt backed into the barrier in Turn 10 on Lap 60 and caused the race’s second caution.

If the subsequent restart on Lap 65 was crucial to Almirola’s victory, Larson’s mistake on Lap 72 was even more so. On Lap 72 of 79, Larson drove hard into the Turn 11 hairpin within inches of Almirola’s back bumper and clipped one of the stacks of tires defining the corner.

Larson’s Chevrolet shot to the left of the racing line, and by the time he had righted the car, Allmendinger had passed him for second.

“I just got too greedy,” said Larson, who led a race-high 53 laps to Almirola’s 17. “I was kind of tucked up right behind him, clipped the tires, and it knocked the wheel out of my hands. After that, the toe was off. I was really tight in the left and really loose in the right, so I couldn’t make runs at it…

“I’m really mad at myself right now, but I’m really proud of the car they (Hendrick Motorsports) brought. Congrats to Aric, too. He did a really good job out in front of me, hitting his marks. He could kind of get away from me in a couple of important areas and would make me have to work hard behind him. So hats off to him and that team.”

The Xfinity Series will return to action on June 24 at Nashville Superspeedway to race in the Tennessee Lottery 250 (USA, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App).

Note: Inspection in the Xfinity Series garage is complete with no issues, confirming Almirola as the race winner. The No. 21 of Austin Hill had one lug nut loose, resulting in a monetary fine.

Posted on by Brandon White

HICKORY, N.C. — Winning a big race at Hickory Motor Speedway was a milestone Tyler Matthews had long been eager to cross off his bucket list.

Coming up short in a drag race against Bobby McCarty in 2021 was the closest Matthews had come to that goal prior to Saturday’s Jack Ingram Memorial, but the Richlands, North Carolina native felt confident about his chances in the crown jewel event after claiming three victories at Hickory earlier this year.

In a race that did not see one caution flag, Matthews methodically chased down pole-sitter Kade Brown and pulled away from the field to score what he considered to be the most prestigious win of his Late Model Stock career to date.

“It’s pretty cool to win one of these deals,” Matthews said. “We’ve run decent [at Hickory] in past before doing these weekly shows. Kade is always fast, and it’s fun to battle him week after week. We’ve got the speed, but to dominate in [the Jack Ingram Memorial 100] is pretty darn cool.”

RELATED: Career NASCAR stats for Tyler Matthews

After previously spending time in both the NASCAR Xfinity and Craftsman Truck Series during the late 2010s, Matthews considers himself fortunate to call Hickory home.

Matthews admitted Late Model Stock races have provided him some of the toughest competition he has ever faced as a driver, with Hickory helping him emphasize the importance of saving tires on abrasive surfaces.

Those lessons were crucial toward Matthews’ strategy in the Jack Ingram Memorial. Once he felt enough of his tires had been saved, Matthews drove past Brown at the halfway point and went uncontested for the rest of the 111-lap feature.

The closest competition Matthews received in the second half came from another Late Model Stock veteran and former Xfinity Series competitor in Ronnie Bassett Jr., whose past accomplishments at Hickory include wins in the Dwight Huffman Memorial and Bobby Isaac Memorial.

Bassett was confident his car was strong enough to add a Jack Ingram Memorial victory to his Late Model Stock resume, but he ran out of time to catch Matthews with the race ultimate going green the entire distance.

“We were hoping for a caution toward the end of the race but didn’t get one,” Bassett said. “We had to go a little sooner after dropping back quite a bit, but that was the wrong decision with no cautions. The car was great, and this was a nice momentum-booster after struggling lately.”

RELATED: Follow Hickory Motor Speedway on FloRacing

Like Bassett, Matthews believes his victory Saturday will provide him a jolt as he tackles the rest of Hickory’s 2023 season.

Already boasting a 34-point lead in the track’s weekly standings entering the race, Matthews took immense pride in being able to win one of Hickory’s most cherished events, which he credits to all of the hard work that goes into making him competitive at such a tough facility.

“This is awesome,” Matthews said. “[Ingram] was so big for short tracks, especially at Hickory. To come out here, run a clean race and win the Memorial says a lot about this team and the cars we’re brining. All in all, a fun weekend.”

Now that he has a crown jewel victory at Hickory, Matthews is shifting his focus over to next milestone on his list: becoming a Hickory track champion.

Brown ended up fending off Michael Bumgarner to come home in third, with 2011 Bobby Isaac Memorial winner Austin McDaniel completing the top five.

Posted on by Tadd Haislop

SEEKONK, Mass. — Matt Hirschman sports his “Big Money” nickname in part because of the success he’s experienced racing Modifieds at Massachusetts’ Seekonk Speedway. Yet entering the 2023 Seekonk 150, the 40-year-old had never won a NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour race in five such starts at the third-mile bullring.

That changed emphatically Saturday night.

Hirschman led all 150 laps at Seekonk and left just five cars on the lead lap en route to the victory. Having also won the Granite State Derby at New Hampshire’s Lee USA Speedway a couple weeks prior, Hirschman’s win at Seekonk made him the Modified Tour’s first multi-time victor this season.

RELATED: Complete results from Seekonk Speedway

Hirschman earned the Mayhew Tools Dominator Pole Award with the best lap in qualifying Saturday. He left no doubt in the main event, driving away from outside pole-sitter Austin Beers at the drop of the green flag and proceeding to lap, at one point, all but two cars.

“Pretty dominant performance, doing it from the pole,” Hirschman said. “It’s not a pit-stop race, so as long as you have a car that’s going to handle and stay with you, you can keep it out front.

“I believe this [race] was a big unknown for a lot of teams because of the [new] pavement and the characteristics of the track changed. I think I’m going to like it. This has always been a good track for me, not a great track. But now winning a Whelen Tour race here — we’ve kind of won it all here.”

Six-time Whelen Modified Tour champion Doug Coby was the only driver who could keep Hirschman in his sights Saturday, but even Coby finished more than a second behind the race winner.

Ron Silk finished third behind Hirschman and Coby. Justin Bonsignore and Anthony Sesely rounded out the top five, the only five drivers who finished on the lead lap.

J.B. Fortin, Jon McKennedy, Austin Beers, Kyle Bonsignore and Anthony Nocella completed the top 10.

Saturday’s Seekonk 150 featured three cautions, two of which were the products of Jake Johnson spins. The third and final caution of the race came when Nocella spun with just 16 laps remaining.

A replay of the Seekonk 150 will broadcast on CNBC on Sunday, June 18 starting at 12:30 p.m. ET.

The NASCAR Whelen Modifed Tour will return to action on Saturday, June 24, for its second visit to New York’s Riverhead Raceway this season. The Miller Lite Salutes Mike Ewanitsko 200 will be shown live on FloRacing starting at 8 p.m. ET.

Posted on by Tadd Haislop

Seekonk 150

Seekonk Speedway

  • Race results
Pos. Car No. Driver Sponsor Laps Diff.
1 60 Matt Hirschman Pee Dee Motorsports 150  –
2 7 Doug Coby Mayhew Tools 150 1.262
3 16 Ron Silk Blue Mountain Machine & Future Homes 150 1.765
4 51 Justin Bonsignore Phoenix Communications Inc. 150 2.347
5 19 Anthony Sesely* Wanick Construction, Inc. 150 7.063
6 34 J.B. Fortin A&R Materials/CYA Screen Printing/Queens Concrete 149 1 Lap
7 79 Jon McKennedy Middlesex Industries 149 1 Lap
8 64 Austin Beers AP Marquadt & Sons/Andrew James Interiors 149 1 Lap
9 22 Kyle Bonsignore Chalew Performance/MTT/Munns Auto 149 1 Lap
10 92 Anthony Nocella Nocella Paving/K and D Associates/Airgas 149 1 Lap
11 82 Craig Lutz Horton Ave Materials 148 2 Laps
12 36 Dave Sapienza Sapienza Enterprises 148 2 Laps
13 32 Tyler Rypkema Northeast Driling/MUSCO Lighting 148 2 Laps
14 46 Justin Brown* Riverhead Building Supply 148 2 Laps
15 25 Brian Robie* Maurice Enterprises 148 2 Laps
16 18 Ken Heagy Buoy One Seafood Market & Restaurant 147 3 Laps
17 01 Melissa Fifield Pine Knoll Auto Sales 144 6 Laps
18 26 Max Zachem Lakeland Ave Landscape Supply/L.I. Wood Heat 141 9 Laps
19 3 Jake Johnson* Propane Plus/Lin’s Propane Trucks 114 36 Laps
20 6 Woody Pitkat Koopman Lumbar 59 91 Laps
Posted on by Reid Spencer

SONOMA, Calif. – Denny Hamlin made the most of a second lap in the final round of Saturday’s qualifying to edge Tyler Reddick for the pole position for Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway (3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Running the fastest lap of the day, Hamlin toured the 1.99-mile road course in 77.719 seconds (92.178 mph) to earn his second Busch Light Pole Award of the season, his first at Sonoma and the 38th of his career.

Reddick had covered the distance in 77.812 seconds (92.068 mph) before Hamlin knocked him off the provisional pole late in the session.

Michael McDowell, who posted the fastest lap in Round 1, qualified third at 92.060 mph, followed by Christopher Bell (91.308 mph) and road-course ace AJ Allmendinger (91.873 mph). Sunoco rookie Ty Gibbs was sixth fastest, and Chris Buescher, the 2022 Sonoma runner-up, was seventh.

RELATED: Sunday’s starting lineup | Weekend schedule

Interestingly, crew chief Chris Gabehart suggested to Hamlin that he settle for his first lap in the final round. At the time, Hamlin was second fastest.

“Chris was trying to get me to unbuckle after our first lap in the final round,” Hamlin said. “He was like, ‘That’s a great day, that’s a good starting spot,’ and I just asked like ‘You don’t want me to try again — I feel like maybe I could do it.’

“And so I’m glad that we did try again.’”

Seeking his first career Cup Series pole, McDowell was frustrated with his third-place result, which matched his finishing position in last year’s race.

“I think we had the car to beat today, so that’s what stinks about qualifying third,” McDowell said. “I feel good about our race trim. The cars I out-qualified there, I felt like we were way better in race trim. The only one I felt that was better than us was maybe the 5 (Kyle Larson), so we’ve got a good car for (Sunday) and we’ll get after it.

“It’s good to be disappointed with third. I haven’t had a career pole here in the Cup Series, so I was hoping today would be it. I gave it all I had and just a little bit too much and over-stepped it.”

The surprise of the session was Larson, who failed to advance to the second round after topping the speed chart in final NASCAR Cup Series practice by .558 seconds over Martin Truex Jr., who claimed the eighth starting position for Sunday’s race, the 16th of the season.

Larson had started from the pole for the last five Sonoma races, winning once, in 2021. Earlier in the day, he won the pole for Saturday night’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race.

Chase Elliott, returning from a one-race suspension for wrecking Hamlin in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte, made one attempt during Saturday’s final round but slid sideways in Turn 4 before regaining control.

MORE: Rick Hendrick on Elliott’s suspension

The bobble cost Elliott precious time and dropped him to 10th on the grid next to defending race winner Daniel Suarez, who qualified ninth.

PRACTICE

Kyle Larson topped the leaderboard in Saturday’s NASCAR Cup Series practice at Sonoma Raceway at 91.730 mph in the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.

Right behind him was Martin Truex Jr. in the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota at 91.079 mph. AJ Allmendinger, Tyler Reddick and Michael McDowell completed the top five.

Ryan Blaney, the series points leader, was 16th fastest, clocking in at 90.280 mph.

RELATED: Practice Results

Posted on by Reid Spencer

SONOMA, Calif. – Martin Truex Jr. has three NASCAR Cup Series victories to his credit at Sonoma Raceway, but the driver of the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota hasn’t been prominent in discussions of possible winners in Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Admittedly, Truex struggled mightily at Sonoma in the 2022 debut year of the Next Gen car, starting 28th and finishing 26th. Truex was winless last year, but his cars have shown much more consistent speed this season, as his triumph at Dover and six top-10 finishes in the last eight races indicate.

MORE: Fantasy: Is Tyler Reddick the new road-course king?

When it comes to road courses, Truex has an additional resource this season. No driver has been as successful on road courses as Tyler Reddick, who won at Road America and the Indianapolis Grand Prix Course last year and at Circuit of The Americas in April.

Reddick switched from Chevrolet to Toyota with his move to 23XI Racing this year, and that gives Truex another set of useful information to absorb.

“Yeah, for sure it is (a resource),” Truex said. “Especially the simulator stuff and then looking at his data. Everybody was looking at his data at COTA. I guess the benefit for us is that we get to ask him questions and hear about it — ‘Why did you do this, and why did you do that?’

“I think there is a lot of benefit to that these days. Definitely, the simulator time as well. We’ve only raced the one road course this year, so we still have a lot to go and a lot to do here, but for sure, it was crazy impressive what he did at COTA.”